I have a 7 month old boy who has started limping off and on in the right rear leg, 95 percent of the time he is fine but every now and again he is very slightly lame.Limping might be the wrong word, short stepping would be a better way to describe it. He can stand and walk from a sleeping position with ease and not sign of a limp, but give him a little exercise then rest and he is slightly lame. I have reseached his pedigree and there is no sign of hip problems in his lines, ( not that that is a guarantee) He has beautiful movement no sign of any problem, no hopping or unusual gate, just done't know what I can do for him, he is booked in for x-rays later in the week. What are the signs ( if any) of HD I have never had to deal with this before.

I would have him checked for Lyme disease. They sometimes limp off and on with it.

good luck!

I have a boy, about 15 months now and started limping since about the age of yours. We thought Pano, Valley Fever and checked everything but could not figure it out. Now we have x rayed the hock and found a fracture in the hock. The vet says he will never be able to show as he will limp for life. The good news is its not hereditary. Its a real bummer as we had dreams for this boy. I hope yours in not a case like mine.

we had one limp from 7 months to 14 months.....we thought, cruciate damage, tendon damage, bad hips, bad hocks, OCD, Lymes, Panno, luxating patella...we drove ourselves crazy tring to figure it out. It was mostly the back left leg...for a few weeks it was a front left but for the bulk of the time it was the back left....same as yours...after exercise it was much worse...some days were better than others....the vet thought it was more likely soft tissue damage than orthopedic but he had no definite answers. So, we assumed it was either a growth related thing or a soft tissue damage because the severity definitely varied from day to day. We figured no matter what it was, we would have to rest him (ALWAYS in ex-pen or crate or on a leash outside). We gave him arnica & yucca and put him on condroitin, msm & glucosamine. We took him on controlled swims (one of those above ground pools from Walmart) every day to burn his mental & physical energy and to keep his muscle tone. One day he got up and the limp was just gone...like he had outgrown it...he has been extremely sound for a month now and is back to romping with the whole pack...never lame anymore and his rear extension has improved immensely Hang in there..it takes a lot of patience to fix those types of things.

Try giving him alfalfa, that stuff works wonders for limping dogs! I just may be growing pains and I wouldn't xray at this young an age.
Aloha,
jackie

Have him checked to rule out OCD of the hock. Seven months is about the time it shows up.
Kathy

I would go on to the vet and get it checked. You can fool around with limping and resting and giving this and that and when its said and done you still have a bad hip or joint. I would find out sooner rather than later. JMO

I would agree with having him checked for OCD of the hock. My almost 8 month old just had surgery for it.

If it is OCD of the hock, Ive heard the last thing you would want to do is surgery. If a surgery is performed, I heard it sets off arthritis and calcification sets in right away. Better to give suppliments and let the dog adapt. JMO

Every case is different. I have a three-year-old male with bilateral OCD of the hocks. He had surgery on both three months apart, beginning at 7 months of age, followed by physical therapy. He is on Cosequin DS, fish oil capsules, and Vitamin C. He is a very active happy boy and regularly walks up to four miles a day with me, pain free. So for him, surgery worked.
Kathy

In the last 20 years, I have had 2 cases of hock OCD. Both dogs had surgery before they were placed. Both dogs did well. The recovery period is months long and there is not instant recovery.

Thanks for all your replies, I have never had a dog with hock OCD so will watch him with interest. I think I will hold off on the x-rays for a couple of weeks and if there is no inprovement with rest and medication then we will investegate other options.

Neither did the breeder I got my boy from. I certainly hope your pup is okay. The ortho vet I went to described OCD of the hock as similar to having a small stone in your shoe. You can walk normally without pain as long as the stone stays somewhere in your shoe that doesn't affect your foot. But then, it moves to the bottom of your foot and you step on it with each step and it hurts. That's why at times my puppy had a perfectly normal gait and then it would change with one step and he'd be limping.
Kathy