Dog Limping After Sleeping/Laying Down

[Mikkumi]

Hi,

We have an Akita that is 7 months old, she weighs about 75lbs. We got her when she was eight weeks old, she was taken to the veterinarian by her breeder and was checked for hip dysplasia. The veterinarian, who we talked to, said that they were not certified, but there was no signs of dysplasia. Her mother was certified "hip dysplasia free", and her father was checked before every breeding but showed no signs of dysplasia. This was also the breeders 4th or 5th litter, and none of the previous litters had hip dysplasia.

For the last week or two, we have noticed that when she gets up from sleeping or laying down after chewing a bone, just being down for a long time, that she will have a slight limp that seems to change sides. We have checked both her back feet, she seems to show no signs of anything bugging her feet.

It's really scaring us, this is our second Akita as our first died after eating pig food and twisting her stomach. We don't want a dog with hip dysplasia, since we want to be able to take her hiking and such. Could it be that her legs just sort of fall asleep? She doesn't limp for more than two or three minutes, it's usually just seconds before she stops limping. Any help is much appreciated, we have had to take all four of our dogs, including this one, to the veterinarian in the past couple months. So we don't have a lot of extra money for vet trips at the moment.

---She seemed to start limping after we took her up the canyon with us when we went fishing.

Edit: I was just doing a bit of research and saw "Pano". Is it possible that she could have Pano? If so, would giving her Rimadyl be a good or bad idea?
Edit 2: It's only when she is laying down on top of her legs, if that makes sense. If she's on her side, she's just fine when she stands up.

[Barkingdog]

Did the vet check your dog for Lyme disease , this will cause dog to limb .

[Mikkumi]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

Did the vet check your dog for Lyme disease , this will cause dog to limb .

No, but I highly doubt that's the cause. Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks, right? We don't have ticks here.

Edit: We do have ticks, but they aren't as common here as they are in other places.

[BrLane]

Yes please check for tick borne illness. My poor dog is dying right now because of Ehrlichia which is a horrible disease, but if caught early it can be treated. Oliver, I believe was already in the chronic stage, but a couple of months ago he had the same symptom...he would limp after lying down for a long time. It was his front shoulder and I think it changed from side to side a couple times and lasted for about 6 weeks and then it suddenly went away. We thought he was maybe getting arthritis, but in hindsight it was our first indication something was wrong.

And even if you don't have ticks in your area, they can get it even from their mothers in the womb. I would check just to be sure.

[Mikkumi]

Originally Posted by BrLane

Yes please check for tick borne illness. My poor dog is dying right now because of Ehrlichia which is a horrible disease, but if caught early it can be treated. Oliver, I believe was already in the chronic stage, but a couple of months ago he had the same symptom...he would limp after lying down for a long time. It was his front shoulder and I think it changed from side to side a couple times and lasted for about 6 weeks and then it suddenly went away. We thought he was maybe getting arthritis, but in hindsight it was our first indication something was wrong.

And even if you don't have ticks in your area, they can get it even from their mothers in the womb. I would check just to be sure.

Alright, thank you. I'll talk to my Dad. We doubt it's ticks, since we've never really had a problem with them here on ourselves and all our animals, and her mother is from the same area, just in a city while we are in the countryside. Although, I would like to check. Is there any other indication? Fever? Lethargic? By now, any ticks would have fallen off.

We are really wondering if it's Pano, now that we've researched it a bit. Do any of you know anything about Pano from experience?

[Mikkumi]

I just added another edit to the original post. I forgot to mention that she only limps after she's been laying on top of herself. If she lays on her side, then she's fine. Like when people kneel down and their legs go to sleep.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Mikkumi

Alright, thank you. I'll talk to my Dad. We doubt it's ticks, since we've never really had a problem with them here on ourselves and all our animals, and her mother is from the same area, just in a city while we are in the countryside. Although, I would like to check. Is there any other indication? Fever? Lethargic? By now, any ticks would have fallen off.

We are really wondering if it's Pano, now that we've researched it a bit. Do any of you know anything about Pano from experience?

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/id-mi/tickinfo-eng.php

[hazelrunpack]

She might have Pano, but the best (and probably only) way to find out for sure is have her checked out at the vet. Preferably, an orthopedic vet if there's one in your area.

You can have your vet take hip xrays and then submit them to the OFA for a preliminary evaluation for dysplasia. Best to find a vet that has some experience with taking the proper views, though--the joints have to be lined up in a particular way for the OFA to read them. They could, at the very least, calm your fears of hip dysplasia. I forget how much it costs to submit xrays to the OFA--I think the last time we did it (about 9 years ago) it was $35 a dog...

[Mikkumi]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

She might have Pano, but the best (and probably only) way to find out for sure is have her checked out at the vet. Preferably, an orthopedic vet if there's one in your area.

