If a dog is limping on a leg, but there is no visual break, or crying from the dog, what should one do?

Question

My dog is limping, but can put some pressure on his leg. I was told that unless it is a severe and obvious break, that there is basically nothing you can do for the dog other than rest. Is this true? It just happened yesterday. He let's me touch his whole leg and foot, but he just won't walk on it.

He has nothing in his paw, there is no thorn or anything of that kind. He was just running outside and just started after he took a turn quickly. He is about 6 years old and really doesn't show any signs of pain. He still runs around and is his normal self. It hasn't been a full day yet. Any ideas please?

Answer 1

I am going through something similar with my cat at the moment, we've been to the vet twice for xrays and theres nothing in her pads, she just landed on it wrong jumping. You don't say how old the dog is, it could be something in the pad as the others have stated, could be a pulled muscle. If there is no break there is not a whole lot you can do in my experience except try to let him rest and let the muscle heal. If the dog is older it can also be arthritis, you should ask your vet about suplements, my vet gave me metacam for my cat since we think its a little arthritis in her along with a bad landing. The metacam is sort of like glucosamine, but not quite (according to the vet) and the box says its for dogs, we just scale down the dosage for a cat. Good luck and hope your buddy's feeling better soon!

Answer 2

your dog could have could have just pulled it some how.
and the vets cant fix something tahts not broken so i would leave it a couple of days and see if it comes right,.
if u touche the leg does the dog cry ?
dont worry...but check to make sure there isnt any thing stuck in the pad of the dogs foot like a thorn or anything dogs walk through all sorts of stuff and can get things in the soft pads.

my dog candy got run over by a little naighbour on his bike when jamie was 3 and her leg was stuck in the spokes....had to pull it out ...she limped for about a week and it came right.
dogs are hardy critters

hope that helps :)

Answer 3

I would check the pads to make sure there is nothing in between the pads that may be causing him to limp. Use a magnifying glass if you need to. But just your description sounds like he may have pulled or strained a muscle or something. The same type of thing happened to one of my Shih-Tzu's twice and the second time I called my vet, just in case. She told me to give the dog a baby aspirin twice a day. Once in the morning and one at night. See if that helps, and if she is still limping after a few days to call her back. Well, she stopped limping after 1 day, and she was fine. The first time it happened, I did nothing but keep her off it as much as I could. The vet said something about Lyme's and the limping, but since it went away quickly nothing was done.

Answer 4

I'd take him to the vet... something is making him do it. If there is no visible trauma then it could be something internal or it could be as simple as a sore pad.

One of our dogs does this alot but only for a short period of time. We figure her leg just went to sleep and it feels funny to her so she holds it up or limps on it.

A dog we had until he passed away had arthritis and would do this..but when touched with pressure he would let us know that it was uncomfortable.

If it was my dog I'd take him to the vet..better to be safe than sorry and maybe save yourself alot of money (and your dog some discomfort/pain) in the long run if this is something that could get worse with time.

This website also has some helpful info on dogs limping and when to seek a vets help. http://www.dogchow.com/Content/index.aspx?intCategoryID=3&intContentID=56

Answer 5

This exact thing happened to my dog last month. We took her to the vet and ended up paying a lot of money for the appointment, and the medication they gave us. It was just a mild pain reliever, and I'm sure she would have been fine without it. Dogs instinctively favor a sore leg/foot, so there's not much we humans can do for them exept help them take it easy. If it doesn't go away in a week or two, you should take him in to get checked out. My dog's limp went away in about five days.

Answer 6

Is your dog crying or just limping? If it's crying I would take it to a vet. Otherwise, if there's a splinter or foreign body in his paw you can sometimes soak it out with warm water & epsom salts. Try to hold his paw in it for about 10 minutes 3 times a day. You'll have to sit there with him & pet him. You can give a dog a baby aspirin twice a day, 12 hours apart for pain. If he doesn't get better in a few days, at least call your vet to see what they think.

Answer 7

Maybe u should try giving ur pup a baby asprin a day to see if that will help. It may be old Arthur creeping in on it. Baby Asprins will not hurt ur pup. I give mine one when she doesn't feel good . They can take almost any thing you do for feeling pain or upset tummy.they can have Pepso bimo in very little quanity for tummy aches. If it goes outside (like most dogs) Then check for a sticker on the paw or between the toes.

Answer 8

I would take my dog to the vet. It could be nothing but it could also be a cruciate ligament tear in which case he may need surgery for it to heal properly. I know many dogs that have had to have knee surgery. Even if your vet tells you to keep him off his leg at least you will have peace of mind knowing what the problem is.

Answer 9

Dogs generally do not limp for no reason, your dog obviously hurt his leg/knee or hip in some way. I would strongly recommend that he see his vet for proper diagnosis and treatment. Good Luck.

Answer 10

Check the pads. Could be something stuck in or between them. If you find nothing in the pads, and the limping persists, I would say to take him to the vet. Better safe than sorry.