ASK THE VET
Q: My 10-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier sometimes limps and won’t put his weight on his back paw. He will let you touch it and has no signs of pain anywhere on his leg or paw and when we walk him he walks on it fine but when back home his limp can appear at any time. What could it be?
Andy Gardner, Newcastle
A: I often hear clients tell me that their dog is ‘limping’ or ‘not putting weight on their leg’ and this is often followed up by the phrase “but the dog is not in pain”. If the dog is limping or not putting weight on their leg, the chances are that they are in pain! Chronic pain in animals can be difficult to assess and some conditions may lead to this pain being either intermittent or varying in severity. When provided with pain relief these dogs can act like young puppies again, showing that these signs were attributable to pain. In your pet’s case this could be due to a number of factors from a foreign body in the paw to a bone tumour. The most likely thing for a 10-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier to have causing those signs is arthritis or cruciate ligament disease (possibly both). I recommend getting an examination with your veterinary surgeon to see if they can localise where on the leg is causing the trouble and possibly some x-rays of the leg to assess what could be causing it if nothing is found on clinical examination. If immediate investigations are not wanted initially and there are no contraindications, I often prescribe a short course of pain killers. If the problem resolves the dog was in pain. If the problem recurs, further investigations should be considered to determine the underlying cause. Please note that advice in this section is for general guidance, and if your pet is very unwell you should contact your veterinary surgeon as soon as possible as this advice does not replace the need for a clinical examination of your pet. ■■Rory Thomson is part of the team at St Clair Veterinary Care in Croft Road, Blyth. If you have a question, fill out the online form at chroniclelive.co.uk/askthevet