Rear leg area pain - Page 1

Looking for advice on my boy's health. He's 2 years old, mix of North American show & Czech working.

Occasionally, he will yelp in pain when moving forward quickly (either on level ground or going up stairs). He's had about 4 episodes in the last couple months. He puts his nose in his groin afterwards. The first time the pain lasted for about a week (he would yelp coming up the stairs), the other times seemed to pass quickly.

I've checked his back paws, articulated his elbows and extended his legs back to work the hips, but he doesn't react. I've also taken him to the vet, and she couldn't find anything wrong with him either (she also checked his penis and prostate).

Other than these instances, he does fine on walks and running.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I would suspect a pinched nerve. Often dogs will bite or lick at their rear end, tail, legs when they have a pinched nerve. Sounds very similar to what was going on with my dog. I would highly recommend taking him to a specialist like a neurologist or orthopedic vet. I took mine to several general practice vets that couldn't find anything either, neurologist located the problem in about 5 minutes. I hope you figure out what it is and that it's not serious.

Also...
Have you had hip X-rays done? HD?
Groin Hernia?
Pulled groin muscle?
A very benign, but easily overlooked thing is a knotted fur ball in the bend of the hip or the back of the knee. This is easily overlooked especially if your dog has a very thick long undercoat and tangles are hard to feel...even if you try.
If so, take a rake and go deep...work your way to the skin and you might be surprised to feel a ball of fur so tangled that might pull each time he extends his back leg. That would be the best scenario. Good luck.

Look into the "Iliospoas" muscle (which is the "groin" muscle, it basically ties all of the lower body together there are charts on google). My dog recently strained hers' and would "yip" when jumping onto the bed or in the truck. She was slower in her running exercises and just generally trotting/moving slightly differently. I took her to the vet and she displayed no signs of anything except a slight tension in her lower stomach when the vet was feeling her. It is difficult to diagnose dogs that refuse to show pain.

I happened to have a vet with us when my dog exacerbated the problem by jumping. The vet felt her and was able to determine iliospoas injury due to the yelping and the hard knot on her lower abdomen by her inner thigh. It is usually only able to be diagnosed by a MRI since it is a muscle. But once it was no longer exacerbated the dog would act only slightly off even though she was most likely in a lot of pain. My dog also presents with having normal range of motion (which is unusual for this muscle) and only shows pain in a subtle manner. We started once a day laser therapy combined with pain management until we could consult with the rehab specialist and get on a plan specifically for my dog.

Good luck, I hope you find out whatever it is!

Thanks for the ideas everybody! Of course I'm hoping for a just a strained muscle, but I'll keep all these in mind if this continues.