Health
Up in two stages, refusing the stairs, bunny-hopping at a run. Joint pain shows in what the dog stops doing, long before he whimpers.
Caution. He will not put a leg down at all, has a hot swollen joint, is lame in several legs with a fever, or drags his back legs: see your vet the same day. No painkillers from your own cabinet, not even a quarter of a tablet.
Do not look for the answer in a Facebook group, on TikTok or on a forum. Look for someone trained for this: your dog's own veterinarian, the only person who can examine, investigate and treat them.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
An eight-year-old Labrador gets out of his bed in the morning in two stages: front end, pause, back end, with a sigh. Five minutes down the road he is last year's dog again. A seven-month-old German Shepherd puppy runs with his back legs together, like a rabbit, and sits crooked with one leg stuck out to the side. A dog of any age has started refusing the stairs and no longer jumps onto the back seat of the car. Three dogs, three different diseases, one thing underneath: a joint that hurts. What you do at home is much the same in all three cases, and that is what this page is about: what to watch, what to film, what to write down and what to expect from your vet. What to give him for the pain is not here. The choice and the dose belong to the vet, based on weight, age and blood results, and that is how it should stay.
Osteoarthritis builds over months and is managed over years. It is rarely an emergency. A few situations are, and they do not wait until Monday:
On the phone, be specific: which leg, since when, what happened beforehand, whether he has eaten. If you have filmed anything, say so.
An orthopaedic vet sees your dog for ten minutes, on a tiled floor, in a room that smells of other frightened dogs. A tense dog hides a limp very well for ten minutes. You see him every morning. What you note at home is often the difference between a diagnosis at the first visit and three appointments of "let's see how he goes".
On tarmac, not grass; a hard, flat surface shows up an uneven stride. First: at a walk, from behind and from the side, 20 to 30 seconds. Second: at a trot, the same. Third: getting up after sleep, and climbing the stairs. A mild limp shows best at the trot. The head drops when the sound front leg lands and lifts on the sore one; at the back, the hip "rises" on the painful side. Film once in the morning and once in the evening of the same day. The two clips tell the vet more than any description.
When it hurts. Stiff after rest, then loosening up within a few minutes of walking: that is the pattern of osteoarthritis. Lameness that appears after exercise and settles with rest: more likely a ligament or a strain. Lameness that shifts from one leg to another in a growing large-breed puppy: panosteitis, an inflammation of the long bones during growth. Write down which leg and what time of day.
What he has stopped doing. Dogs do not whimper with chronic pain. They stop doing things. He refuses the stairs or takes them diagonally, no longer jumps into the car or onto the sofa, stops halfway through the walk and looks at you, no longer does his morning "bow" stretch, struggles to turn over in bed, always lies on the same side. The dog who has "gone lazy" or "got old overnight" is, more often than not, a dog in pain.
How he sits and how he runs. Puppies and young dogs with hip dysplasia sit "like a frog", one leg out to the side, or get up on their front legs first and drag the back end after them. At a run they keep the back legs together and bunny-hop. Some sway at the hips when walking.
The muscles. Put your palms on both thighs and compare. The leg he is sparing loses muscle within weeks and becomes visibly thinner. Measure each thigh with a tailor's tape at the same height and write the numbers down once a fortnight.
What he licks. A dog who licks one joint persistently, the wrist or the knee, is showing you where it hurts. The coat goes reddish there from the saliva.
His temper. Grumpy when touched on the back, growling at the child who comes near his bed, no longer wanting to be brushed. Pain changes behaviour before it changes the gait.
