Doggie limp :(

[Hannah & Pepper]

We have hardwood floors and today Pepper got too excited and when she was running, kind of slid into a wall and now has a bit of a limp.  She didn't yelp when it happened, and hasn't been whining or crying, but you can tell when she gets up and walks around that she has a bit of a limp/is a little stiff.  Should we take her to the vet?  Or is it like a human sprain where it just needs some rest.  She is definitely resting and not trying to be too active.  I definitely will take her to vet if I should, but Pepper isn't really giving me an indication of much, since she didn't yelp or whimper, and is just resting. How long does these sprains/strains/limps take to heal?  Any other info or things I should be thinking of?  I also don't know if I would take her to the vet if she would just tell me to have Pepper rest vs, medicine etc?

Thanks!

[BG and Gavin]

I would watch and wait for a day. If tomorrow she is worse or not improving, I would then make an appointment. We have dealt with several of these “soft tissue injuries” and when in fact Gavin did have a broken toe, there was no improvement the next day so we went to the vet.

[Hannah & Pepper]

Thank you!  That's our plan--we will continue to watch today, and if not better, take her in.  It's tough when she loves to run and we have wood floors :(

What did they do for his broken toe? Wrap it? Were there any meds involved?  Thanks!

[BG and Gavin]

Well it was a gigantic pain but we are healed up now. You can read about it here. http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/gavin-broke-his-toe

[Hannah & Pepper]

Aww Just read the story.  So did the toe just heal on its own?

[BG and Gavin]

Yes. Leash exercise only for 8 plus weeks. I also put a little boys athletic sock on him for walks to provide compression.  The vet felt it yesterday and said it was solid.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Maci had a similar sounding injury. I took her right away, X-rays were done. Turned out she was fine. I think next time I would wait a day or so to see if it got better. 

I do tend to react faster to a dog injury, but I guess it’s no different than a human. We’d probably wait a day on a human too.

[Hannah & Pepper]

So, did they say what was wrong, or what to do to fix it?  Or was it just rest?  

I am like you too, I was tempted to take her in right away, but I am going ti give it a day.  With your experience, with the x-ray not showing anything, how long did it take to get better?

Thanks!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Just rest. She got better the next day or two

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

An X-ray won't show a soft tissue injury, on a dog or a human. 

[Hannah & Pepper]

Ahh, thanks Karen.  I don't know these things.  So, if it was  soft tissue injury, should I go to the vet for that?  What do they do to help it heal

Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, I tend to go to the vet for anything that isn't right. The vet may be able to make an educated guess as to what is wrong through examining her, manipulating the leg, and watching her move. What they may recommend depends on what they think is wrong. Rest is always involved, and sometimes medications to help with pain and/or inflammation.

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

My Sassy girl developed a mystery limp that was off and on for several months, took her to vet and as Karen mentioned they manipulated and watched her walk back and forth. First visit they just recommended she take it easy when it happened again he ended up putting her on an antibiotic, prednisone and tramadol followed with 2 weeks of no activity which turned to four because  e all caught the flu.  So far so good, no signs of limping.  I also added nighty massaging and it helped. Wishing your baby well.