Lameness & Limping 

Few things can make pet owners worry more than seeing their dog walking around with a limp. If you live in Cave Creek, AZ, and your pet is limping, bring him to us at Desert Forest Animal Hospital where our veterinarian team will help them.  

What Can Cause This? 

There are a number of things that can cause your dog to come up lame or be limping. They include: 

• Paw Injury: Your dog is usually a very alert animal but dogs can still accidentally step on things like glass, plants, nails, and sticks. If those get stuck in their paw, then that's going to make walking a lot harder. Other paw injuries include broken toenails and even frostbite. Some of these may need to be looked at quickly to prevent any infection. 
• Joint Disease: Dogs can have joint conditions just like we do. They include osteoarthritis, dysplasia, and more. Have a vet on our team do a thorough examination. 
• Bone Disease: There are some breeds that might be prone to diseases that can affect the bones. As bones get weaker, you might see your pet start to leap. 
• Overall Injury or Trauma: One thing that we treat is an injury to the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) in dogs. Such an injury can put your dog in pain and make it difficult for him to move around. 

Treatment

There are a lot of things that a veterinarian on can do, including surgery. We can also provide supplements to aid with bone health and to help reduce inflammation. It might just be a matter of having the dog rest as much as possible although that might be difficult if he is an energetic breed. 
An important course of action is to take your dog to the vet when you see them limping. Don't just close your eyes and hope that the problem goes away. Doing that can lead to even more problems, especially if it was the cancer one, since early detection is extremely important. 

Get Vet Care from a Veterinarian for a CCL Injury

At Desert Forest Animal Hospital, we're ready to help all the lame or limping pets of Cave Creek, AZ, get back to moving around like they did in the past. Contact us for an appointment. Call us at (480) 488-2010 to get vet care from a veterinarian for CCL injury.