Limping after waking up
Hi all, im after some advice before the expensive trip to the vet. For the last few weeks upon waking vinny has been limping in his front leg but after a few minutes he is fine. On a few occasions ive taken him for a walk and hes been so stiff that he walks funny for a few minutes. Its quite worrying. He looks like an old man yet hes only 18 months. My girfriend thinks i over do it with him on exersise but he mainly dictates how much we do. Most days involve a 6km bike ride through the forest with him running alongside me. Sometimes he lools tired but then will see something and tear off so i think they are good at looking tired when they are not really. Especially if he knows were heading home his whole energy changes. Im very concerned about this limp tho. It doesnt seem to bother him while were out and he still pulls like a train in the harness so what should i do. Obviously the forest runs are off the cards for a while. Ill just take him round the block on foot. Im wondering if expecting him to keep up with me on a fast bike trip for 6 km is to much??? He aint no husky.
Comments
But as you mentioned you are already watching your dog limp for weeks, thats definitely reason enough to have it checked out, IMO.
No matter if it’s just a pulled muscle or something in the joint, when he starts walking and running, it will “warm up” and hurt a little less. Once he calms down and has rested the pain will probably return to its full scale. Everyone who’s ever had a pulled muscle knows how that works.
Also, and even more importantly, Bull Terriers have a very high pain tolerance. Some even continue running and playing with a broken toe (my dog did) and only start to suffer a LOT later.
So, the reaction of your dog sadly very likely is not a very precise indicator of how much pain he’s really in.
Also if he continues playing and running, that does not necessarily at all mean that everything is ok.
It could actually make things worse. Bull Terriers tend to get carried away and overexcited. In that stage, despite one would think they do, I believe that many of them do NOT have a “natural exhaustion or injury barrier” to prevent them from over-exhausting themselves.
If allowed, some of them would literally jump and run until their heart just stops.
Although Bull Terriers have a high requirement for exercise, the continuous exercise may actually have stressed his joints or muscles a little. And maybe just shortening the trips or switching to short distance exercises such as running after a ball, may do the trick.
But I would still have it checked out, in order to prevent permanent joint damage, for example, and make sure nothing got partially fractured unnoticed or so.
You started the below thread over a month ago. So, have you taken your dog to the vet yet? According to you, he sounded like he was ALREADY having some issues then. According to you, he sounds like he's still having THE SAME AND MAYBE WORSE issues. You wrote how your dog kicked its legs in pain as you sat on a bike and pedaled at a fast pace on asphalt. You wrote that your girlfriend told you that it was too much for the dog. All of this over a month ago. You haven't taken him to the vet yet? Now, you're trying to get advice before taking him for an "expensive vet visit?"
How about you run on asphalt with your bare feet for 10 km, because after a month, let's use your logic and assume that your feet will have to have toughened up enough after a while.
You write that you let your dog dictate when enough is enough, then you write that you think BTs look more tired than they are. So, if he's looking tired as you wrote, then perhaps he has dictated that he's tired, along with you acknowledging that he's in pain walking and you make him go for a 6 km run while you are sitting on a bike pedaling fast.
What in the world does "He aint no husky" mean?
Really? You haven't taken him to the vet after he's been presenting pain for over a month?
If you really want the answer to the question if 6km is too much, tie yourself barefoot to the bumper of a car and let someone get into the driver seat and then floor it while you run along trying to keep up, and of course, it will be completely up to the driver to dictate whether you have had enough?
Sore feet
in Bull Terrier Health and Wellness FlagQuote
Hi guys, does anyone have opinions on weather your bull
terrier is in pain walking on different surfaces. Vinny seems to walk
very gingerly over my gravel driveway like hes walking on pins and he
always tries to run on the grassy sides of the road when im out on the
bike. He seems fine on asphalt and we frequently do 10km running in the
forest and hes fine. When im on the bike and hes running he seems to
kick his back feet up as if in pain. Its almost like he is running in
hot coals. Hes 18 months now so his pads must be toughened up enough to
take it, but im not sure if running on asphalt is good for his joints."