You can have your vet take hip xrays and then submit them to the OFA for a preliminary evaluation for dysplasia. Best to find a vet that has some experience with taking the proper views, though--the joints have to be lined up in a particular way for the OFA to read them. They could, at the very least, calm your fears of hip dysplasia. I forget how much it costs to submit xrays to the OFA--I think the last time we did it (about 9 years ago) it was $35 a dog...

Thank you! My Dad and I have talked, and we are 99.99% sure it's Pano. Since her mother was certified, her father is 5 or 6-years-old showing no signs of hip dysplasia, and the previous litters have not shown any signs of hip dysplasia. She also had a basic check, and it seemed that her hips were made the right way. We read where Pano is more common in big breeds, which she is, who are being fed high quality dog food, which we are. So, we are gonna look into some things to help with any inflammation she may have.

As for the ticks, I've checked her as well as I can. She has such a thick coat that we think most likely ticks wouldn't be able to get to her skin easily. Also, from what I've read, it seems the area where the tick was becomes irritated and red, we don't see any of that on her and it's been at least two weeks now. I figure some signs would be showing up by now. She doesn't seem to have any itchy spots that she tries to scratch.

I really appreciate all the help. We hadn't thought about ticks, so we've done our best to check her over. My parents have lived here for over twenty years, have gone up the canyon and have taken dogs up the canyon, and no one, humans or animals, have gotten ticks. But we did check, just to be sure since we were concerned.

Once again, thank you all!

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Mikkumi

Thank you! My Dad and I have talked, and we are 99.99% sure it's Pano. Since her mother was certified, her father is 5 or 6-years-old showing no signs of hip dysplasia, and the previous litters have not shown any signs of hip dysplasia. She also had a basic check, and it seemed that her hips were made the right way. We read where Pano is more common in big breeds, which she is, who are being fed high quality dog food, which we are. So, we are gonna look into some things to help with any inflammation she may have.

As for the ticks, I've checked her as well as I can. She has such a thick coat that we think most likely ticks wouldn't be able to get to her skin easily. Also, from what I've read, it seems the area where the tick was becomes irritated and red, we don't see any of that on her and it's been at least two weeks now. I figure some signs would be showing up by now. She doesn't seem to have any itchy spots that she tries to scratch.




I really appreciate all the help. We hadn't thought about ticks, so we've done our best to check her over. My parents have lived here for over twenty years, have gone up the canyon and have taken dogs up the canyon, and no one, humans or animals, have gotten ticks. But we did check, just to be sure since we were concerned.
Once again, thank you all!

I had a standard poodle and he had very tick fur , he would weight less in the summer after he had his fur cut short and he got Lyme disease , ticks can get thought very thick fur they are strong little buggers.
I know of dog with heavy fur coats having lyme disease .

[MaxaLisa]

Originally Posted by Mikkumi

As for the ticks, I've checked her as well as I can. She has such a thick coat that we think most likely ticks wouldn't be able to get to her skin easily. Also, from what I've read, it seems the area where the tick was becomes irritated and red, we don't see any of that on her and it's been at least two weeks now. I figure some signs would be showing up by now. She doesn't seem to have any itchy spots that she tries to scratch.

Barkingdog is right, thick fur is no protection against these buggers. Also, most dogs do not show an irritated area where the bite was, nor does it make a dog itch most of the time. It sounds like you've decided not to test for tick disease, but the signs you are seeing, limping, can be a sign of tick disease.

Btw, a good supplement program can often keep a dog with bad joints hiking still.

[Mikkumi]

Originally Posted by MaxaLisa

Barkingdog is right, thick fur is no protection against these buggers. Also, most dogs do not show an irritated area where the bite was, nor does it make a dog itch most of the time. It sounds like you've decided not to test for tick disease, but the signs you are seeing, limping, can be a sign of tick disease.

Btw, a good supplement program can often keep a dog with bad joints hiking still.

Thank you. Yes, we realize that ticks could still get through thick fur. But, we highly doubt it since we stayed on a path, didn't go through any bushes, and we have never had ticks, and we don't know anyone who has had ticks. They are not very common around here, and it seems very unlikely to us that she would have gotten a tick, which is why we did our best to check, but we are not going to go to the veterinarian. Because, like I said in the first post, we have had to take all four of our dogs to the veterinarian in the past two-three months. All together, totaling well over $600. At the moment, we just can't afford it.

Also, like I said, my parents have lived here over twenty years, have frequently gone up the mountain taking dogs, as well as just going alone, and no one has ever come home with ticks. I'm starting to wonder now if her joints got irritated because we did climb up and down from the path down to the creek, which was very steep and she slipped a few times.

[Barkingdog]

Where do you live b/c I never heard of any place that 100% ticks free . They live on squirrels etc and if you bring your dog to any park there is going to other dogs that can have ticks .

[Mikkumi]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

Where do you live b/c I never heard of any place that 100% ticks free . They live on squirrels etc and if you bring your dog to any park there is going to other dogs that can have ticks .

