Possible Leg/foot Problem? I'm Baffled

[Loungefly]

Hi all,

I've got an issue with my dog and was hoping to get some feedback. Last week the Mrs. and I took our dog Mia (just over 2 years old) to the beach to play with a friend's dog. They were doing the usual running around and splashing, playing keep away with a stick. Mia at one point let out a yelp and started limping slightly on her back left leg. Nothing extreme. Within half a minute she seemed fine and was putting full weight on her leg again and running around. That night she yelped a bit again so we had a good look at her back legs. We didn't notce any swelling or anything.

Next day she was fine most of the day. She then went to kick her pillow around between her legs, like dogs do when they are "making their bed" before they lie down to get comfortable. She let out another yelp. Again, we examined her. We went over her legs, examined her feet and in between her toes thinking maybe she had gotten something stuck in one of them from when we were at the beach. Still nothing. This has happened a few more times since then, with a couple of days in between where she didn't yelp at all.

I took her to the beach yesterday and she ran around like a maniac with the other dogs. After about an hour she was running around with another dog and let out another yelp. Again, she limped briefly and then all was okay again. She went back to jumping up and down again, begging me to throw the stick, as if nothing had happened.

What puzzles me is that when this happens she limps briefly, maybe a few seconds, and then goes back to putting full weight on her leg and running around like a maniac as she does as if nothing is bothering her. She tends to crawl around a lot when she is being silly. She likes to partially get off the couch and stand with her front feet, while her back legs are splayed out behind her on the couch. She often crawls around on the floor with her legs out behind her when she's playful, as well as wiggling around on her back and moving her hips a lot. She never yelps when doing any of this, despite the fact that she's using what seems to be a full range of motion in her hips and legs. We've been watching her carefully and there doesn't seem to be any specific type of movement that triggers the yelp, although I'm pretty sure in every instance it's happened when she was standing on all four feet.

In normal circumstances we would have already taken her to the vet to have her checked out, but due to unexpected bills recently (including a vet bill involving a our cat and a paralysis tick ), we're having to put it off for a few more paydays unfortunately.

Just wondering in the meantime if anybody might have an idea what be the cause of this?

Thanks

Edited December 5, 2011 by Loungefly

[persephone]

A vet visit , or chiro is the best bet .. but it could be a slipping patella .. where the kneecap slips out the little groove running over the bone...just my opinion, based on what my dog was like until he had his surgery.

Just be a bit cautious with jumping/running until you can get her to a professional-

[dancinbcs]

I would get her to a good chiro first. Sounds like a injured/overstretched ligament in the stifle to me that could be making the patella slip around. Do not let her run or jump at all until you get a diagnosis and treatment.