My dog is limping and whining :(

[Snow White]

I have a 5 month old purebred German Shepherd Dog named Sura, and She just started limping and whining out of the blue this morning. I checked her paw and leg for any swelling or injuries and found nothing, but I'm no doctor. What could be wrong? :'(

She has a vet appointment for Friday but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do for her right now.



*Limping came first, and whining a bit later on.


-----------------------------
UPDATE!

So 200 bucks and 2 xrays later I find out that my dog has a bruised toe.

She must have landed wrong and hurt some tissue. THAT was the big emergency. I thought she was freaking dying!

Anyway, can't put a price on piece of mind. We got her some painkillers so she's doing well. She's currently relaxing by my feet.

Thanks for all the well wishes guys, seems little Sura is going to be just fine after all.

[Gheld]

Seems a bit young for arthritis. She might have slept funny. Swelling from some injuries might take a little longer to show. Has she been licking or chewing on her paw or otherwise obsessively grooming? She might have skin irritation or an insect bite of some sort that causes discomfort when walking.

I'd say keep a close eye on the situation over the next couple of days and even if it seems to have cleared up bring it up with the vet.

[Jinivus]

Which paw? German Shepherds are known for their hip problems.

[Auloria]

If her leg looks and feels like the other leg (no obvious foreign objects, broken bones, etc), it might be just a sprain, which would get better in a day or two. Try to keep her comfortable, but if she's really in a lot of pain, you might try to get her to the vet today so that she can get some pain meds or anti-inflammatory, and to give you peace of mind that nothing more serious is wrong.

[Marimba]

My dogs used to get stickers stuck in their paws that would burrow in between their toes. Sometimes they would get so bad we would have to dig them out and soak the dog's feet in epsum salt.

[Snow White]

She has no redness or infection that I can see. I haven't noticed her chewing or licking. She definitely doesn't like my touching her leg cause she was mouthing my hand a bit when I was poking and prodding around for swelling. I gently squeezed down the length of her leg and paw to try and locate the source of the pain and she gave me no indication that one area was more painful then any others. I read that I can't give her any pain killers cause they'll hurt her stomach.

*Sigh* I hate seeing her in pain.

---------- Post added 2012-01-11 at 01:44 PM ----------

Which paw? German Shepherds are known for their hip problems.

It's her front, right leg/paw.

[spandex]

My cat got shot in her paw with a bb gun right before we adopted her.. that one took a while to figure out. You're probably going to be ok waiting til friday as long as your dog can eat, poop, and sleep.

Yeah it sucks seeing your pet in pain, my ol' cat has an inner ear infection at the moment so she can't balance, but being a simple animal she keeps trying to act normal. Just tried to go down the stairs and tumbled down the whole flight lol

[jaimelannister]

Which paw? German Shepherds are known for their hip problems.

Not very likely at 5 months...

Just keep her comfy and see how it is in a day. When my GSD was a puppy he had a handful of mysterious injuries that would have him limping for anywhere from a few minutes to hours. At that age they are very clumsyheir you can't find any evidence of injury, she probably just banged it on something.

[Snow White]

I called the vets office and the technician told me to discourage her from walking around and playing. She wont stop trying to play even though she's limping!

[Raptar]

I hope its just grow pain mate! Good luck with it!

[spandex]

I called the vets office and the technician told me to discourage her from walking around and playing. She wont stop trying to play even though she's limping!

If you aren't careful your dog might lose to Denver doing that

[Snow White]

Thanks guys. I put her in her crate will her kong and peanut butter.

[jaimelannister]

If you aren't careful your dog might lose to Denver doing that

Hahaha, well done!

OP - if the dog wants to keep playing, let her. Obviously it's not terribly serious if the dog is trying to ignore it.

[Deleted]

Is it snowy around where you live by any chance?

When I used to walk my two old dogs (carton de tulears, smaller ones) they would start humping around, sometimes even whine a lot because of the salt that is being sprayed all over the sidewalk. It would simply go up in their paws and cause pain when they walked, so a quick brushing underneath their feet would make it go away.

Does your dog lift either of his legs a bit when standing still?

If not, try and raise each of his paw one at a time and squeeze it a little, see if he reacts on it (as in, pain).

[Deleted]

Hahaha, well done!

OP - if the dog wants to keep playing, let her. Obviously it's not terribly serious if the dog is trying to ignore it.

Because dogs have common sense, and as such are able to know it's not serious?

[Auloria]

Thanks guys. I put her in her crate will her kong and peanut butter.

That's probably for the best. Poor puppy.

[Deleted]

Without having examined her - Its hard to tell - and she is a bit young for a Luxating Patella... Just pray to the gods its not that

[Knyx]

It could be a condition called luxating patella. It's more common in small breeds, but all dogs, especially developing puppies, are prone to it. Basically what happens is the kneecap sort of comes loose, almost like a dislocation. In most cases the patella will work itself back into place and the dog will be fine, but in more severe cases surgery may be necessary. It happened to my dog about a year ago which is the only reason I know about it.

[Joi]

I called the vets office and the technician told me to discourage her from walking around and playing. She wont stop trying to play even though she's limping!

It's a good sign that she still wants to play. If she had an infection she'd more likely be lethargic or tiring out more quickly. If she doesn't have any behaviour changes or other physical symptoms I'd agree with the thought that she's just pulled or twisted something. Or, it maybe a bruise. Feel around for dents/depressions that don't match the other leg or shoulder - if she slammed herself into the corner of a doorway on a sharp turn for example it may not have swelled yet, but she could have a dent in the soft tissues you might feel.
Another place to check is across her ribcage for their equivilent of pectoral muscles.

5 months is a little young for joint issues, but it's not impossible. My 2nd dog had trouble with the knees of her back legs which we noticed by her limping at about 5 months and required surgery.

If she seems fine after resting, keep an eye out for limping after her next walk or romp around the house (which, if she's anything like my puppy, means doing a good impression of being a heard of buffalos on a stampeed while murdering and tossing around a stuffed animal). If she limps again that may indicate a problem that flares up with activity.

[gamon500]

When that happened to our puppy, it turned out she had stepped on a bee and had the stinger stuck in one of her toes. There was no swelling, just whining and limping, and it took a really close examination to find it. Just a possibility... good luck, puppy!