Lameness issue

[OntarioHunter]

My six year-old Lab has recently developed some peculiar symptoms with her right hind leg. As usual we are hunting hard here in eastern Montana. She seems fine hunting all day when I do work her. No issues. But as soon as we get back to the trailer in the evening she's gimpy. I have worked over that leg from paw to hip trying to get some kind of reaction so I know where it's hurting. Nothing really. After a massage she seems to want to lick way back at her private parts. She is reluctant to sit on that leg after the hunt but seems okay the next morning. I don't see her having any problems going up steps into the trailer or even jumping up onto the Jimmy's tailgate. Man, this dog is something special, a pheasant finding/pointing/retreiving machine that can work heavy cover while almost never out of range of my twelve gauge. The big "D" word comes to mind ... I almost can't bring myself to say it. So rarely encountered these days but it is still out there. I'm pretty much positive it's not torn ACL. She wouldn't be standing on it at all and usually detectable with palpitation. Jumping into the Jimmy would be impossible. Will try to get her in to vet tomorrow.

A funny side note. Last night I gave her a break and hunted Fr Britt Puppy for first half of the afternoon. We worked up a draw of intermitent Russian olive and kicked out a young cow moose. She ran out onto the prairie a hundred yards and just watched us work up to the vehicle. Then she went back into cover (duh ... there's actually some grass in there). Puppy and I crossed the road to work the north end and Ellie, locked in the car, started up again with her mournful howling. "Come baaaack! You forgot meeee." Then the cow moose started calling to Ellie. Sorry babe, I know you're lonely but it just won't work.

 

[David658]

We had to go to daily carprofen for our Airedale. He gets about a half dose compared to a normal prescription (1/2 tablet each meal), turned him from a grouch to a puppy - that pain had him on edge. Might help your pup, too. From what a vet told me, that if a low dose like we give York helps, keep it up and don't worry about it. YMMV.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Great news! Ellie's X-rays showed good bone structure in her hips. No dysplasia. Apparently she pulled a groin muscle. Vet gave me some dog ibuprofen and instructions to slow down for a few days so she can heal up. Hunted her just a bit this afternoon and she seems fine tonight. Saw no birds but Puppy and I did jump a nice whitetail buck twice. So warm I could have hunted in shorts. No kidding! Seems like August not November.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Doc said I was working her too hard. That's something when a sixty-nine year-old man can outlast a six year-old Lab in the field.

This afternoon on the other end of the refuge we kicked up a big cow moose with small calf. Little fella was still quite tan colored. Glimpsed them in the same thicket yesterday. Also when hunting the lakeshore I ran onto a lone big moose track in the mud flats. Definitely not the cow with calf or the yearling cow. So there's at least four in the area. I'll have to be careful with the dogs around that big momma. They are good about not bothering anything four legged but don't want to surprise her in the olive thickets or she could charge them ... and then me when they come running back.