I was dog sitting for my friend’s dog recently and noticed that she has a limp, and it seems fairly severe. She won’t put any weight on one back leg while walking and it makes her almost hop. But she doesn’t appear to be in pain and doesn’t react to anyone touching and moving the limb. I know she has on more than one occasion tried to jump off a wooden bench at our dog park and gotten that foot caught between the slats, but lots of dogs do that and I’ve never seen one seriously hurt itself. 1/2

drferox:

My question is, is it worth my friend taking this dog to the vet for the leg if she doesn’t seem to be in pain? We discussed it and we weren’t sure what they could possibly do beyond an x-ray that would cost hundreds of dollars and maybe turn up nothing useful. The leg clearly isn’t broken so what else can we do? My friend is a student and can barely cover rent and food so she’s just not sure she can afford this (we’re in Australia, but I don’t think we’re in the same state as you, if that helps.

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If the dog is not putting any weight on the leg, it’s becausd it hurts to do so. Guarantee it.

Go to the vet. A vet can perform a trained physical exam and confirm whether or not the dog has torn its cruciate ligament, which is top of my list of suspicions. They can also prescribe pain relief at an absolute minimum. 

Dogs dont limp for ‘fun’, they do it because there is a problem. I also see about three cases a year that the owner thinks is ‘clearly not broken’ which turn out, in actual fact, to be broken.

A dog not reacting to touches doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, it means they’re trying to behave for you. Dogs do that sometimes.