Dog Is Walking On 3 Legs, possible Lyme disease

Hey everyone. I've got a 5 year old chihuahua/lhasa apso mix who is always on the move and following me around the house and yard. That was until yesterday morning when I noticed him not putting his left hind leg down.

He basically just lies in his bed now and showed no interest in his toys which is really weird. He is alert and stares at me when I'm working in the kitchen and he still devours his snacks. He ate almost his entire bowl of food last night and a bowl of water but I had to bring it to him at his bed.

I looked at his leg and I don't see anything as obviously wrong. I touched all over and he was fine until I touched the pads on that foot. They look fine but he when I touched them he was in obvious pain and lunged for my hand.

He only seemed to be in pain when I touched the pads of his foot for that brief second. Before and after that he has seemed fine. No shaking at all.

We do have snow here if that matters. It's a few inches deep and wet/soft so that if you step on it your foot will sink.

Any thoughts?

Hello Chris welcome.
It is almost two days then since your dog hurt his leg then ? Perhaps he hurt it running in the snow.

Hopefully it is just a minor problem which will clear up with rest but if he is still not weight bearing tomorrow I would get it checked by a vet.

Welcome to Dogsey
Agree with Meg.Maybe best to have him checked over by the vet.Hope he's ok.

It's usually BAD news if he won't put ANY weight on the leg. Either a nasty sprain, a ligament tear, or worse... a break. I'd get him to a vet as soon as possible. Sounds like he's in some nasty pain being lethargic like that. Poor guy... please keep us updated.

He could have something in his pad that you can no longer see. A friend of mine couldn't work out why her dog was constantly on and off lame and eventually the vet found a 1" sliver of glass embedded in his pad - you couldn't see it at all and the entry hole had closed over.

Alternatively, if he's not using it at all, it could be a cruciate ligament problem which, on its own isn't painful to the dog, but he might be feeling frightened because he can't use the let.

Either way, I would take him to the vet as it is so out of character. Good luck and let us know how he is.

He doesn't even want to get out of bed at all. He doesn't move. He has been eating less but is always up for a doggy treat and water.

Just got in from the vet too. They really couldn't find a problem with him but suggested it might be Lyme disease. They did some bloodwork and I have to call tonight and tomorrow for it. He is on antibiotics and is also running a fever.

We'll see......

Hmm, not something of which I have any experience but googling the symptoms they do seem to fit.

I hope the abs work and he is soon feeling better.

Thank you.

The very first thing I did when I got home was to google the symptoms and they do seem to match. What makes it even more plausible is that Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks which are found on local deer. We spend a lot of time camping at local campgrounds where deer can be found.

Hello, and I have all sorts of things crossed here for a speedy recovery for your boy.

OK, I brought him home from the vet just over 4 hours ago. A few minutes after I brought him home I went out again to do some shopping. I just got in and we was standing at the front door waiting for me! He hasn't moved from his bed in 2 days!! He followed me for a few seconds and appeared OK but I sent him back to his bed just to keep him off his feet.

So to give an update, the vet suggested it might be Lyme disease and my goggling confirmed that. I still have to call about his blood work. Google also said that the pups should be back to a semi normal state within a day or two after starting antibiotics. Again, this seems to be true.

Hopefully he's on his way to recovery! It looks promising!