Front leg limp??

I’m hoping someone can relate. Our gorgeous girl is 5 months old and loves playing with other dogs and gives it her all as they do. After a play 3 weeks ago we noticed a limp in the front leg and assumed she may have taken a hard tumble during play but had the vet check her over anyway. Nothing identified by the vet so rested her for a few days and all was well. A couple of days ago she had another play in the park and as we were walking back to the car, the limp returned. Same leg. Took her to the vet and he again checked her over thoroughly and is convinced there is nothing seriously to worry about and that she may have overdone it or the play may have been a bit rough. I have no reason to question the vet as he’s been looking after our other fur baby that we had for over 20 years. I’m just the one a little concerned because our pup is so young. She will be getting desexed in a couple of months so could do X-rays at that time. Resting her again and to see her this morning, slight limp but will still run around at anything that excites her. Am I being too paranoid and could this just be as simple as me having a tender ankle or sore wrist???? She’s definitely not overweight and the vet stretched her out so much to see if she would react in anyway and she didn’t yelp or show any signs of pain.......

Hi & Welcome to the Forum from Flo and me 

They do like to worry us don't they  I would go for good rest and see nearer the time whether the limp is still occurring, if so then an X Ray maybe a good option.

The thing to remember is that she's still growing so a niggle now will need proper rest to recover, easier said than done I know, so as not to cause ongoing problems.

Can you give a weeks rest and then see how she is?

Let us know how she gets on... Oh and maybe a pic of your fur kid too 

Thank you...I hope it’s nothing. Hopefully my pic has come through of my little

Hello and welcome from us.
The lady in your avatar is lovely !

Nifty had a bout of lameness a month or two ago. Vet found nothing but prescribed anti inflammatories for 5 days and suggested I show her to canine osteopath.
It was probably puppy plays/growing pains as she was fine a couple of weeks later.

However, I did look at her environment and invested in proper cushions for sleeping. Her memory foam bed is better than the vet fleece which was the equivalent of her sleeping on a hard surface.
No problems since

How much exercise does she get, and what sort? It could be that she's overdoing it a bit & her young muscles & tendons/joints can't cope.

I was questioning that also. We’ve been taking her to the park virtually every day for an hour and on most days she sees her friends and has a good rough and tumble....she doesn’t realise how small she is and tends to play with dogs that are much larger than her so again I don’t know... tonight she seems ok, resting and no play and I feel awful about that. I’ve purchased a really comfy bed as suggested so hopefully that provides her with more support and comfort.

It could be too much exercise.
There’s the “5 minutes per month of age” rule.

Ok so today it’s been a week since our vet visit and we have rested her as much as you can rest a pup. The limp returns on and off but for a couple of days we didn’t see it assuming it’s on the mend. Last night we thought to take her for a 5 min walk just to get her out and I mean 5 min. She was perfectly fine during the walk and when we got home we saw it return. I am totally beside myself with worry. At the sign of a toy or a treat she seems perfect. This morning the limp was there and after a little while it’s gone. I know we need to xray to be sure and we’ll be back at the vet in a couple of days. My concern is will this be a forever issue and is this going to stop our little baby from having a great life playing with other dogs or even just going for walks....totally stressed...

Can i ask which leg it is? Ill comment more when i know.

Front right

Okay, you might want to get the right elbow/shoulder looked at. Going just from the photo (which i know is only a snap in time) your pup is leaning on the right one, not wanting to put it out like the left one is and even the halter is angled to the right which makes it look like they are using the left leg a lot more fluidly, so extending that left leg a lot more.

Id not be waiting a couple of months for it to be honest.

hi and thank you. No we are not waiting months, going back in a couple of days. Appreciate the comment on the pic but I have heaps of pics of her in her crate after a play and she’s laying differently each time so wouldn’t read too much into that. I just would assume if it’s an elbow issue she would be constantly limping and she’s not which is frustrating in a way. She’s so young and even this morning running around like crazy so if it hurts her wouldn’t she not be doing that? I’m just so confused and guess the waiting to see the vet is compounding my stress.....I’m just beside myself

Staffs are notorious for not showing pain when they're in a state of "excitement" that would go as far as to include walks, play etc. Its just how they are bred. It can make it very frustrating for owners who are not sure if they are actually in pain or not, but any limp is worth checking esp in a pup. Hope the vet can give more advice after a thorough check up.

I'm wondering whether it could be Panosteitis?

It's basically what, in humans, is called 'growing pains'. It's termed a 'disease of the bones' but it isn't lasting & doesn't need treatment otger than low impact exercise & pain relief.

Here's link...

Www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=466

Thanks everyone for your input. I couldn’t wait any longer so took her to the vet this afternoon thinking we would get an X-ray. The vet (2nd opinion) spent nearly an hour checking her over several times to try and isolate where the pain may be, no luck. Cherry was so excited that she was running sound and showed no signs of the limp nor any pain. Vet thinks I’m stressing more than I should and have us anti inflammatory medication and rest and see how we go. Moment we got home, the limp returned........torture.

I honestly think it may be Pano. If it is, he'll grow out of it by about 18 months old.

Hello, I was wondering if you had an update on your puppy's limp?

Our 1 year old pup has been limping since Christmas and the anti inflammation meds the vet gave and low exercise haven't helped...

Hi all, well after about 2 weeks of further rest and me losing my mind, it just disappeared!!! I can’t explain it and hope I haven’t jinxed it.

Nice to have your update and great to hear that it appeared to be due to “growing pains”.

Good news!

petite_naia wrote:Hello, I was wondering if you had an update on your puppy's limp?

Our 1 year old pup has been limping since Christmas and the anti inflammation meds the vet gave and low exercise haven't helped...

Again, it could be Panosteitis. It's likened to growing pains & you usually get spells off & on until about 18 months.

Glad to hear everything was ok in the end  

After many trips to the vet, it turned out Naia had elbow dysplasia. She had an operation two weeks ago and she's currently on a two month recovery period of limited exercise...which is driving her crazy!

Oh Hayley, so sorry to hear that your Naia had elbow dysplasia and so young too. Wishing her a speedy recovery

petite_naia wrote:Glad to hear everything was ok in the end  

After many trips to the vet, it turned out Naia had elbow dysplasia. She had an operation two weeks ago and she's currently on a two month recovery period of limited exercise...which is driving her crazy!

Ouch! That's quite unusual in Staffords!

Glad the operation went well & it'll soon be time to build up the exercise again. You could try some 'mind games' in the meantime to tire her mind!