[Corin Stormhands]

Good, I'm glad you're up.

Sam's got a hitch in his giddy-up...so to speak. He's been limping and whining. Seems to be in his back hip.

This morning he stood at the top of the stairs and cried for 5 minutes before he'd actually come down (and that was with us calling him).

I know joint problems are common for big dogs, and he's probably a good 20 or more pounds than he should be.

Does he need to see the vet? Or are their over the counter things we can do to help him?

[HairOfTheDog]

Has he ever had Rimadyl? If he's been given it before, they may give it to you again without a visit. Rimadyl is a general anti-inflammatory. If it gets better on Rimadyl, it's soft tissue or arthritis. If it's arthritis, of course you'll have to continue treating it at least off and on, with probably increasing frequency. If it doesn't get better on that, you'd want to know if he actually has structural hip issues, like displasia.