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Why is my dog not putting weight on his leg with no visible injury?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 9 months and 24 days old

Oscar is not putting weight on his front right leg. He is letting his leg hanging and avoids to touching it on the ground. There is no external injury sign. What can be the reasons?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Kevin Sanada, DVM

Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 11th, 2017

Usually this means one of two things:

1) The leg is fractured. There is usually a great deal of swelling associated with the fracture. Check to see if that leg is bigger than the other.

2) Nerve damage - Kittens sometimes get their legs caught in things and will damage a major nerve (radial nerve) in their leg when they struggle to get free.

Either way, it would be best to have Oscar evaluated by a veterinarian, because both causes need specific treatment in order to get them to heal appropriately.

I hope that helps and Oscar gets better soon.
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