Lately we've been dealing with a couple of health issues, which thankfully don't seem too serious, but they bear mentioning.
First of all, soon after Savvy's fall in the boat (see previous posts) he began holding his tail in a strange position, arched up and then tucked back under at the end. This concerned me, but I rationalized it by assuming he was still a bit scared. Then about a 4 days later, a spot in the middle of the tail began swelling up noticeably. Turns out that while he didn't actually break it, Savage's tail had just received a nasty bruise, and my vet said that the swelling would gradually subside, which it has been doing.
At the same vet appointment she addressed my main concern, which was limping affecting Savvy's right back leg. This had been going on for a few weeks, with one episode where he wouldn't put any weight on the leg at all. It was possible for me to gently feel along his leg, hip, and joints, with no pain or discomfort for him. However, as his vet palpated the long bone in his lower leg (shin area) his pain was obvious to both of us. Savvy was diagnosed with panosteitis and given a cycle of anti-inflammatory pills called Deramaxx.
Panosteitis is an inflammation of the long bones in growing pups, and doesn't normally occur in dogs as old as Savvy. The good news is that it will eventually go away on it's own. Because he is no longer limping and doesn't seem to be in any pain at all, I decided not to give him the pain pills. I generally don't like to put any medication into my doggie's body that is not absolutely necessary. I've been limiting his exercise a bit, and keeping his diet the same. Savage is now acting completely normal and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.