[BassetMixUp]

My dog (about 2 yrs old, pure mutt) limps *after* we are extra active. He will still put some weight on it and sometimes the limp is so minor, it's unnoticeable. When it first happened, I figured it was a muscle thing because next day he seemed fine. Now that summer is upon us and we have been pretty go, go, go it's more obvious something is going on and if I don't give him a full day of rest I can tell it has to hurt. But even when he's limping, he'll still run like a bat out of hell if he gets excited. His vet appointment is on Friday morning so I'm wondering if you guys have any advice on things I might want to insist on, in case the vet isn't too thorough.
Blood work? X-rays? Pain meds?
FWIW, he has Basset or Dach in him, 35 pounds and is a perfect weight, I keep him slim because of his body type.

 

[BassetMixUp]

Also, are X-rays super expensive? I know my vet charges about $75 for blood work.

 

[momtolabs]

Do you let him go for a straight run before "warming up". My lab Bentley(also 2) would limp after a lot of hard running. I would wake him up and go play an hour of fetch or run him by my bike. Now I have learned better. I take him for a 10 minute walk and then bring him back and let him off his leash. It seems to help. Also I worked him up. He was in the pound for 30 days and after playing for 30 minutes would be panting hard, even though he was a great weight.



x-rays depend on your vet. For my vet it was 80 dollars for Tank to get 2 x-rays done. I would call and ask.

 

[Pawzk9]

I would ask about xrays. Do NOT give him anything that will mask the pain right before the vet appt. Dogs tend to be stoic at the vet's and refuse to limp even if they are in pain. You don't want to make it harder for the vet to see what is going on by masking the pain. If you have access to a video camera you may want to film him from the side and going away from you when he is limping. I would also want a tickborne disease panel since both Lyme and erlichia can cause joint pain.

 

[BassetMixUp]

Oh, I didn't mean pain meds before the vet. I'm sorry, I was distracted when I first posted. He's my first dog so I'm wondering if I should ask the vet about human pain meds or something specific for dogs. My SIL gives her dogs aspirin or Tylenol but she's the type that will treat at home without talking to a vet.
Thank for the tick borne disease panel tip, I'll bring that up. I do have his limping on my iPhone, just in case he does try to act cool as a cucumber.

 

[Pawzk9]

Oh, I didn't mean pain meds before the vet. I'm sorry, I was distracted when I first posted. He's my first dog so I'm wondering if I should ask the vet about human pain meds or something specific for dogs. My SIL gives her dogs aspirin or Tylenol but she's the type that will treat at home without talking to a vet.
Thank for the tick borne disease panel tip, I'll bring that up. I do have his limping on my iPhone, just in case he does try to act cool as a cucumber.

Tylenol is a definate "NO!" for dogs. It is poison to them. http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/digestive/c_dg_acetaminophen_toxicity Your vet can suggest meds that are probably not terribly expensive but more effective than aspirin and too much aspirin can increase bleeding. What sort of treatment would be recommended would depend on what is diagnosed.

 

[BassetMixUp]

For anyone curious for an update, it's his knee. The vet doesn't think his ACL is torn but is probably "frayed". So he's on strict rest for 3 weeks. No running, no off leash, etc. He gets Rimadyl twice a day and will start glucosamine chondroitin. She told me to get the human version. Fingers crossed he heals well!
The vet says if he ends up needing surgery it's going to be about $4000.