My ACD suddenly stopped jumping

[godwrestler]

Hi ACD Reddit Community!

We adopted Charlee in March. The vet thinks she's 3 - 5 years old. She was being bred in her past life and I suspect she didn't get much in the way of exercise in her backyard breeding home.

Although she's got short legs, this girl can fly. She loves fetch and can jump higher than any dog I've ever seen. Recently though, she stopped jumping. She won't stand on her hind legs, i.e. she won't stick her head out the window in the car, won't jump up on couch, and when we're playing fetch she doesn't jump to catch the ball anymore. We also have noticed she yelps occasionally when you touch her in her hip area.

Worried abut hip dysplasia or other chronic injury that would require surgery. The vet told us to wait and see if it gets better before getting x-rays. She gave us some doggy NSAID, and also giving her hip and joint supplement and omegas in the meantime.

Anyone have similar experiences with their ACD? Any advice or words of wisdom would be appreciated!

 

[lost_little_one]

@godwrestler No, but hopefully it's just a strain and she will be back at it soon! This breed is so eager they can hurt themselves. My guy will jump so high and try so hard to catch the toy that he cannot land on his feet and so does a body slam into the ground. Most of the time he shakes himself off and is back at it. Hard to train "don't try so hard" out of them.

 

[lover4you]

@godwrestler How long has this been going on for? How long does your vet want you to "wait and see?" It could be her hips or something like a cruciate ligament tear. With a change that drastic I think radiographs are in order, especially if you are unaware of her age and history.

 

[godwrestler]

@lover4you we just got out of a follow up exam. the vet definitely noticed discomfort (especially on the left leg, which we’ve been noticing issues with)when giving a physical, so she advised x-rays. the x-rays came back with no sign of breaks or arthritis or anything abnormal. she sent us home with a NSAID, and said to keep taking the joint supplements. relieved nothing is broken, but now we’re even more confused!