Why is my dog limping?
Why is my dog limping?
Your dog comes home from the park with a limp. They’re still happy, still eating and still keen to follow you around the house. Do you need to see a vet, or do you give it a day?
Lameness is one of the most common signs of musculoskeletal pain in dogs, but there’s a wide range of possible causes. A torn nail or sore paw can cause a surprisingly dramatic limp, while some significant joint and ligament problems can initially be quite subtle.
How urgently your dog needs attention depends largely on how severe the lameness is, whether there has been an injury and how they are otherwise feeling.
When should a limping dog see a vet urgently?
We’d recommend prompt veterinary attention if your dog:
won’t bear weight on the affected leg
appears significantly painful or distressed
has obvious swelling, bleeding or if their leg looks different to normal
has had a known traumatic event like being hit by a car or pulled up sore after chasing a ball or other athletic activity
can’t stand or walk normally
is dragging a limb, appears weak or uncoordinated
seems unwell as well as lame - for example, unusually withdrawn or not eating.
If none of these apply and the limp is mild, a short period of rest may be reasonable but it’s always safer to call us for advice if you’re uncertain.
What can I check at home?
Start with the paw.
If your dog is comfortable with you handling the leg, have a look between the toes and underneath the foot. Check the pads and nails for cuts, swelling, a broken nail or something caught between the toes.
There’s no need to repeatedly bend, straighten or squeeze the leg to try to find the painful spot. Dogs in pain can react unexpectedly, and identifying exactly where a limp originates can be difficult even when you know what you’re looking for.
Avoid giving human painkillers or other medications. Common human medications can be inappropriate and even toxic to dogs, so pain relief should only be given when prescribed or specifically recommended by your vet.
Can I give a mild limp a day to settle?
If your dog is comfortably weight-bearing, otherwise completely well and there has been no significant trauma, it can be reasonable to rest them and monitor a very mild limp.
For the next day, keep exercise controlled: short lead walks for toileting, no running or ball chasing, and minimise jumping and stairs where practical.
If the limp settles quickly and stays gone, further investigation may not be necessary.
Book an examination if it persists into the next day, becomes worse or keeps returning. Intermittent lameness is particularly easy to dismiss because the dog may appear completely normal between episodes.
If your dog’s limp is intermittent or only occurs during specific circumstances, take a video when you see it. A short clip of your dog walking can be extremely useful if they decide to walk perfectly normally when they arrive at the clinic.
What causes limping in dogs?
The list is long, which is why examining the dog is often more useful than trying to diagnose the cause of a limp from its appearance.
Common causes include:
cuts, damaged nails or foreign material in the paw
muscle, tendon and ligament injuries
osteoarthritis
patellar luxation
fractures and dislocations
growth-related orthopaedic conditions in younger dogs
spinal or neurological disease
infection
and, less commonly, diseases affecting the bone itself.
Age, breed, activity and the way the lameness developed can all provide useful clues.
A young dog that suddenly becomes lame during vigorous exercise presents a different set of possibilities from an older dog that has gradually become stiff getting out of bed.
Some conditions also produce characteristic patterns. Dogs with an unstable kneecap (referred to as luxating patella), for example, may occasionally skip for several steps before returning to a completely normal gait. Cranial cruciate ligament disease can cause persistent or intermittent lameness in a hindlimb, difficulty rising or jumping and loss of muscle from the affected leg.
What happens when we examine a limping dog?
We’ll usually start by watching your dog move.
Seeing how a dog walks or trots helps us identify which limb is affected and how they’re compensating for it. We’ll also want to know when you first noticed the problem, whether it appeared suddenly or gradually, what your dog was doing beforehand and whether you've noticed changes with stairs, jumping, exercise or getting up after rest.
The physical examination then helps localise the problem. We assess the paws, bones, muscles and joints for pain, swelling, instability, reduced movement and other abnormalities. Depending on what we find, we may also examine the spine and perform a neurological assessment.
This is why a video from home can be so valuable for a dog whose limp comes and goes.
Will my dog need X-rays?
Not necessarily.
If we can localise the problem on examination and findings suggest a minor soft-tissue injury, imaging may not be required immediately.
Radiographs or CT scans become more useful when we’re concerned about bones or joints, including fractures, osteoarthritis, some developmental conditions and certain orthopaedic diseases. Ultrasound is also occasionally helpful for selected soft-tissue problems, while more complex cases occasionally require MRI assessment.
The examination helps us decide whether imaging is likely to change what we do next.
What about an older dog who is becoming stiff?
Lameness isn't always obvious in dogs with chronic joint pain.
Families may instead notice that their dog takes longer to get up after sleeping, hesitates before jumping into the car, struggles with stairs, slips more often, plays less or doesn't want to walk as far as they once did.
These changes are easy to attribute to ageing, particularly when they develop gradually. They can also be signs of osteoarthritis and chronic pain.
Osteoarthritis only affects older dogs, right?
Wrong! A prospective study of 123 dogs aged eight months to four years found radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis in around 40% of them. Depending on the pain threshold used, nearly a quarter of those had both radiographic changes and associated joint pain, however, their families had only recognised impairment in around one-third of the affected dogs.¹
That doesn't mean every stiff dog has arthritis, or that every radiographic change causes pain. It does show how easily musculoskeletal problems can go unnoticed, particularly when dogs gradually adapt the way they move.
There are now many ways to manage osteoarthritis and chronic musculoskeletal pain. Depending on the dog, treatment may involve appropriate pain relief, weight management, changes to exercise, rehabilitation, modifications around the home and ongoing monitoring with your vet.
When in doubt, give us a call
A very mild limp in a comfortable, otherwise well dog may settle with a day of restricted activity.
Severe or worsening lameness, inability to bear weight, significant pain, swelling, major trauma, weakness or other signs of illness should be assessed promptly. A limp that persists or keeps returning also deserves investigation, even if your dog seems perfectly happy otherwise.
If you're unsure how urgent it is, call your Evervet clinic and tell us what you're seeing. We can help you decide whether your dog should be examined straight away or whether it's reasonable to monitor them at home.
Your pet. Your family. Always.
1. Enomoto M, de Castro N, Hash J, et al. Prevalence of radiographic appendicular osteoarthritis and associated clinical signs in young dogs. Scientific Reports. 2024;14:2827. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-52324-9.