Limping Puppy

[sheshistory]

My 11 week old puppy Truman started limping this afternoon. He doesn't seem to want to put weight on his right hind leg. This began without any warning or incident. He hasn't napped today like normal so I don't know if his fast-growing puppy legs are just super tired or there is a problem? He doesn't whine or squirm when I handle the leg but I am concerned - he is tired but currently does not want to stand or walk on it.

Any advice or insight is appreciated.

[Reggie]

Hi,
Firstly, I'd check the paw pad for a thorn or splinter that would hurt if he were weight bearing on it. The only time I've seen Reggie limp was when I pushed him off from jumping up on me sitting in a chair and he landed on his foreleg awkward, limped for just enough seconds for me to get worried then went back to normal again! I've had him from 7 weeks old and haven't experienced your situation so assuming the paw pad check is clear I would go to the vet to rule out anything more serious who may prescribe some anti-inflammatories or painkillers. I tend to avoid vets so wouldn't suggest it unnecessarily. Best wishes x

[bullmama]

Unfortunatley bullies don't tend to whine or cry if they are hurting, reggies suggestion to check the paw is a good one. A bulldog owner must always look for signs of distress or out of the ordinary behaviors, because they are so tough they usually do not give out clues they are hurting or sick.

Once molly was playing with my moms dog and started limping, so I rolled her on her back and pulled gently on her arm to see what it was and that somehow that fixed it.... Must have dislocated something or had a bad Charlie horse.

[Gertie's Mom]

Wonder if he burned his pad outside? I have "Desert Landscape" (rocks) but have a large covered patio, so there's always some matter of shade. My daughter lives on the next street and her Bulldog puppy is a week older than Gertie. She has a patio slab and grass in her yard, but no cover or shade. Her pup burned her tender little pads last week in this heat. Now they're covering the patio slab.

[sheshistory]

am so upset as I write - I will try to be as clear as possible. Everything was going great with the puppy and he was doing very well. This afternoon, I noticed he was favoring one leg in the back and by evening, he wasn't able to put any weight on his right back leg without severe pain.

We took him to the emergency vet and they gave him pain medication and x-rays. The x-rays revealed he barely has a hip joint on either side. The vet said she was not an expert on bulldogs but did not see the proper development at his age (11 weeks) of a ball and socket joint at the hip. He was also experiencing severe pain in his knee.

She was not hopeful, because of his young age, that this would be a situation that would ever get better. She encouraged us to get a second opinion on Monday and keep him on pain meds until then...but she did not seem hopeful that this would be a problem he could live a quality life with.

Do anyone have any experience with this with puppies? We are horrified and upset.

Also, is this something we contact his breeder about? He came with a one year health guarantee.

[bullmama]

I am so sorry to hear this, I cannot imagine the hurt you are going through right now....

I would definately contact the breeder immediately and let them know what is going on. I am hurting for you all right now

[cali~jenn]

Oh my gosh, hopefully once you get to a bulldog vet you will get better and more clear news. I agree call the breeder and inform them to see what they say. Please keep us informed on the details of this when you go monday. Poor baby, my thoughts are with you as I cannot imagine how you must be feeling right now. Keep positive, figure the vet would want to give you the worst case scenerio and not get your hopes up too much maybe. Can only get better from here right? I hope!

[sheshistory]

Thanks everyone. We have an appointment tomorrow at an orthopedic specialist to get a second opinion and I've located a bulldog vet in my area (Dr. Junger at Alma School Animal Hospital) if we need a third opinion.

Truman rested comfortably last night and did good today. He was eating, drinking, and in fairly good spirits without any medication. He is still not able to put any weight on the leg at all.

Since there is a lot of bulldog experience on this board, I figured it couldn't hurt to post a pic of Truman's x rays...if any one else has ever had this issue or is familiar with it might be able to give me some insight.

I'm looking forward to and dreading the appointment tomorrow.

[Libra926]

I'm gonna try posting this again. I just googled "normal bulldog hips" to compare. You can totally see what they mean!

[sheshistory]

Thanks, I've been trying to do some internet research but it's all so confusing - especially since he's 11 weeks. The ER vet told me that the bones are not close to fully grown yet (obviously) so things grown and change every day on them, including the hip joint - which typically becomes stronger - but this ordeal would suggest this is not the case with Truman.

[cali~jenn]

Poor thing, please let us know what the vet says when you get home. We will be thinking about you and hoping for better news!

[sheshistory]

Our visit to the orthopedic surgeon went pretty well. She examined the x-ray and spent a lot of time moving Truman's leg around. Based on the x-rays, she did not think it was hip dysplasia. She said his hips are symmetrical and, without knowing, she couldn't pick out which one was the lame one based on the x-ray so that makes dysplasia unlikely. She also said she has seen bullies with hip dysplasia and finds they are very resilient to the condition. She hasn't ruled it out completely but did explain that it is best dealt with early and if it is dysplasia, he is a candidate for JSP surgery, which fuses the growth plate in the pelvic bone, encouraging the hips to grow in place.

She suspected panosteitis. Although she could not see it on the x-ray, she did think it was a possible cause for the pain in one leg and it's sudden onset. She also said it is common in large breed pups going through growth spurts.

She said the worse case scenario is he fractured his femur on the growth plate near his hip bone, which would block off the blood supply and be very serious. She said she did not see this on the x ray and did not feel any evidence of a fracture in her exam.

So I was instructed to wait a week to see how things progress and if he continues to improve, we will wait more and see how it goes. If he does not improve or gets worse, we will get a second set of x rays to help further determine what's going on.

I want to say thanks for all the support from everyone - I'm new to the board but it helps to have people who know what I'm going through. It's very much appreciated!

Truman (pic attached) says "Woof! Thank you!"