Any Vets in? Our Chocolate Lab, aged 5 3/4 has started to limp when he gets out of his bed of an evening – doesn’t show up as lame all day but in the evening he gets in his bed and after a while, maybe 20 minutes gets up and appears to be stiff in his front legs, it soon passes and he acts normally only to repeat the process next time he gets out of bed. FWIW it doesn’t seem to happen in the morning but he’s often lying on the carpet in front of the fire. He’s fit otherwise and a shade under 40kgs.

Not a Vet, but have experience of my lab/springer cross limping from the age of about 6/7. He’s now 9 and has been diagnosed with elbow dysplacia which is a common problem with labs. Apparantly some dogs get it as early as 1 yr old.

He will need x rays to determine if it is the problem and depending on how bad it is, anti inflam pain killers for ever, or an joint replacement op.

Sorry to tell you that and I hope I’m wrong…..but its all exactly as with my dog.

40kgs sounds quite heavy. Our non lab had similar lost a few kg limp went away.

Fat Labrador

40kg, crumbs that’s a solid old unit!

Hmmmm, our lab/springer cross has displayed these symptoms and just coming upto 8 but, normally been after a long days walking. Will speak to the vet for some advice to be safe me thinks.

Arthritis?

Currently looking after our dog that has had knee surgery due to a snapped cruciate ligament 🙁

40kg sounds too heavy, my golden retriever is pretty huge and he’s 30, vet says his ideal weight is 29.

I’d still get him checked out, but sounds like he could loose a few kilos and that may help.

Thanks. He’s a big framed dog, bred for show rather than working – there’s barely any fat on him, you can feel & see his ribs and he has a pronounced waist. We are off to the vet here in France tomorrow so I’ll report back.

Thanks. He’s a big framed dog, bred for show rather than working – there’s barely any fat on him, you can feel & see his ribs and he has a pronounced waist. We are off to the vet here in France tomorrow so I’ll report back.

FWIW, his weight/size relationship has never been an issue with the vet either in the UK or here in France….

I wanna meet your dog, he sounds colossal, I love big dogs.

Let us know what the Vet says, it’s interesting how its not all the time/in the morning etc.

What car do you drive? If it’s a 4×4 then switching to an estate might help his legs when he jumps out, or get him a ramp.

Laminate/wood flooring? The slippy surface doesn’t do the joints much good.

Here’s a pic of the lad!

Doesn’t appear to like Google Photo links 🙁

40kg is way too heavy. Ours is a big lad and we manage him to 32kg max. The vet is happy at that.

clicky

Look at those paws, need a standard sized object in the shot for reference.

Doesn’t look too fat, could maybe be a bit slimmer, hard to tell from the angle. But ribs and waist are the main tell tales. Looks like he’s about the same height at the table behind him.

Such Big Feet!

Oh saw your comment about the vet. Even so 40kg is massive. Poor sod

Such Big Feet

He had big feet as a pup. We were as concerned as any one when he headed for 40kgs but his siblings and parents are all a similar size. Now, that may be a bad thing but at 40kgs he’s not carrying any excess. He is VERY strong.

I have walked through the wood in snow following MASSIVE paws prints, thinking what beast is this. Followed them out of the woods back to the village, and into my house.

They were Angus’ from his morning walk. 😳

Sounds like exercise induced stiffness if its on the eve. Keep on the lead for 3 weeks and see if it improves. No balls, no stairs and no jumping out of cars.

No balls

That’s a bit extreme for a limp. Poor bugger. Taking away his family jewels.

These are something you should consider buying regardless of the diagnosis. Even if its not what I think it might be, he’s at an age that these pills will help him. My Vet prescribes them at £40 for one pack, so this price is very good. Unusual dosage instructions you must follow if you go this route.

My dog has one of these every day as well as anti inflammatory pills. A couple of months on, he has his off days but currently not limping at all. Also really try to avoid him chasing things, jumping from high boots etc. Boring I know, but its all about managing it. 🙁

That’s a bit extreme for a limp. Poor bugger. Taking away his family jewels.

I know….its what he loves to do, but needs must unfortunately!

So, back from the vets! 120 Euro lighter 🙁 couldn’t find anything specific wrong after much manipulation. Weight is now 38 kg which is fine, one slow release pain killing injection, Metacam equivalent (38,60 Euro) and a course of Flexadin (40,60 Euro)so we’ll see what happens. Consensus of opinion is that he’s strained a muscle(s) jumping off a wall and lying on it curled up in bed it stiffens up and causes the limp when he gets up.Thanks for all your suggestions.

Yeah our Springers used to get this from time to time as they all had bits missing from their brains that told them not to do ridiculously idiotic things – all of them pushed themselves hard on walks as well.