Does anyone know how long it may take for a dog to heal if they pulled mustle in their leg ?

Question

My dog is 9 and I think she pulled a mustle in her leg while running in the snow- she is putting weight on it but sometimes she lifts it up- She is not making any noises like she is in pain-
This happened a week ago and it is getting better- Just curious if anyone has had a dog that this happen to and how long it took to heal- thank you for answering-

Answer 1

i would still have a vet look at it, even if its getting better. sometimes and old injury that has caused scarring in a leg will cause it many more problems down the road. and it may have gone deeper that just the leg, like in the shoulder or back muscles depending on which leg. the good thing is that dogs heal very quickly and it takes very little to stop them

Answer 2

First about dogs and pain, the don't make noises when they have pain unless it is extreme because of the survival instinct, noise tells their enemies where they are and they become weak and that is not good in the wild. So, a dog will not make a lot of noise if any with pain.So, you have to go by other clues such as range of motion and touch tolerance, if you can move the leg, slowly and gently in the direction that it normally would move without the dog acting like it wants to bite you or pull away from you like it is painful it is a good sign. If you just go around with your palm and put steady pressure on the joint or the outer part of the leg and it doesn't try to get away or try to bite you that is good too. So, the sprain like with humans can be worse thatn a break, meaning t takes 6 weeks to heal and that is with some TLC. First give the dog asprin. Depending on the weight. If it's small to medium about 15to 30 lbs. give it about a quarter of an adult asprin every 6 hours in some kind of food, dissolve it and put it in soup or wet dog food or whatever the dog will eat, mix it well to disguise the taste. If it's 30 to 70 lbs. give it half an adult asprin every 6 hours. Do this for about two days. You should see improvement. If so cut back to only twice a day and when the dog is getting around and seems to be on it's way within a week 2 weeks at the most stop it all. This should help. My cat just had her leg out of whack, she fell or something and two days of asprin put her back good as new, she has had a hip problem but this was really bad, she was almost dragging it. I thought the vet would cost a fortune and with all my experience with animals I decided to try what I knew first and it even surprised me because it was the worst it had ever been. so, good luck. You will need a vet however if it doesn't help ok? Dogs can also be given pepto for upset stomach and dramamine for nerves and car sickness. I had a dog that lost control of her bowels every time we went to the vet. The dramamine at half, depending on size, made her such a happy dog, she went to the vet like a pro. Do not give either dog or cat tylenol, ever. Good luck.

Answer 3

It is possible it is a strain but with this kind of history I do wonder if she hasnt fully or partially ruptured her cranial cruciate ligament in her leg (especially if she was three legged lame and it lasted a few days). This is initially an extremely painful condition that causes inflammation and instability in the joint. Lifting her leg up is saying it hurts - dogs dont often vocally complain like people do! If you take her to a vet they will be able to tell you if it is just a simple strain or a cruciate, supply you with dog meds that wont kill your dog like some human meds will, and give you an recovery plan. In the meantime rest your dog some muscle and ligament injuries take 6 weeks to heal, so only go for very short on lead walks if you cant totally rest your dog because it will go insane. Avoid giving your human meds to your dog no matter how safe it seems - aspirin and other similar medications have not been advised to be given to dogs for over 20 years! Your dog will be ok without them. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

First of all, not to be unkind but it's spelled 'muscle.' A 'mussel' is a type of shellfish similar to a clam. (In fairness, both words derive from the Latin word for 'mouse.') Anyway, a simple pull will largely resolve in about three days with gentle heat and relative rest (meaning no exertion, but don't just sit around either). You might want to have it checked to make sure you didn't tear it - warning signs would be continued pain and repeated cramps during the night despite efforts to relax the muscle. (I did that back in high school, didn't get it looked at soon enough and was on crutches for a month.)

Answer 5

My old dog pulled a muscle in his leg 3 times when I had him. This was due to me over exercising him. Take your dog to the vet. They will probably give you anti-inflammatory pills to give to it. Done this way, you dog should be walking normally in 3-4 days. During the 3-4 days just take your dog for light walks. No strenuous exercise. If you don't take it. It will take a lot longer for it to heal. Do you really want your dog to be in discomfort for a week or two?

Answer 6

It may take a couple weeks. More if you give her pain medication. A dog cannot rationalize that just because there is no pain that there isnt anything wrong so they will use it like normal and cause more strain.

Answer 7

If I was you take her to the vet and let them examined the leg it could be serious just take good care of that dog she could live another 10 years if you just take the dog to the vet Good Luck

Answer 8

See if you can hook up with a K9 physical therapist. A Google search for this + your zip code will help. They have a cold laser treatment that will help your dog recover, and it's important to have an expert go over your dog and massage her muscles, just as sports people have their pro masseuses. I would do this as soon as you can, so that she doesn't re-injure herself. Good luck!

Answer 9

maybe its more than a pulled muscle. the running in the snow just exacerbated the real problem. i think you should take her to the vet

Answer 10

Bones, ligaments and muscles take about the same amount of time to heal..about 8 weeks.(with optimal nutrition)