Hello. I have an Akita that is now 10 years old. At age of 6 he also began limping. I took him to so many vets including holistic and a Vet College at a well known mid-western university. I have spent a lot of money on vet visits, various tests, accupuncture, etc. There seemed to be no consensus as to the problem. He began limping for no apparent reason. Arthritis, autoimmune deficiency were the two diagnosis that seemed to come up most frequently.
For the last four years it has just been a matter of pain management for my boy. He takes 20mg of prednisone a day, Dog Gone Pain, two different Chinese herb pills, Heppato support, and other nutritional supplements. He never complains about the pain, although recently has shown significant difficulty in climbing stairs.
I have more information regarding diagnosis if you are interested.
