"Strength" training for leg injury

[puppymomma14]

Hello everyone,

I've owned gun dogs before but I've never taken one in that had any kind of injuries. In May I took in a pure-breed 2 year old male German Short-Hair that had been part of a animal hoarding situation. His right hind leg seems to have been injured and probably not properly cared for or healed. When he lays down he has trouble getting back up (unless he's laying on my couch then he just kinda slides off it), he walks with a slight limp and when he runs he favors that leg. It doesn't seem to cause him pain unless he gets up from a laying position off the floor too quickly then he'll whimper a bit and limp is more pronounced. Is there any special training exercises I can do with him to strengthen the leg and make moving at least a little easier for him. Vet will not perform any surgery as he is unsure what even caused the injury and it apparently happened when he was a puppy so is too old to correct. I know he'll never be able to hunt with his leg like it is (plus all load noises scare him, I can't even raise my voice to yell across the yard to get my boyfriends attention without Gunnar cowering in fear) but I would like him to be able to walk/run better. Thanks in advance for any tips to help my pup out

[Doc E]

Without an accurate diagnosis, you can't have an accurate treatment plan.
See your Vet.

.

[DonF]

+1

Try another vet. My old Hannah had a problem years ago and my vet didn't have any idea what it was. He sent me to another vet and between the two of them they figured it out.

[shags]

Haven't you had the leg and pelvis xrayed? Like Doc E says, you can't fix something if you don't know what's wrong.
If your vet can't figure it out, get a referral to a more specialized practice or a vet school. Mine go to Ohio State, and it's no more expensive than my regular vet; they're really good about explaining the next step in diagnosing and treatment, and they give an approximate fee with each so I don't wind up with a huge shock at the payment desk.

My older dog had a severe lameness problem and the ortho team at OSU suggested that he get anti-inflammatory meds as needed ( carprofen which is generic deramaxx), and to put him on fish oil and Dasuquin. The fish oil caps from Walmart are fine. The best price I've found for Dasuquin MSM is on Amazon. You can cut the cost even more by buying the chewables for really big dogs and halving them. My old guy went from just about dead lame to moving around really well and running with the young dogs every day.

Good luck with your dog, and good on you for taking him in.