I have never said that we are 100% ticks free, at least I don't think I did. If I did, or if it came across as that, I didn't mean it. Ticks are just very rare here. I live in Southern Utah, in a small town. We don't take our dogs to parks with other dogs around, in fact, we don't even take them to parks. We take them up in the mountains, but we stay on the trails.

[Barkingdog]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/3...ES.html?pg=all



The ticks in Utah carry Rocky Mountain fever and dogs and human can get it.

[Mikkumi]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/3...ES.html?pg=all



The ticks in Utah carry Rocky Mountain fever and dogs and human can get it.

Oh, thank you! We weren't aware that Utah ticks carry a different disease. I looked up Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and by now, our dog would be showing lots of symptoms if that's what she had.

Oh, I wanted to mention. Her limping is almost gone. We think she might have sprained something because we climbed down a very steep hill with big rocks to get down to the creek. While we were climbing back up, she slipped... A lot.

Also, I get the feeling that some of you may not think we know what we are doing with our animals... My Dad, brother, and I have all worked with a veterinarian. We have lived on a small farm for over twenty years, we have dealt with calves, cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, goats, lambs and sheep. We have four dogs, three cats, and we have had previous animals. We know how to recognize a lot of things. My Dad has experience from ticks when he lived in Tennessee. We know that ticks are very rare around here, we know there is still a possibility to get them. We are very, very outdoorsy. We go fishing, backpacking, hunting, camping, all over the place. And we have never once had ticks. That includes between my parents, seven kids that have gone up the creek frequently, and at least five different dogs that have gone up the creek, frequently. We most frequently go up our little canyon, which is where we took this dog, because it is only about a five minute drive and we are up by the creek able to fish. No one we know has ever gotten ticks up there.

So, I really appreciate all of you pointing out ticks. We have checked her as thoroughly as we can. We are watching for symptoms, but it seems like several tick-borne diseases would have been showing symptoms by now. Our dog is as happy as can be, and her limping as decreased.

[Barkingdog]

Ticks are a HUGE problem where I live and 2 vets had said that Frontline is no longer working to keep ticks away ,the ticks has builds up an immune to it. All the parks has warning signs about deer ticks being around all year . I can see the ticks jumping around when I go for a walk . People are told to keep their body completely covered up when walking in the woods here. YUCKY!
I hate ticks and fleas !

[Mikkumi]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

Ticks are a HUGE problem where I live and 2 vets had said that Frontline is no longer working to keep ticks away ,the ticks has builds up an immune to it. All the parks has warning signs about deer ticks being around all year . I can see the ticks jumping around when I go for a walk . People are told to keep their body completely covered up when walking in the woods here. YUCKY!
I hate ticks and fleas !

Oh, wow! Where is the general area that you live?

[Barkingdog]

I live in Massachusetts about 35 minutes north of Boston . I was in my yard a few weeks ago for not more than 5 minutes and a tick jumped on me. .

[Mikkumi]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

I live in Massachusetts about 35 minutes north of Boston . I was in my yard a few weeks ago for not more than 5 minutes and a tick jumped on me. .

Wow, that's awful. Luckily, here, we don't have many ticks, we have no fleas, and we have very few mosquitoes. It's too cold here for too much of the year, I think. At least for fleas, it's too cold.

[MaxaLisa]

Originally Posted by Mikkumi

Oh, thank you! We weren't aware that Utah ticks carry a different disease. I looked up Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and by now, our dog would be showing lots of symptoms if that's what she had.

Oh, I wanted to mention. Her limping is almost gone. We think she might have sprained something because we climbed down a very steep hill with big rocks to get down to the creek. While we were climbing back up, she slipped... A lot.

Also, I get the feeling that some of you may not think we know what we are doing with our animals... My Dad, brother, and I have all worked with a veterinarian. We have lived on a small farm for over twenty years, we have dealt with calves, cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, goats, lambs and sheep. We have four dogs, three cats, and we have had previous animals. We know how to recognize a lot of things. My Dad has experience from ticks when he lived in Tennessee. We know that ticks are very rare around here, we know there is still a possibility to get them. We are very, very outdoorsy. We go fishing, backpacking, hunting, camping, all over the place. And we have never once had ticks. That includes between my parents, seven kids that have gone up the creek frequently, and at least five different dogs that have gone up the creek, frequently. We most frequently go up our little canyon, which is where we took this dog, because it is only about a five minute drive and we are up by the creek able to fish. No one we know has ever gotten ticks up there.

So, I really appreciate all of you pointing out ticks. We have checked her as thoroughly as we can. We are watching for symptoms, but it seems like several tick-borne diseases would have been showing symptoms by now. Our dog is as happy as can be, and her limping as decreased.

Ticks and tick diseases are everywhere, and conventional thinking about where they are no longer holds because the weather patterns are changing, and these diseases are being spread by birds and other things. It's not that we don't think you know how to care for your animals, but these are particularly sneaky diseases, and potentially fatal. If you have witnessed such a death, or several, by people who have described their situation just as you are describing yours, you might understand better the persistence you are reading from some of the posts.

I do hope that this was just a soft tissue injury!