I donno if this is an appropriate suggestion, but when Loki had surgery for a torn ACL he went through swimming rehab. After rehab we stopped having him swim and he started having problems with his leg again. About a year ago we started taking him swimming regularly again and now he never shows any signs of trouble from his leg. If you can get Mya into a pool or lake, it could be good preventative exercise. Swimming is much less of a stress-impact type of exercise while still providing a work out due to the resistance of the water. Hope everything continues to go well for her!

We just got through the 'initial load' of Myristin, and is now on the maintenance dose. But since she's started on Myristin, she hasn't limped, even after running around hard at the dog park.

That's great, hope she continues that way on the maintenance dose.

my lab/pitbull mix just started limping today. unfortunately he wont even put his back leg on the floor while standing, let alone walking. i know i need to take him to the vet, but money is tight. does anyone have an idea of how much it usually is to x-ray? or a roundabout guess? having lab in him im really worried about hip dysplasia

It could vary depending on if he'll need to be sedated to get x-rays. Could you call your vet and see what they say? A phone call is free...

snrose wrote:

my lab/pitbull mix just started limping today. unfortunately he wont even put his back leg on the floor while standing, let alone walking. i know i need to take him to the vet, but money is tight. does anyone have an idea of how much it usually is to x-ray? or a roundabout guess? having lab in him im really worried about hip dysplasia

Was he running prior to him limping? How long has he been limping? If it's been a couple of days, and he still won't put weight on his leg, maybe you can at least call your vet...? A phone call is free...

It started slightly last night. This morning he wont use it at all. Since he's still lying on it and doesnt appear to be worse for the wear (he's happily snoozing right now on his bed) i may try some joint supplements...maybe the glucosamine and baby aspirin? i'm thinking for a few days and if nothing changes at all i will make an appointment for next wednesday. as far as how he did it i have no idea. he's a very low energy dog and doesn't really do any sort of running at all. My suspicion is that he injured it from going up and down my stairs. they are very steep and wooden. I'm definitely going to have to fix that with some kind of carpet strips or something. for now i'm not going to allow him to go up them at all (luckily i already have the baby gates to prevent that. What do you guys think? I don't want to be a bad mom and not take him to the vet, but it so hard to trust vets sometimes since they will opt for the most expensive route of fixing a problem usually..

Glucosamine is something that show benefit in a few weeks as it needs an initial dose and build from there. Once you get through an initial load of glucosamine which is at a higher dosage, you then back off to maintenance dose. So you may not see an improvement for a few weeks for glucosamine.

If it just started last night, keep an eye on him. If he gets up and doesn't put weight on it even after walking around some, you may want to take him in sooner, or at least place a call to your vet.

If/when you do get him to see the vet, make sure you get as much info as you can as far as treatment an options. Hopefully your vet will be considerate enough to at least give you all treatment options available for you to make a decision.

As for Ginger, she would limp hard when she first would get up, but after taking a few steps, her limp would be less. The next day, she wouldn't limp as much and within 2 days, she'd be OK. My concern was she would have a really big limp, almost to the point where she hardly put weight on it. It was a big red flag and was afraid that if she had an injury it would get worse if I let it go too long.

On the other hand, when we had Sully, he would sometimes not put weight on his leg and sometimes he would. But his limp never went away. And in the end, we did find out he had a torn CCL which he could walk on at times.

So just keep an eye on him today. If he is still not putting weight on it all, I'd at least make a call to the vet.

Oh no, I hope it gets better. Mya had the same issue as Ginger and the Glucosamine really helped! She hasn't limped at all since she started taking it.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the info. What dosage of glucosamine do you recommend starting him at and for how long? and when do you think i should back off? I surely hope he hasn't torn anything. He barely runs so i'm not sure that is the case since it seems to have happened just all of the sudden and all he did was walk up and down the stairs and kind of wander around in the backyard (of course I didnt see him back there..maybe he stepped in a husky-dug hole? haha) who knows. when i got home he used it for a little bit but just barely..and then as soon as he came inside it was exactly the same as this morning. i will watch him over the next couple of days (luckily i have the next 3 days off from work so i'll be able to) to make sure he doesnt do anything strenuous at all.

Well, my vet said to just start Mya on 1000mg of Glucosamine daily and that it would work. Which it did! I think Claudia's vet might have started off with more though?

Mya's limp would come and go and she never had her leg fully off of the ground for more than a few seconds so I'm guessing your boys is a little more serious =( Have you tried touching it? If so, does he complain?

Well the stuff i got 2 tablets = 1500mg. I gave him one since i am unsure. maybe i'll give him another if 750 more won't hurt him? I'm so iffy about giving human meds to dogs, haha. I've touched, poked, prodded, and squeezed all over it and i've gotten no response at all...which i hope he has feeling in it still!! that would be awful if it were a spinal injury somehow

Yeah, the pills we got are 1500mg for 2 also. I give them both to her and have been doing so for a few months now. I don't think giving him 1000mg will harm him. I did the same with Mya and I got no reaction at all from her. So I wouldn't worry too much about it being a spinal injury. Maybe he just pulled something. Poor thing.

I would call the vet on Monday if it continues. Can't hurt to take him in and get his opinion. Plus some estimates on xrays so you have an idea. Doesn't mean you need to do it right now.

My fingers are crossed that he starts getting better soon!

It just worries me he shows no sign of pain. But i know dogs, instinctively, hide pain to lessen a sign of looking "weak" I will go ahead and give him the other pill and up it to 1500. He got 160mg of baby aspirin as well for immediate relief (if its a strain). Poor guy, haha...he looks so pathetic

I give Ginger Myristin which is a hip and joint formula. The inital load dose will deliver 1500mg or Cetyl Myristoleate, 900mg of glucosamine and 900 mg of MSM which all contributes to joints. The inital load dose is given for 60 days or 8 weeks, then you start a maintenance dose which is about half that.

Myristin costs a little more than just glucosamine, but it has added joint health benefit coming from Cetyl Myristoleate and MSM. I've talked to a few large breed dog owners (more prone to hip and joint issues) and majority have recommended Myristin. I've also heard from other people that once you finish one formula, switch to another because each brand and formula delivers different benefits and by rotating, you get added benefits.

Ginger responded really well to Myristin vs. just plain glucosamine, but it all depends on each dog and what they have going on.

well marley's leg has improved over night! that makes me really happy about my decision to not jump and take him to the vet. he's still limping but at least using the leg now i think the aspirins helped him out.

snrose wrote:

well marley's leg has improved over night! that makes me really happy about my decision to not jump and take him to the vet. he's still limping but at least using the leg now i think the aspirins helped him out.

Good to hear! But just be careful with aspirin...you don't want to mask it with aspirin if there really is an injury that needs to be checked out. Maybe you could monitor Marley through the weekend, and if he seems to be getting better and better, there wouldn't be a need for x-rays, but if he hasn't worked himself out by Monday and is still limping even thought he's putting weight on it, I'd still go take him to be checked out....well, that's what I would do anyway, FWIW...

Yep, I would do the same Claudia! But then again I'm the super duper paranoid doggie mom! My husband says i'm crazy! They just sneeze and I'm calling the vet...LOL!!!

I'm glad Marley is doing better!!!! Keep us posted!