Dogs and cats are active animals that often find themselves having trouble with mobility and range of motion due to lameness. Whatever might have caused the limping in your pet, here are some ways to both treat the existing injury, and how to prevent further lameness or limping.
Treatment
Addressing how lameness ought to be treated will entirely depend on the nature of the injury or cause of the limping. For example, if the limp was brought on because the dog is carrying too much weight for his frame, then the best approach would be to implement an effective diet, portion control, and exercise to take some pressure off those joints. If your dog or cat is injured or has gotten cut, scraped, bitten or has suffered an exterior wound, then he will need to have the area cleaned, bandaged with anti-bacterial ointment, and allowed to convalesce for a few days. If the problem is a chronic issue such as eroded cartilage, or some other aspect causing continuous lameness, then several non-surgical treatment methods might be applied.
The best method of treatment for chronic joint or limb struggles is a combination approach: first control the pain through pain relieving medications, or anti-inflammatory steroids. Then, address the core problem by improving muscular or joint/ligament health. (This can be done through physical therapy such as under-water treadmills, stretching and massages; treatments should also include nutritional changes, with wholesome food and supplements added to the diet.) Finally, allow the leg to heal so that it can begin to function properly again. For both internal injuries (like sprains, or pulled tendons) and external injuries (like cuts, and fractures) convalescing is an important part of the healing process.
Prevention
Here are a variety of ways to keep your dog or cat from injuring their limbs and joints.
- Keep them indoors: This will help keep their sensitive paws away from thorns, glass, slivers, sticks and other objects that could poke them or get lodged in their paw pads on under their skin. When you do go for your daily walk, keep your pet on the leash at all times, and try to stay only on the path. If your pup decides to take off and go exploring through the bramble, he might accidentally step on something painful and get injured again.
- Manage weight gain: Help your dog or cat avoid future injury, spinal damage, or joint strain by keeping their diet in check, and ensuring that they get a healthy amount of exercise daily. (Make sure the diet is also potassium rich to help avoid muscle cramping and soreness.) Though obesity might not seem like a causal issue when it comes to preventing lameness, they are closely related.
- Massage: If you see that your dog is favoring one leg or another, he might be experiencing stiffness in the muscles and joints. Massaging might be particularly helpful if you have just had a long day full of strenuous exercise, and want to help soothe any aches and pains.