After I could find no affliction explaining Colt's recent lameness, Dr. Amanda had a look and came to the same conclusion that there is no major problem in his bones or joints.  We took him to her boss, Dr. Kip Temm, for a second opinion.  The visit was partly for Colt, partly for me to be "vetted" by her friend (who happens to be her boss).

Rewind to the beginning of the lameness problem.  Amanda and I took an hour and a half hike (on top of a lot of running in Amanda's large yard and attached woods) with Colt, Winnie and Poppy.  Colt, was wiped out and he gets clumsy when tired.  He missed the mark on a leap onto the couch and yelped when he fell on the floor.  He came up limping.  Each weekend since, he has come up lame.  He recovers to 90% by the weekend, then over-does it.  We'd been spending weekends at the lake property in Connecticut, where Colt has been off-lead and outdoors pretty much all day.

First, Dr. Temm was surprised to hear Colt is eight years old.  Even with his gray muzzle, eyebrows, and starting on his feet, Colt looks like a dog named Colt should, which is young.  Colt fools a lot of folks, but I didn't expect to fool the vet.  After asking if Colt's problem was his right rear leg (which he was barely favoring, and not moving much -- very quick observation) Dr. Temm gave Colt an exam.  He was looking for signs of inflammation (warmth and swelling) in the spine, hips, knees and ankles.  (OK, dogs don't have some of these joints, but it's what everyone calls them.)

Colt should be showing signs of arthritis in his back at this age, but is not.  His hips seem fine.  In fact, there doesn't seem to be any arthritis whatsoever.  Shocking considering his age and "mileage."  I was expecting to hear we needed an x-ray or two, but Kip thinks its a sprain, confirming Amanda's assessment.  Colt is to be kept "quiet" (HA! A quiet GSP!) and given some Bufferin.  I'll keep him inside more than the girls, but that's about the best I can do; he wants to run all the time.

BTW, Dr. Temm and Dr. Amanda can be reached at http://www.temmveterinaryhospital.com/ in Old Orchard Beach.  They also operate an office in Arundel, Maine.  I highly recommend them for gun-dogs.  They aren't "sissy" vets; you aren't going to be prescribed aroma-therapy or any nonsense.  They understand a GSP is a performance animal.  If you are in southern Maine and need a good vet give them a try.  (Oh, it's not just because she's my girlfriend.  If she was a sissy vet, she wouldn't be my girlfriend.)

Colt is a fine dog, but has lousy conformation.  He's much more tired than Winnie after the same (or sometimes less) exercise.  Winnie is less than a year younger, but has a much better frame.  Colt has to "crab" to walk and run, using extra energy on wasted movement.  He becomes tired more easily, which leaves him prone to injury -- just like you are more likely to fall in the woods at the end of the day than the beginning (baring changing environmental conditions).

I am STILL waiting for Colt to need anesthesia so I can have that damn cyst taken off his chest.