Doggy leg injury

[Robindianne]

My baby (13 year old muttly named Sadie girl) hurt her foot or leg tonight. She jumped up for a toy outside on our walkway and came down with one foot on the rock edging. She cried out when it happened and whimpered the first couple of steps (limping) into the house.

Then I carried her to the couch and laid her down. She's alert, licking an d grooming herself, ate dinner, etc. When I got out of the shower just now I noticed she'd gone to her bed in our room and when I came out, she followed me, not crying but really limping and favoring that leg (right front).

I've looked and can't see a thing including swelling or cut or anything. Should I take her to the ER or wait and see how she is in the morning? I don't know how to tell if it's constant pain but I know it hurts her to walk on it. I know because she didn't come in the kitchen when I was doing dishes and just now she stood on the couch to circle and wouldn't put that foot down. What should I do for her tonight?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It is generally ok to give a dog an aspirin up to twice a day, non enteric coated. Dosage is dependent on the size of the dog. Aspirin Info [Note: no acetaminophen (tylenol) or ibuprofen (motrin, advil, etc).] Also let her rest the leg. She may be sore for a day or two. Give your vet a call in the morning to see if they think you should bring her in to be seen.

Hope she's feeling better soon.

 

[HeatherH]

As long as she is not crying in pain tonight I would skip the ER but definitely call your regular vet first thing tomorrow to get her in for an exam. With the holiday on Friday you don't want to wait and have it get worse and be forced to find an emergency vet.

I hope it's nothing serious and your baby is better soon.

 

[Robindianne]

Thank you for your replies. She's about 38 pounds. I'll see if I can find the right dose and give her an aspirin.

I think I'll sleep on the floor by her bed tonight. If I sleep on the couch she won't really settle in because she knows we are in the bedroom for bedtime.

Thanks again.

 

[HeatherH]

Not to contradict the other poster, but I personally wouldn't give her any meds without a vet exam first. As long as she is able to settle down and get to sleep, I would just wait until tomorrow and see what the vet says.

Hope you can get some rest.

 

[autumnpalm]

My dog hurt her leg this summer jumping again the baby gate in the kitchen. She was crying and wouldn't put any weight on it. We took her to the emergency vet just in case and it turned out her leg was broken.

She had to have it casted for a few days and then she had surgery on it when the orthopedic surgeon was back. Not to scare you, but I would get it checked out just in case! My pup was a brave little thing and was trying to walk around anyways, and I am so glad we had it checked out as she could have done permanent damage or taken even longer to heal.

Sending hugs to you and healing thoughts to your pup!

 

[Robindianne]

Thank you guys. She's asleep on the couch so I'm just kind of keeping an eye on her for now. I called the vet's emergency number and they want me not to give aspirin but to give benedryl. Well that scares me even more so I'm just letting her sleep and taking her in to see them in the morning. She's not walking on it so I don't think she could hurt it tonight.

BTW, she also jumped over our baby gate a few years ago (she knows cat food is behind the baby gates ) She sprained her back leg really bad and they had her on antiinflamatories and muscle relaxers and she had to stay in her kennel almost all the time becasue they didn't want her moving. It took about a month to really heal.

Thank goodness she's sleeping soundly now. Vet opens at 7 am and it's 10pm now. Not too long a wait.

Thanks again for the help and nice thoughts.

 

[autumnpalm]

I'm glad she is resting. Keep us updated!

 

[Disney Doll]

You also might want to try ice to the area. Maybe she strained/sprained it and there's some swelling.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

One dose of aspirin while you're waiting for a vet exam to help make the dog more comfortable overnight is not going to harm a dog as long as it doesn't have one of the conditions listed in the link I posted and the dosage is correct. Several of my dogs have lived on aspirin for years.

 

[MissyDVC]

Hoping she is better today

 

[Robindianne]

Hi Everybody. So we got in to see the vet and she said it's a sprain. Sadie's on anti-inflammatories and restricted motion (no running or jumping) for a week.

She seems to feel better today. She's more active and happy. Thank you all.

 

[HeatherH]

Glad your girl is on the mend!

 

[1957]

Our first family doggie ( a mutt from the shelter) was also named Sadie! She lived a very long and loved life. My oldest son once joked, "Mom, you'd take Sadie to the vet before you'd put a Band-Aid on my cut!" Probably true! Glad your doggie is doing OK!