A Dog Limps When One Leg Hurts. What About When Both Do?

October is Bone and Joint Health Awareness Month, and World Arthritis Day falls on October 12.

Both were created with people in mind. In the spirit of the month, we're spending it on what bone and joint health means for our big dogs.

We'll start with the sign almost everyone watches for. The limp.

A limp is a useful signal. It also depends on something we rarely think about. To limp, a dog needs a comfortable leg to shift onto.

So what happens when both sides are sore?

A limp needs a good leg

A limp is a weight shift. When one leg is sore, a dog spends a little less time on it and moves that load to the opposite leg. The body dips on one side and lifts on the other.

That unevenness is what catches our eye. We aren't really seeing pain. We're seeing a walk that doesn't match from left to right.

Now picture both hips sore, or both elbows. There is no better side to shift to.

So the dog doesn't favor one leg. Both sides move the same way, a little shorter and a little stiffer, and the walk still looks even.

Veterinarians call this bilateral lameness, and it's tricky for them too. In Today's Veterinary Practice, Dr. Darryl Millis, a board-certified veterinary surgeon and professor at the University of Tennessee, explains that arthritis often affects both sides. That leaves the gait fairly symmetrical and hard to read, because "our eyes are looking for gait asymmetry."

If it's hard for a trained eye, it's hard for the rest of us. Nobody taught us to look for a dog who is sore evenly.

Why this comes up so often in big dogs

Two of the most common joint conditions in large and giant breeds are hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia. Both can involve the left and right sides together, and the arthritis that follows can do the same.

Arthritis in more than one joint may be closer to the rule than the exception. In the study that article describes, researchers at the University of Tennessee took X-rays of 30 dogs, ages four to ten, who were at the hospital for a dental cleaning. None had been diagnosed with arthritis.

Eighteen of the 30 had arthritis on their X-rays. In 16 of those 18, it was in two or more joints.

A few honest limits. This was a small study at one hospital. The dogs weighed about 25 pounds and up, so it wasn't a study of giant breeds. It tells us arthritis in several joints is common in ordinary adult dogs. It doesn't tell us the exact number for a Great Dane or a Mastiff.

Size adds one more thing. Big dogs are strong, and a strong front end can cover for a sore back end for a long time. We've written about how a dog can lose muscle without the scale moving. This is often where that story begins.

What to watch for instead of a limp

If the walk stays even, the clues move somewhere else. Here is where to look.

A shorter stride. The steps get smaller, most often in the back. The hind feet stop reaching as far forward under the body. This one is easiest to see next to an old video of the same dog.

The bunny hop. Both back legs move together when your dog runs or takes the stairs, like one leg. Texas A&M's veterinary college lists a "bunny-hop gait" among the signs of hip dysplasia.

A sway through the hips. In the same article, Dr. Jacqueline Davidson describes dogs taking shorter steps with the hind legs and developing a waddle, with a lot of side-to-side hip motion.

Weight moving to the front. Dr. Davidson also explains that as dogs shift weight onto their front legs, the front muscles can get bulkier while the hind muscles thin. From above, that looks like a broad chest and shoulders with narrower hips and thighs. Standing, it can look like a dog leaning forward, with the back feet tucked close together.

Shifting while standing. Weight moves from one back foot to the other, or your dog sits down sooner than they used to when you stop to chat.

The warm-up. The first steps after a nap are stiff, then things loosen. Or the walk gets shorter. Your dog slows or turns for home at a point where they used to keep going.

Getting up front first. Your dog pulls up with the front legs and the back end follows. There may be a pause at the bottom of the stairs or before the jump into the car.

None of these is a diagnosis, and each one can have other causes. What matters is a change from your own dog's normal.

What to do with what you notice

Take a video today, even if everything looks fine. Flat ground, normal walking pace. Film your dog walking away from you, toward you, and past you from the side. Add one clip of them getting up from lying down.

That's your baseline. Take another in a few months. Slow change is nearly impossible to see day to day, and very easy to see in two clips side by side. The old videos already on your phone count too.

Look from above. With your dog standing, compare the width of the shoulders to the width of the hips. Then run a hand over each thigh. You're getting to know what's normal for your dog so a change stands out later.

Bring it to your vet, and ask about both sides. A hands-on exam finds what a walk across the room can't. Your vet can feel each joint, check how far it comfortably bends, and compare muscle from left to right. A simple way to ask: "Could this be on both sides?"

Know that there is a lot that helps. If arthritis is part of the picture, your vet can build a plan around your dog. That usually includes a lean body weight, steady daily movement, changes at home like traction and ramps, and pain control when it's needed. Physical therapy and joint supplements can be beneficial to overall health and mobility.

The earlier the conversation starts, the more options are on the table.

The bottom line

A limp is one way a dog shows a sore joint. It isn't the only way.

For a big dog with both sides involved, a limp may never show up at all. The signs are in the stride, the stance and the shape of the body, and they're easier to spot once you know where to look.

So this month, take the video. Look from above. Bring what you see to your vet.

None of this is a diagnosis. Talk to your vet about any change in how your dog moves, and before starting anything new.

To more, better years.