Jeter is a very physical dog. He loves to run. The faster the better.

He likes to jump on to the bed and on top of his dog house when we make a game out of it. The issue is about a week ago I noticed he wasn't jumping on the bed when I asked him to. (my dogs are allowed on the bed when invited and will get off with no fuss when told to)

This was especially unusual because if Dakota is up there laying with me he usually doesn't need any encouragement at all to jump up and join us.

So he was hesitating and when I ordered him to do it he jumped up and let out a little yelp. I inspected his legs, paws, pads. I checked the movement in all his joints to see if he felt any pain when I manipulated everything and he seemed perfectly fine. He runs with no problem at all.

I know the vet will order x-rays and it will get very expensive very fast so I wanted to watch him for a week or so to see if maybe it was just a little muscle soreness that would go away.

I will check to see if he wants to jump tonight when I get home. If not I know it must still be bothering him. Of course I will take him to the vet if it persists.

I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts...

My first thoughts are pulled muscle or torn cruciate ligament.

Best case scenario, he just pulled something the wrong way when he jumped. When you get home, if there is no recurrence, then this may just have been an isolated incident.

If he is still in pain, showing signs of limping/lameness then I would say it may be something more severe.

I have had friends whose dogs have had cruciate ligaments torn and it is not pretty and the surgery can be quite pricey.

2 of them went for the surgery as the ligament was severed (both have not fully recovered and still have some issues after long walks/runs), the 3rd opted for rest for 4 weeks with no jumping for 3 months after that and that did the trick and also had no lasting effects.

All three of the dogs were allowed on bed and furniture and 2 of the three were overweight (not saying your dog is, just that I think being overweight contributes to these injuries).

You could rest your dog with VERY limited exercise for 7 days and see if there is an improvement, if so continue the rest time for 3 more weeks. If no improvement, then I would opt for a vet consult.

Hopefully it was just a wierd jumping position or muscle pull!

Thanks Niomi...I will see if he wants to jump when I get home. If not that would mean to me that he is uncomfortable jumping due to pain.

He doesn't hesitate to run at all. if he had CL tear wouldn't he have trouble running and playing that involves getting up on his hind legs? He shows no signs of a problem with those things. When he jumped and yelped he lifted his right back leg so it was obvious the pain is anywhere from his right hip down to the paw.

My wife e-mailed me a few minutes ago and told me he jumped on the bed this morning without incident.

I am curious to see if he wants to get onto the bed tonight. The past week he doesn't even try. That worries me. Its his favorite place to relax.

He may have pulled a muscle, and his body telling him not to jump because of the pain is a good thing, to allow it to heal.

I would let the dog decide for himself. If he doesn't get up on the bed, then I wouldn't force the issue. If there is no pain when running, then I don't think it would be a cruciate ligament thing, but even a joint thing will need time to heal.

Keep him off the bed, even if he wants to for a week just in case it is a muscle pull. Then let him try and see if he has any pain. Better safe than in the vet bills. LOL

Hope he's ok!

thanks