Why is My Dog Limping?
Have you started to notice that your dog is limping, either occasionally or constantly? There are many factors, causes, and explanations for why your pup may be injured, and here’s what you can do to figure it out.
Causes
Factors leading to limping can include the age of your dog, the amount of walking/exercise your dog sees daily, their health, the ground they are walking on, etc. If you see that the limping comes and goes or that it gets gradually worse, there could be a few different explanations.
If your dog is older, arthritis and aching joints may be a cause of the limping. If you notice pain in the wrist, elbow, shoulder of a front leg, ankle, knee, or hip of a hind leg, this may result in discomfort all the way down through the leg and explain the limping.You should also examine your dog’s limbs for other possible sources of the problem.
Examining your dog
Look at your dogs paws and toes. A bleeding cut, thorn, shard of glass stuck in their paw, or a split toenail, can be very painful and may explain the limping. A cracked or split nail may be a problem because they can often expose the nerves and/or sensitive tissue in the dog’s feet that make it very painful to put weight on that foot. Your dog may even have a fractured or broken toe or foot. If you examine the webbing between their toes as well, you may come across a tear or embedded piece of glass or rock causing discomfort. In these cases, you may be able to help by simply removing the object. In other cases, a more serious condition may require a visit to the vet.
In other more serious cases, a disease or development problem may have resulted in the limping of your pet. There may be problems with their leg nerves, ligaments, or even partial paralysis.
Professional Help
If you have tried home remedies to no avail, or believe that there may be a more serious problem with your dog, try using TalkLocal to locate a veterinarian immediately. TalkLocal is a free service that will connect you with top-quality, reputable professionals in your neighborhood, within minutes. Simply enter in your specific problem, location and availability and TalkLocal will contact multiple vets, who will then call YOU directly, ready to help.
