Limping: when to go to vet?

Loki has started limping on his front right leg.
He had a limp a few months ago (front left leg, i think) and the vet charged me loads of money to say his shoulder felt stiff (Loki's, not the vet's) and to not exercise him at all for a week. I guess he probably gave him some anti inflammitories or something.
I'm loathe to go back for this limp if i'll just be told to make him rest it as I really can't afford it at the moment, but obviously his health comes first.
He's in no pain from it and still tears about the house - he lifts it when resting and limps a bit when walking. I can squeeze, prod and poke it all over and he doesn;t whimpe (in fact he nearly dozed off when I was squeeezing between his paw pads to see if anything was stuck in there!) and quite seems to enjoy me massaging his shoulder!
No cries of pain at all!
Can I get away with leaving it and resting him? He got the limp on sunday or monday.
He's very happy in himself and eating and stuff.
Thanks!

hi,

just go back to sunday or monday for a moment.... did you do anything that could have been extra strenuous? did he perhaps make a few direct about turns during your walk which he doesn't usually do? did he walk/run on hard surfaces?

The reason I'm asking is that it could be a simple muscle ache or paw-pad issue... if he's done anything out of the ordinary.... Tess has the same if I take her t a hockey match (so that's a no-no)... she runs up and down beside the pitch following the ball (on concrete tiles)... and both times she's done this she limps afterwards (front left paw).... and both times the vet said it was muscle ache combined with worn pads....

If however you have done nothing out of the ordinary, I would go back to the vet... better safe then sorry!

ps: the remedy for Tess was rest, and only quiet on-lead walks for a few days....

Nothing unusual, he does tear about like a loon though. I didn't notice anything 'happen'.

I've never noticed anything "happen" either, only when you get home.... she sleeps a bit... and then the limping starts...

I would suggest keeping him quiet for a few days ( not easy I know), and see if it gets better... if not, go to the vet on monday...

good luck!

If he's not distressed by it then I'd give it a few days. he's probably just tweeked something. My lurcher Danny did the same last week...he yelped trying to get up and did so all day. It would have cost me £180 just to get the vet out as it was at the weekend, that's before treatment!! We just aly him on the couch, kept him downstairs and rested him. I'm glad I waited because 2 days later he was absolutely fine and still is!! I think you know your own dog and know if it's serious or not.

Thanks guys. He's not even yelped yet. I think I'll just try and keep him quiet for a few days. Wish me luck.

good luck (again)

I agree with what everyone else has said about resting for a few days.

Misty has had a limp on occasion, mostly, after a shoot day, when I've had her out picking up, as she does more running than on a usual day, or when I am in the beating line, and she's always back to normal in a couple of days!

Hope it is nothing seroius and that Loki is right as rain soon, and good luck with 'resting'!

Whenever one of my dogs or one of my friends' dogs gets a limp (& it's becoming more frequent now as they're all getting older!!), we tend do do the following:

• Check the limb & paw thoroughly for any signs of external injury.
• If no external signs, see if the dog reacts to any sort of touch/manipulation of the limb. If yes, & depending where the pain is felt, we may go to the vet or wait for a few days to see if the dog recovers.
• Keep the dog on lead for walks for about a week to rest the limb & prevent any mad dashing about games.
• Most of us have a supply of anti-inflammatories (from previous injuries!), so we may dose with metacam, rimadyl or whatever for a few days.
• On most occasions, provided that the dog's condition is improving, we would gradually reintroduce more exercise & off lead times, over the next few days.
• If the dog is still limping (but no other signs of pain, e.g. through touch/manipulation), then after a week of rest & anti-inflammatories, we would go to the vet.

Every time we've been to the vet in the past with limps for which there are no external signs, the immediate advice from the vet is a week's rest & anti-inflammatories. So personally I see no point in paying upwards of £70 to £80 for this advice plus the medication which I already have!

BUT, I did return after a week's rest when Barney developed a limp in his rear left leg about 18 months ago. The locum vet I saw on the 2nd visit manipulated the leg & diagnosed HD which was later confirmed by x-rays. If not for this vet's diagnosis, I would be living in blissful ignorance, but I suppose that being a lab, HD was probably high on the list of potential causes in this case.

If Loki does not improve with rest over the next week or so, I would advice a vet visit, just in case it's something other than a muscle strain. Sometimes the vet can diagnose or feel something wrong by manipulation, that we aren't trained to do. I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Well, that sounds sensible to me. I'm fairly sure its a muscle sprain rather than anything serious. If he's still bad at the beginning of next week I'll take him to the vet.
Thanks!