Is it possible that a dog can get a pulled muscle from running and playing too much?

Two times this past week my dog Nickie has been playing in our back yard with our new adopted dog Roxie. We let them run and chase each other around our yard (they were only on the grassy areas). They did this for about 4 or 5 minutes. First one would chase, then the other - they were just playing. Then Nickie stopped and his back legs were very wobbly and he acted like he could hardly stand up.

I ran over to Nickie and soothed him, rubbed his back thigh muscles (husband thought he may have gotten a cramp in his back leg). Within about 15 seconds, he was wanting to walk over to his water bowl. Then I made him stay in the shade for a few more minutes and then took him in the house. This was early morning around 7 when the temps were around 75.

The next day same thing happened - now I've decided it must not be a good idea to let them play so vigorously.

Could this be a pulled muscle? Other than those two instances, he does not limp and does not "bunny hop" when he runs.

I have 3 very short videos on the photobucket link below which shows them running - don't know if you can tell anything from this, if he is overdoing it, etc. I turned off the camera when I noticed he was having a problem.

Also, ever since we first got him at 8 weeks old, sometimes he will be standing a certain way and one of his legs will start trembling - doesn't seem to matter if his weight is on that leg or not. It has happened with all 4 of his legs. Seems like it happens when he is distracted by sniffing something on the ground. I can never remember to mention it to our vet when we are there.

Thanks!

Diane,

Dogs CAN get pulled muscles, sprains and strains from playing too hard, just like people. It could be that this is going on with Nickie, since he hasn't had so much opportunity to really "knock himself out" playing with another dog before (I'm assuming he's getting more dog play time now that you have Roxie...). However, the history of trembling legs that you mentioned does not sound like a pulled muscle to me. I'm not a vet by any means, but a pulled muscle would probably just cause limping for a few days. In addition, a pulled muscle might effect ONE leg at a time, but not his whole rear end (as you mentioned, he seemed weak in BOTH back legs??).

Could the heat be affecting him? I know you take him out early, before it has a chance to get REALLY hot there, but it's still 75 degrees, which, if he's not drinking enough, could make him tire and wobble with dehydration.

Do Nickie and Roxie ever run or play in the house? Have you ever seen this behavior INSIDE, or is it only outside that it happens?

Sorry to not be too much help - leg issues are really hard to pinpoint without seeing the episode, watching the affected gait or feeling the joints and things in person... not that I personally could diagnose anything absolute from any of that anyway

Maybe you should put a call in to your vet right now and have them note it on Nickie's chart - the next time you go in THEY can remember to ask YOU

~Natalya

Good points, Natalya. It is really possible that the heat was affecting him - he and Roxie were both very winded from their romp and he is certainly not used to playing like that. In fact, she is the first dog that he has ever been around.

No, they do not run and play in the house - he is too big to allow that (he's 72 pounds and moves like a tornado when he gets wound up, and we have a pretty small house).

It did seem like it only affected one leg on each of the two episodes - it was just that he looked like he was going to "go down" and not even try to limp on it. That was when I ran to him and started rubbing his leg muscle. The episode only lasted a matter of seconds and then he seemed fine, although pretty much out of breath.

When I brought both of them inside the house, I used a wet wash cloth to wet the belly and groin area (I just read about that on this site recently regarding black dogs getting overheated). It seemed to cool him off pretty fast.