Back in Jan. Angel began favoring her front shoulder (this was before the shvaed butt for the hot spot). The vet felt that she had simply "pulled" her muscle. He said that it's very common with large breed puppies, while everything is growing at such a rapid pace. He gave her a couple of shots and some anti-inflametory pills. He said that if she didn't respond to treatment for a "pull", we'd do x-rays to see if there was a problem with the joint. Within a day or two, she wasn't favoring it at all.
She is limping again, front shoulder. She was playing with her giant plastic Easter egg from WalMart all day Friday and Saturday. Saturday evening, she began favoring her front leg again. You can palpate it till the cows come home, foot, leg, shoulder, etc...no yelps, nothing. She just can't put her weight on it when she walks.
We have tile floors and she loves to hop from side to side, jumping in mid-air in play (NOT on people though), so she tends to slip and slide, twisting in odd positions. I'm going back to the vet this morning, but am wondering if this is something any of you have had experience with.
While I know she has been health checked and guarenteed by the breeder, should something be "wrong" with her, there's no giving her back. Like a child, if one of mine had been born with some "defect", I would simply have to work with it. Angel is a family member, not a show dog or breeding stock, so like her mom, she needn't be "perfect" in every way. I'm just wondering if this will pass as she matures, as my vet felt it will, or if I should be more concerned. She's 9 months old now, so still has some growing to do.
She has improved on the vet visits, it was every 2 weeks like clockwork, but it's been 2 months since she was last there!
Cat & Angel