Help - Trouble Standing Up

[sgp116]

Hello,

Hope you are all well.

I'm looking for help with a diagnosis. Our lab (now 7) seems to be having difficult standing up due some sort of pain in his back left hip. The "interesting" things are:

1) He had elbow dysphasia as a puppy (6 months or so), which we had operated on to correct. He's not 100%, but mostly there now on that elbow. During that same process his hips were checked by two different ortho specialists and we were told that they were in good condition.
2) This happened once before, perhaps a year or so ago. My wife went to walk him and he wouldn't full stand. He'd get up to a sitting position but not up on all fours. We panicked, but it in the process of trying to decide what to do it completely passed, he started behaving normally and we hadn't seen a symptom since.

Then last night, I tossed a tennis ball up to him, he did a half jump up to catch it and squealed. He seemed to somewhat shake it off, but then this am the trouble getting up was back. The odd thing is that once I nudge him up (which doesn't take much), he walks fine. No limp, tail wagging. I brought him home from our latest walk though and applied a bit of pressure to the top left hip, near the tail, and he squealed again and is back to being very feeble on it.

Any thoughts on what this could be? I know there are probably a range of conditions, but I'm hoping to narrow things down. Don't know if I should be waiting and seeing, or immediately going to the vet.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Berna]

I'd definitely suggest that you visit a vet. His hips could have been in good condition when he was younger, but that doesn't mean he hasn't developed arthritis now. It could also be a problem originating in the spine. I'd go with a full physical exam and x-rays, see where the problem is, adjust his diet/exercise (i.e. no more ball tossing) and adding supplements/medication. If you wait, the problem will probably just get worse (he is not a young dog anymore).

[smartrock]

Hi and welcome!

I tend to give a symptom like this only a day or 2 to resolve, limiting their activity to only going out to go to the bathroom, no jumping in play or on or off beds or couches. My own home is a maze of carpets and throw rugs to try to minimize slipping on hard floors. If I'm not seeing improvement or resolution I generally go ahead and go to the vet for their opinion and for pain meds if warranted. It might resolve with a longer wait, but I hate to think they're in pain any longer than needed. Hopefully it's just a soft tissue injury, which can still be painful, and not something with his hips or lower back. If his gait was still slightly off after his elbow surgery, it's possible that over the years he's had more stress on his other joints and what looked good at 6 months of age has taken some stress in the ensuing 7-ish years. I hate it when mine act like they've just had their leg cut off doing something outside and then 10 minutes later they're walking and running with no apparent difficulty. Your boy's sounds like it's not one of those incidents if it's lingering into today. Hoping it's nothing serious.

So, in addition to this issue, tell us more about your boy, such as his name, and we always like photos, which may take 5 posts from you to be able to post.

[lovemylabby]

Hello!

I would say your dog needs a Vet visit immediately!

I would never wait if I heard my dog squeal....he must be in some pain.

The sooner, the better.

Best of luck.

[windycanyon]

Yes, this is definitely not a chat board topic. Good luck and please keep us informed.

[amyb]

Take your dog to the vet.

[smartrock]

Sad when a person's first and only post is a health question and they don't come back to see what has been said.