Young dog on "bed-rest"

[PotterWatch]

One of my dogs started limping this last week. At first it was so slight I wasn't sure if that is what I was really seeing. The third day of the limp, it got so bad that he wasn't able to put any weight on it and was constantly whimpering and unable to get comfortable. My husband took him to the vet and they put him on anti-inflammatories and told us to keep him from doing any activity for two weeks. Two weeks?! It is nearly impossible to keep a 1yo dog who is now feeling better from playing with our other dog or in other ways running and jumping around. I know that even if he feels better, we still need to keep him from doing too much, but this is driving me crazy! He's constantly trying to jump or skip or play (he has the name Skippy for a reason). We are only 5 days into the two weeks! I have a race coming up on the 9th so if he's fit, I'll be thrilled. I thought for sure he wouldn't be fit to run. Now I have a bit of hope that he might possibly be able to run. Hurray!

 

[mekasmom]

Crate him to keep him safe. Give him a chew toy to keep him occupied.

Does he have hip issues?

 

[PotterWatch]

Nope. No hip issues. This was a shoulder injury of some kind. The vet said there are several possibilities, but the most likely is simply that he strained or pulled something. If he were still limping on our return visit, they would do an x-ray to try and determine what the cause is, but as of now he isn't limping. At this point, it doesn't look like anything major and I imagine he will be back in harness soon!

 

[thebritt]

Long-term crating is never easy, but is the best way to ensure rest. A raw beef bone w/marrow goes a long way towards keeping a caged dog occcupied. Just keep in mind the cost of having THEM (the vet) cage rest the dog!

 

[gritsar]

Is he young? Could it be panosteitis? Jax has had two mild episodes of that. I tried to keep him quiet, but that's next to impossible with a young dog. It disappeared as quickly as it started.
Good luck on keeping your dog quiet. I know it's not easy.

 

[PotterWatch]

Quote:
That was one thing the vet suggested it could be. He is on the edge of being too old for that and it usually happens during periods of rapid growth. Skippy is pretty much done growing. We think he is about 1yr 4mos, but he was a stray so it's hard to know for sure.

 

[lemurchaser]

Even though he's on cage rest, you should still do passive range of motion exercises with the joint, and maybe even all joints. Just move them in their full natural motion (gentley stretch leg forwards and backwards). This keeps the joints bathed in joint fluid and happy and healthy.