Limping after waking up
in Bull Terrier Health and Wellness FlagQuote
Hi all, im after some advice before the expensive trip to
the vet. For the last few weeks upon waking vinny has been limping in
his front leg but after a few minutes he is fine. On a few occasions ive
taken him for a walk and hes been so stiff that he walks funny for a
few minutes. Its quite worrying. He looks like an old man yet hes only
18 months. My girfriend thinks i over do it with him on exersise but he
mainly dictates how much we do. Most days involve a 6km bike ride
through the forest with him running alongside me. Sometimes he lools
tired but then will see something and tear off so i think they are good
at looking tired when they are not really. Especially if he knows were
heading home his whole energy changes. Im very concerned about this limp
tho. It doesnt seem to bother him while were out and he still pulls
like a train in the harness so what should i do. Obviously the forest
runs are off the cards for a while. Ill just take him round the block on
foot. Im wondering if expecting him to keep up with me on a fast bike
trip for 6 km is to much??? He aint no husky.
They are "English" Bull Terriers, not "Egyptian" Hounds.
June 8
in Bull Terrier Health and Wellness FlagQuote
Hi guys, does anyone have opinions on weather your bull
terrier is in pain walking on different surfaces. Vinny seems to walk
very gingerly over my gravel driveway like hes walking on pins and he
always tries to run on the grassy sides of the road when im out on the
bike. He seems fine on asphalt and we frequently do 10km running in the
forest and hes fine. When im on the bike and hes running he seems to
kick his back feet up as if in pain. Its almost like he is running in
hot coals. Hes 18 months now so his pads must be toughened up enough to
take it, but im not sure if running on asphalt is good for his joints.
On July 18th, the OP wrote this:
3:38PM
in Bull Terrier Health and Wellness FlagQuote
Hi all, im after some advice before the expensive trip to
the vet. For the last few weeks upon waking vinny has been limping in
his front leg but after a few minutes he is fine. On a few occasions ive
taken him for a walk and hes been so stiff that he walks funny for a
few minutes. Its quite worrying. He looks like an old man yet hes only
18 months. My girfriend thinks i over do it with him on exersise but he
mainly dictates how much we do. Most days involve a 6km bike ride
through the forest with him running alongside me. Sometimes he lools
tired but then will see something and tear off so i think they are good
at looking tired when they are not really. Especially if he knows were
heading home his whole energy changes. Im very concerned about this limp
tho. It doesnt seem to bother him while were out and he still pulls
like a train in the harness so what should i do. Obviously the forest
runs are off the cards for a while. Ill just take him round the block on
foot. Im wondering if expecting him to keep up with me on a fast bike
trip for 6 km is to much??? He aint no husky.
Therefore, over a month ago, the OP stated that the BT was already gingerly walking, as if he was walking on pins and hot coals, and kicking his leg as if in pain. The first comment is from over a month ago, which indicates that the situation has been going on for way longer than a month now. Has the BT been to a vet about this?
It's not weeks, it's months according to the OP.
And as for not being able to run a bull terrier for 6km, i disagree completely. Ok they arnt endurance dogs but they are still dogs. Naturally much fitter and designed to run. I have a friend who jogs 10km with his french bulldog and the dog does it with ease because he is fit and has worked
Up to it. Vinny is 28kgs and lean, not a 40kg couch potatoe like some ive seen. 6km is nothing for a dog. I dont neglect my dog.
The basics of my dog's limping was that I would take her to parks pretty frequently and she would run and run and chase balls etc etc, and sometimes the park would have hills and sometimes the park would not. But it seemed that she would be totally fine, showing no signs of distress, not even heading back to the car. But after we got home, after she had relaxed a while, she would begin to limp heavily, and sometimes I would have to carry her up and down stairs because she was reluctant to move. When the limping happened, I would not let her play for a few days. We'd go back, try playing again...and sometimes she would start limping again and sometimes she wouldn't. I just always rested her. I never took her to the vet to be evaluated.
I have not seen Quinn limp in probably more than a year. So most of her limping was done at an age of 3 or younger. You might want to reduce the exercise a little bit just because dogs do grow past the age of 12 months. And there is a great possibility that Vinny could have an old injury he is aggravating and he needs a couple weeks down time. As stated above, Bull Terriers have a high pain threshold. We've been through broken bones, ripped nails, dog fights, wasp stings... Once he grows up and solidifies, I'm willing to bet that you will see the limping decrease or disappear entirely.
Don't be discouraged. People get very defensive of their dogs, as they should. But having seen a lot of other forums and Facebook groups, you're unlikely to find one as sensible and as informative as this one. Hang in there and I hope there is good news for Vinny.