Beach, rest, then limping.

[Georgia]

Sam gets really sore feet when we are at the beach and ends up limping. We are careful not to walk him on hot sand so that's not it. We think his feet hurt from running on the sand then suddenly stopping. We have tried mushers secret with little success. I'm seriously thinking about getting him boots for the next time we we at the beach.

[windycanyon]

I don't give MSM, but think I should. Any particular brand your recommend? Dosage?

Mine is a private label thru our local Co-op. 100% pure. I give all my dogs 1/4teas / day (I add water over their food anyhow-- it's a sulfur supplement so kind of bitter). If injured, I double that.
I've been taking the same stuff myself for years and found suddenly my seasonal allergies were much better too (not to mention my joint pain etc...).

[Rosy]

Glad to hear she doing well! I pray for her fast recovery. Get well soon beautiful .

[shellbell]

I have a friend who recently went through something similar with her Australian Cattle Dog. The dog would limp occasionally after excercising. This went on for a period of time, the dog would alternate between seeming fine and then back to limping. They went to the vet and I think the vet's first though was possible CCL tear, they did xrays and could not see anything though. I think they were actually considering surgery to check and see based on the symptoms, but she opted to see a rehab vet who was able to immediately diagnose a strained iliopsoas muscle. That was a couple months ago, she has been doing rehab and I think the muscle mass in the affected area has now caught up to what it is in the non-affected area. Just a thought if the limping continues.

[Abulafia]

Mine is a private label thru our local Co-op. 100% pure. I give all my dogs 1/4teas / day (I add water over their food anyhow-- it's a sulfur supplement so kind of bitter). If injured, I double that.
I've been taking the same stuff myself for years and found suddenly my seasonal allergies were much better too (not to mention my joint pain etc...).

Many thanks. Just ordered some.

[Tanya]

for the record, torn CCL will be most vet's first thought But indeed it could be a number of things! Many easily fixed with rest and maybe working on toning and stuff.

Pen was in bad shape after she fully tore her CCL (it was fully torn, and meniscus was damaged). she did it in one go (which is less common, often it's episodes of on again off again limping as it tears bit by bit). I was just looking at video from the day after she tore it, super sad puppy. She never walked "normally" again until surgery (though she varied between three legging it and heavy/moderate limping)

[shelly]

Our 7 year old male Lab, Gibbs loves the ocean too and would often over do it...too much running and swimming. He also has had two ruptured CCL's. The way it was explained to me is that they can strain the ligaments and with light use/rest they can heal. They can partially tear the ligaments and heal with rest/light use and might limp after over use as there are multiple ligaments involved. It is when they rip/tear/rupture the last part of the ligament and they won't put weight on the leg that they may have to have surgical repair. This injury can also switch knees which makes it even move confusing. Just when we thought he had healed one side he strained/tore the other side. He has his first surgery at 5 years old. The limping/lameness went on for a 1-2 years before the final rupture. We got differing opinions from two Vets. The second knee totally ruptured within a year of the second one. Sorry to go on so long...not all limping/lameness requires surgery but damage to ligaments can lead to surgery and possible arthritis. Next time you see your Vet see if they can do a drawer test or if they refer to the Orthopedic Surgeon.

[Labradorks]

Our 7 year old male Lab, Gibbs loves the ocean too and would often over do it...too much running and swimming.

This is a one year old dog though... I've never had a young dog that limped after overdoing it unless they already had an issue (older dog with some arthritis) or obtained an injury. They usually just slept a lot and moved around like they were exhausted. Is this common in young dogs (not asking you specifically, just general question to the board)?

Being an apartment and/or city dweller, we are often weekend warriors so more prone to soreness and injury than some, but it's pretty much every weekend, year around, not just every once in a while in the summer. My friend's dog went to the beach one day and played and has been limping intermittently since then, after hard exercise. Five years now? Dog has a small tear in her ligament but since my friend never really exercises the dog and it never ruptured, she just manages it. Took weight off the dog and gives her pain meds when she does occasionally run hard.

[Abulafia]

We aren't weekend warrior types—Hoku gets long rambles and hikes pretty regularly, and sedentary days are rare.

I am thinking she pulled or strained something last week, and it hadn't had time to fully heel. It does not seem to be the knee, but rather the foot.

We won't be back to the beach for a couple weeks. She's not limping at all here. I am thinking that it has something to do with the lack of stability that the sand has. I'm not sure, but we're watching it closely.

[Labradorks]

We aren't weekend warrior types—Hoku gets long rambles and hikes pretty regularly, and sedentary days are rare.

I was not insinuating that you are weekend warriors or sedentary. We are not sedentary either, but five and six mile hikes and hours long beach trips are impossible during the week and I don't have acres for my dogs to romp on for a couple hours every day. I was just saying that I've never experienced a young dog that ran exceptionally hard on a beach trip or hiking come up limping without an injury even though that kind of exercise was not a regular occurrence.