Dog Skipping During Walks

[ktn]

Hi all,

I have a silky cross, Bob, for 2 years now. I adopted him from the RSPCA, and am not sure how old he is. But from his calm mature manner and from what others tell me, he is most likely around 10.

I only just noticed a 3-4 weeks back that he has been skipping a bit during walks. I could not remember if he's done this before - it's like a halfway between a walking and trotting/running, and skipping a step or two on the left hind leg, sometimes the right hind leg.

I took him to the vet who said that both his muscles in the hind legs are even and strong, and upon physical inspection, he does not seem to be sore or in pain at the joints at all. He asked me to keep an eye on him, and if there are no improvements he can do an x-ray.

I think the skipping is worse in colder weather, but can't be sure. At home, when I get the squeaky toy out, he will marathon run around in circles for it, jump, etc with no issues. He does not seem to be hurting, it's only the skips during walks that's bothering me. On a couple of occasions he has scared me by walking really slowly behind me (no skipping or running). But this has not happened since as I try to walk him when it's warmer (where he's full throttle ahead).

Can someone point me to the right direction? Is this normal signs or aging or arthritis? Is there a way to tell for sure? If he doesn't seem to be hurting should I wait and see, or is x-raying the only way to find out?

many thanks,

Kat

[poodlefan]

So your vet ruled out any patella luxation?

If you wanted to rule out arthritis, you'd be looking at X-Rays. But at Bob's age, it may be a matter of giving him some supplements to help with stiffness/aging.

Edited August 7, 2008 by poodlefan

[Rysup]

Yep when they skip it can be a sign of luxating patella. I possibly would not worry about it unless he is distinct pain.

[ktn]

I do not think vet has checked for patella luxation. He did some pressing in the legs area and saw that nothing hurts and his legs 'feel' normal. I'm thinking of either patella luxation or arthritis or both too - my dear boy is most likely slowing down. Will do a bit more research - thanks heaps for the quick response

[Golden Rules]

My dog skips when he walks.

He has hip dysplasia and two cruciate replacements however I believe the skipping is due to the cruciate issues (he is still recovering from one of them).

I think your dog probably is in pain if skipping and then slowing down towards the end of your walk. This is just what my boy does and yet if there is food to be had he will behave as if he's a healthy puppy!

Ask your vet again to look into it. Quality of life is so important in older dogs.

[Jed]

Sometimes little dogs do this on walks because they are tired - it seems to rest a leg for a minute. If he is also walking slowly behind you, and he never skips at home, consider that you may be walking him too far, and he is tired.

I don't know, but I would consider this as a possible cause of the skipping.

[puggy_puggy]

I took him to the vet who said that both his muscles in the hind legs are even and strong, and upon physical inspection, he does not seem to be sore or in pain at the joints at all. He asked me to keep an eye on him, and if there are no improvements he can do an x-ray.

I would be getting the vet to check for luxating patella or cruciate ligament problems. They should be able to diagnose these things without xrays.