Occasional limp

Abby is a Australian Shepherd/Labrador/Pittbull mix. She will be 7 years old this August. She weighs 42 pounds of solid muscle, and is very energetic when playing with the younger dog.

Every now and then she limps. She never cries out in pain, and has no problem with me touching whatever leg she's favoring. This morning she was favoring her back right leg. I massaged her for a bit and she seemed to get a little better.

Should I take this as a warning that she's developing an issue, or does it sound like she's just over exerting herself and getting aches and pains? I know I wake up kind of stiff in the mornings myself.

I've heard of some people giving their dogs aspirin (or maybe ibprofren, not sure) sometimes for aches or stiff joints. Is this something I should be doing for her?

i would not expect arthritis in a six year old medium-sized breed dog unless there's an underlying problem. i'd consider having the leg checked by a vet. an on-again-off-again limp on a hind leg can be a cruciate ligament injury. i'd definitely get her on a glucosamine supplement, either way.

no ibuprofen. i'm not a big fan of aspirin either as it's often very hard on the stomach.

I too would have the leg checked by a Vet. My 9 year old Rottweiler (orthopedic disaster my Vet calls her, ED, HD etc) was favoring her back leg every so often. It turned out to be a partial tear on her cruciate ligament which is hard to pick up on x-rays.

If I thought she just over did it or sprained her leg I would just give her arnica pellets which are a homeopathic treatment and very easy to get and affordable and not hard on your dogs system. I also have arnica cream on hand for sprains, I sprained my ankle and was really impressed with it. For arthritis pain I give a good Glucosamine supplement fish with omega 3's, and turmeric and ginger root as anti inflammatories (these herbs have other health benefits other than anti inflammatories as well.). I have been giving Athena Turmeric and ginger root for about 7 years with excellent results. She is a prime example of how a dog with severe HD can live a normal active pain free life. I also have a book on pressure points and do acupressure on her.

Good luck.