Dog Limping & Cold Weather
With temperatures dropping, has your dog been limping around lately? This seems to be the case with our 10-year-old black Labrador Retriever, Jesse.
We noticed last winter, when we were living in Boston, that Jesse would occassionally limp on her left front paw during her walks. She didn’t appear to be in pain, or even uncomfortable, but her gait was noticeably different. We thought perhaps she had hurt herself somehow, maybe while running around the house or jumping off the couch. Some days her limping was quite pronounced, and yet others, it was barely there. Most disturbing was that sometimes, after she had been lying down for a while, it would seem that she needed a “warming-up” period because the paw seemed stiff and nearly broken as she moved around.
Strangely, her limping disappeared entirely one day. We’re not sure when - we didn’t even notice the change since we were so used to her slight limp that it just did not register in our heads until one day we realized “Oh! Jesse’s not limping anymore.” Yet, after months of it being gone, it’s now back!
It has gotten much colder lately (for Los Angeles, that is). It seems that the joints in that paw are affected by the changes in season, and as much as we hate to admit it, she is a senior dog and ailments such as this are to be expected. Though, limp or no limp, she still acts like a big, giant puppy every single day.
We love you Jesse!
Thanks in part to: Only Natural Pet Store