Weight, weather, floors. Weigh him. Note whether he is worse in cold, damp weather. Watch whether he slips on wooden or tiled floors: every slip is a small sprain.
| Problem | Who, usually | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Osteoarthritis | Adult and senior dogs; earlier in heavy dogs or those with dysplasia | Stiff after sleep, "warms out of it" on the move, worse in cold weather, refuses jumps |
| Hip dysplasia | Puppies and young dogs of large and giant breeds, 5 to 12 months; then again in adulthood, as arthritis | Swaying gait, bunny-hopping, struggles to rise at the back, sits crooked |
| Elbow dysplasia | Young large-breed dogs, front legs | Front-leg lameness, worse after rest, elbows held out |
| Cruciate ligament rupture | Adults of any size, often heavy dogs | Sudden hind-leg lameness, toe-touching only, sits with the leg stuck out |
| Luxating patella | Small breeds | Skips a few steps on three legs, then walks normally as if nothing happened |
| Panosteitis | Large-breed puppies, 5 to 18 months | Lameness that moves from leg to leg, sometimes a mild fever |
| Polyarthritis (immune-mediated or tick-borne) | Any age | Several swollen joints, fever, listlessness, "walking on eggshells" |
The table gives you the vocabulary for the conversation with the vet, nothing more. The same hind-leg lameness can be ligament, hip or spine, and each one is treated completely differently.
If you have a large-breed puppy and want to know early: most countries run an official hip scoring scheme (letters A to E under the FCI system in much of Europe, the BVA/KC scheme in the UK, OFA in North America). Under the FCI rules it is done after 12 months of age, in some breeds after 18, under sedation, and the results of breeding dogs are public. When you buy a puppy, ask for both parents' scores. "They're healthy, they run all day" is not a score.
Non-slip rugs. A ramp for the car, or you lift him, one arm under the chest and one under the belly. A thick, firm bed instead of a soft cushion he sinks into and struggles out of. The bowl at chest height if his neck or elbows hurt. Shorter, more frequent walks instead of one long one at the weekend. In winter, a coat over the back and hips for short-coated dogs. The scales once a month.
Osteoarthritis does not go away, but a dog can live well with it for years if you take it seriously from the first sign. The dogs with known dysplasia we see at training, kept lean and exercised every day, work a trail at walking pace to a good age. If you do not yet have a vet you trust, our related services page helps you choose one.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
No. The joint formed wrongly during growth and stays that way. It can be kept under control for years, though. In a young dog there are operations that correct or replace the joint; in an adult, the plan is a normal weight, daily exercise on the lead, pain medication chosen by the vet and physiotherapy. Dogs with known dysplasia, kept lean, stay active into old age.
He struggles to get up after sleep and loosens up after a few minutes of walking, refuses stairs and jumps, stops halfway through a walk, is worse in cold weather. He rarely whimpers. Film him trotting on tarmac and take the clip to your vet. The diagnosis comes from an orthopaedic exam and X-rays, because a torn ligament or a spinal problem gives the same signs.
In everyday speech, none. Osteoarthritis is wear of the cartilage, chronic, in adult and older dogs or after dysplasia. Arthritis, strictly, means an inflamed joint from any cause: infection, immune disease, tick-borne illness. Several swollen joints at once, with fever and listlessness, is arthritis in that sense and needs a same-day visit.
Note since when, whether he loosens up after a few minutes and whether he also refuses stairs or the car. Film him getting up in the morning and at a trot. Weigh him. Put rugs down on slippery floors. Then book your vet, with the videos and the weight. In an adult dog, struggling to rise is almost always pain, and pain can be treated, but only after a diagnosis.
Not from your own cabinet. Human anti-inflammatories and painkillers are toxic to dogs even in small doses, and veterinary products need blood tests first and come in per-kilogram doses set by the vet. Pet-shop supplements do not replace the consultation. Until the appointment, help him with a firm bed, non-slip rugs and short walks at a steady pace.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
A paw on tiptoe after training, slow to get up in the morning, a leg held in the air. Three levels of urgency, and none of them is fixed with a pill from your cupboard.
You can no longer feel his ribs, the waist has gone, he pants after three flights of stairs. Fat creeps on and hides up close, but your hands find it in two minutes.
He paces at night, stands with his nose in a corner, waits at the wrong side of the door, wees indoors. Some of it is age. Some of it can be treated.
He shakes at fireworks, in the cold, with excitement before a walk. Or he shakes, drools, goes floppy and found the chocolate. A thirty-second video tells them apart.
We work with your dog's behaviour, not its health. For any sign described here, book an appointment with your own vet; the related services page explains how to choose a clinic.