# Can Knuckling cause lameness/limping?



## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

Bella is lame and I have had her on crate rest since last Wednesday. She has been favoring her right foot and I am starting to wonder if it is knuckling that is causing this. Her breeder had her on TOTW prairie and then I put her on BB wilderness which are both about 34% protein. I switched her to BB lamb and brown rice which is 22% about 2 weeks ago and also started supplementing her food with Flax seed oil. She is starting to walk better as of today but has a vet app. for Thursday morning. Can knuckling cause lameness and limping and can it also increase her chance of an injury? I was initially thinking she hurt herself playing fetch....but now I am questioning if it is an actual injury or if its from knuckling  Bella would hold her foot like Yambeezy's dog....I hope they don't mind me using there picture as an example but hers would look exactly like that


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Yes it can because they cannot use it well and it is unstable. Siren was lame for a little while she had it really bad. Good thing you lowered her protein that was really high, it will take a while but the bone will catch up to the ligaments in a few weeks and it will get better.
Basically the ligament grows too quickly and the bone has not caught up yet, the ligament is very lose and does not hold the joint stable and causes it to knuckle over. Once the bone grows and catches up it begins to straighten and tighten the ligament.

This is why I splinted Sirens leg for a while. It was so bad I did not want the bone to start to bow while it grew, she also had a hard time walking or running until I put a splint on.


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

performanceknls said:


> Yes it can because they cannot use it well and it is unstable. Siren was lame for a little while she had it really bad. Good thing you lowered her protein that was really high, it will take a while but the bone will catch up to the ligaments in a few weeks and it will get better.
> Basically the ligament grows too quickly and the bone has not caught up yet, the ligament is very lose and does not hold the joint stable and causes it to knuckle over. Once the bone grows and catches up it begins to straighten and tighten the ligament.
> 
> This is why I splinted Sirens leg for a while. It was so bad I did not want the bone to start to bow while it grew, she also had a hard time walking or running until I put a splint on.


Lisa, Bella has always kind of had a slight limp off and on then.....Even my mother had said something to me once about it. I just figured it was her. She is 8 months though?? Will it still fix? I am still taking her to the vet but is it safe to say that it is the knuckling that is causing what I thought was an injury?? Ugh! I am so mad at myself. Poor thing. All my years of working with animals and I never heard the term "knuckling over". Either that or I wasn't paying attention when it was mentioned. Thank you Lisa! I appreciate your knowledge


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

could still be an injury if she is knuckling over it makes her weaker there and if she was running or jumping it could very well be an injury sprain , pull , ect . id get it checked out , but it could be a big factor as to why she is injured.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

i thought she was older, she is not knuckling over now right? That picture is when she was a baby right?

So now I remember that she had been limping and you have been concerned. She could have something called Pano, she is at the age. It is a growth related lameness that has no real long term effects. 

It could be a growth plate fracture or injury of the growth plate.

It could be a hairline fracture from something she did.

It could be a soft tissue injury.

All these things can be ruled out by x-ray, when you go to the vet let us know what they say. I'm sorry you have to deal with this, Tempest is my most injury prone dog and I cannot believe the money I have spent on x-rays and vet visits. I know what you're going through :hug:


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

The picture isn't my dog......its Yambeezy's pic that I used as an example LOL! She is a member here on GP. I used her pic because that is what Bella would do with her leg. I don't have a pic of my dog doing it. Oh, and *Bella just turned 8 months*

All those things you mentioned that could be possible do they heal by themselves with crate rest? I must say that between last night and this morning she is walking great! Amen! I am still keeping her rested until the vet tomorrow though. I think between switching her food to lower protein and adding flax seed oil to her diet it has helped and finally took affect. I will let you know what the vet says tomorrow  I've never had to crate a pup this long! I miss my walking buddy....my mother does too. She takes her for a 2 mile walk while I'm at work every day. Thanks for the info. I'm so glad I found 
this place. If you ever don't feel appreciated, I appreciate you


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

lol, thanks for the appreciation 

Some of those will heal on their own but a vet should look at them. If it has been a long term thing it is best to get an x-ray and make sure there is nothing more serious going on. My guess is still some sort of soft tissue injury, Like I said Tempest gets them all the time and the longest she had been lame was 3 weeks. She also had been lame for a week get better then get hurt again till I figured out I did not rest her long enough. For supplements check out the other thread about his dogs hips, I posted some there I use with Tempest and it makes a big difference.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

BTW I would just do the MSM twice a day for 2 weeks then back down to once a day. 1 tsp on top of food works fine at each dose


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

performanceknls said:


> BTW I would just do the MSM twice a day for 2 weeks then back down to once a day. 1 tsp on top of food works fine at each dose


Now is it okay to mix supplements? Right now I am doing some yogurt here and there, but flax seed oil everyday. How much supplement is to much? I don't want to give her supplement OVER load LOL!


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

no that's fine MSM is for joints and won't react with those.


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