Ask Dr Claire

My dog is limping, should I take her in?

A limping dog hurts. He or she is just too sweet to make any extra fuss about it.

Like us, there are many causes for sore legs, dogs can break bones, sprain muscles, tear ligaments, slip discs, and get inflammation or degeneration of their joints (arthritis). They can also get burrs in their paws, foreign bodies like grass seeds, cracks in their pads or tear their nails. Neck pain and injury can also be responsible for limping with a front leg.

A hands-on examination from your local vet would be a great place to start. Imaging of the problem area (particularly radiography) is often used in cases of lameness to diagnose the cause the cause of the issue.

In the interim it’s important to make sure they are not damaging themselves any further, by enforcing strict rest.

If you’d like to chat in person, you can book a live video call or start a chat to discuss in more detail, as soon as possible.

We’re here to help!

Chat soon,
Dr Claire