What Can You Do When Your Dog Is Limping

A limping dog indicates that there is something limiting its mobility or causing pain. Since the animal cannot explain the problem, you have to closely examine it for signs indicating which foot, leg or joint is bothering him. When you check your dog for possible causes, keep in mind that what may appear to be a simple issue could be a sign of internal problems.

  1. Hips

    • Dog owners dread discovering that their animals have developed hip problems. Displasia is a condition that involves physical separation of the ball from the hip socket. However, the condition doesn't need to be severe to cause significant pain. Place your hand on the dog's hindquarters and grab his foot. Slowly and gently rotate the leg, feeling for stuttering or a "catching" feeling. Rough sounds might indicate a breakdown of cartilage. If these symptoms are present, a trip to the vet is best done sooner rather than later.

    Paw Injury

    • Dogs like to romp and their pads offer a large degree of protection from damaging objects like thorns, splinters and stingers. However, these foreign bodies can cause irritation, especially between the pads. Signs of discomfort include constant licking or chewing at the paw. Check underneath the foot, gently spreading the pads apart, examining for anything that might be the cause. If you see a splinter or something easily removable, do so with tweezers. If there is a puncture wound, immediately clean it, place an antibacterial or other healing ointment on it and bandage it as best as possible. Allergic reactions at the dog's feet offer similar symptoms and must be treated with the proper analgesic.

    Broken Limb

    • This should be fairly obvious, as most dogs with a broken leg only walk on the other three. A dog that keeps one leg up flamingo-style is a sure sign that, at minimum, the dog has sprained something in his foot or leg. In this case, the best bet is to keep the dog calm and take him immediately to a veterinarian or animal hospital.

    Precautions

    • Never give an animal aspirin or other over-the-counter pain remedies. The amount that you could give him without it being harmful to his digestive system is too small to make a substantial difference in pain relief anyway. As a general rule of thumb, unless specifically prescribed by a veterinarian, consider human pain relief harmful to your dog. However, remedies such as glucosamine chews can provide some relief for aging joints. Remember, however, that these have been shown to contribute to the development of gall stones.