Scraping Paws

Question
I have a pug and lately I noticed that when he walks slowly he doesn't lift his front paws (both) totally, resulting in scraping them on the floor. This is not the case when he plays and runs. The vet suggested that he is a lazy dog, however I am still not 100% convinced! Any comments.

Thanks for your help
Carmel

Answer
Dear Carmel,

Thank you for writing to me about your sweet Pug.

I believe that a dog's body is a smooth running machine unless something is wrong..and we look for clues to give us information about the dog's health status.  

What exactly does your vet mean by "lazy?"  In the over 20 years that I have been working with dogs and seeing dogs all around me I have never known a dog to drag it's paws along the ground unless there was some kind of neurological problem.  I am not saying that this is the case with your Pug but I do think that you should get a second opinion.

If you are anywhere near a teaching vet institution, such as Cornell, U. of Colorado, etc, I would start with an internist and/or neurological expert and see what their opinion might be.

You would also try to find a vet acupuncturist who can test all the electrical pathways to see if anything is blocked.

Ask your primary vet to run a full blood panel, including for thyroid and see how the blood work comes back.

I would also make sure that you aren't using any chemicals on him or in your house that may be resulting in a neurological problem. This would include flea/tick prevention, flea collars, flea baths, and even vaccinations.  Some dogs that suffer from a reaction to vaccinations known as vaccinosis can have adverse reactions.  Recommended is a three year rabies and titer readings for all other vaccines every 3-5 years to make sure that the original vaccines are still active.

Best Regards,
Shelley Davis