Bloody Hind Paw, Jumpy On Walks

[Guest jessicaksu125]

I think something's wrong with Gigi's hind legs. A few weeks back she stopped jumping on the bed, and she's always had trouble getting in the car.

 

Today, on our walk, I looked down and one of her hind paws was bloody. The other one didn't have blood, but it was red and didn't look right.

 

(I happened to have my camera because I wanted to take pics of scenery)

 

 

She also was doing this a couple times, I couldn't tell if it was excited "let's run!", because the tail was wagging, or "help something bit me" because when she was done she was shaking and the tail was tucked between her legs.

 

Jumpy behavior

 

She didn't look like she was having trouble walking or was in pain, but at one point I put my hand on her bum and she jumped.

 

Walking

 

Any thoughts? Should I be calling the vet?

 

ETA: She had been at the open house right before the walk, it's possible she could have been stepped on or something. I'm trying to figure out if this is an isolated this or if there's a serious problem.

Edited May 21, 2007 by jessicaksu125

[LisaB]

Uh, if you were with her when this happened and have no idea what caused it, I'd DEFINITELY be getting to the vet! It looks like she's bleeding from five different places in that first pic.

 

I hope someone with a lot more experience can give you some guidance/reassurance; in the meantime, I'm sending good thoughts for Gigi's tootsies!

[Guest jessicaksu125]

Uh, if you were with her when this happened and have no idea what caused it, I'd DEFINITELY be getting to the vet! It looks like she's bleeding from five different places in that first pic.

 

I hope someone with a lot more experience can give you some guidance/reassurance; in the meantime, I'm sending good thoughts for Gigi's tootsies!

 

She has a lot of dings and scratches on her hind legs from her previous life. The reason I'm not more worried is because she doesn't appear to be in any pain, and she's walking, jumping and playing just fine, so it can't be a break! (I'd be there in a second if she was!)

 

One day, in her first couple of days here, her tail started bleeding on and off, and ceased two days later.

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

I would clean up her paws and see if you can identify the source of the bleeding; it looks to me like she might have scraped the top of her foot (maybe jumping into the car?) Sometimes they can also step on their own feet and scrape with their nails. I hope she's feeling better.

[tbhounds]

Looks like the wounds were caused by some sort of trauma--was she running around prior to noticing the injury?

[Finnsliz]

My dogs have all done something similar either running over the rocks in my back yard or scraping them coming through the doorway. No screams... I don't think they even knew they had scraped themselves. Clean them up and watch for infection.

 

PS ... cheap First aid item Buy some Sterile Saline solution (used for contact lens cleaning) Flush your wounds with that! I always have a big bottle on hand. Scrapes happen all the time around here.

[Guest jessicaksu125]

Looks like the wounds were caused by some sort of trauma--was she running around prior to noticing the injury?

 

I think she was, plus she was at the open house before hand and she could have been stepped on or something!

[Guest KennelMom]

Maybe she scraped that foot on the pavement (that pavement looks pretty rough/bumpy)...does she have a tendency to drag the foot or have it "knuckle under?" One of ours will drag her feet when she's tired of walking (she doesn't really like walks )

 

The other foot, with the redness, looks like Harmony's foot if she spends too much time walking in wet grass. I'm pretty sure Harms has a grass allergy b/c her belly gets red too if she lays in it (especially freshly mowed and/or damp grass).

[Guest KennelMom]

Just watched the videos...the first one looks like play. It reminds me of MOTF's posts of Speck doing leash zoomies It's possible she scraped her bleeding foot on the rocks when she was doing that. They can be jumpy when they're excited...sorta hypersensitive to sight/sound/touch. That could be why she jumped. I would keep an eye on the bottom of her pads if you are doing a lot of walking b/c some parts of the road look pretty rough. Just make sure they aren't getting worn down or sensitive.

[jenn8]

In the first video, she was doing leash zoomies. Some dogs will act that that way in the house possibly to release pent up energy.

 

Jenn

[Guest jessicaksu125]

Thanks, all, I'll keep an eye on her when I walk her tonight. I walk her on that trail all the time and this is the first there's been a problem!

 

When it comes to the rough pavement, would booties help?

[Guest sheila]

I would wash her paws and check over them throughly to find the source of the bleeding and treat that. If it is because of scrapes I would do two things. 1) try and find a softer place for walking (grass is good) 2) teach her to walk calmly on the leash in areas that might hurt her (such as that hard graveled surface)

I would probably not put booties on her as the ultimate goal is to get her feet calloused enough to be able to handle any surface she needs to walk on and booties would be counter productive to that goal.

[Xan]

I see zoomies in the one video, but the part that interests me (I was looking hard for knuckling under - dragging the tops of her hind feet) is that it looks like she's walking sort of ... straddle-y, like she's spreading her back legs, and squatting her hips a bit. ETA: Yeah, just watched them both again. She looks like she's waddling a bit. Is that normal for her?

 

Hopefully, it's just a case of happy dog accidental foot scrapeage.

 

ETA Again! Just re-read your original post:

I think something's wrong with Gigi's hind legs. A few weeks back she stopped jumping on the bed, and she's always had trouble getting in the car. ... but at one point I put my hand on her bum and she jumped.

Maybe you should get her hips/spine looked at. Maybe she's getting some arthritis?

 

Hope it's nothing much!

Edited May 21, 2007 by Xan

[Guest jessicaksu125]

I see zoomies in the one video, but the part that interests me (I was looking hard for knuckling under - dragging the tops of her hind feet) is that it looks like she's walking sort of ... straddle-y, like she's spreading her back legs, and squatting her hips a bit. ETA: Yeah, just watched them both again. She looks like she's waddling a bit. Is that normal for her?

 

Hopefully, it's just a case of happy dog accidental foot scrapeage.

 

ETA Again! Just re-read your original post:

I think something's wrong with Gigi's hind legs. A few weeks back she stopped jumping on the bed, and she's always had trouble getting in the car. ... but at one point I put my hand on her bum and she jumped.

Maybe you should get her hips/spine looked at. Maybe she's getting some arthritis?

 

Hope it's nothing much!

 

She's 2, do they get arthritis that young?

 

Sometimes, while walking, she'll arch her back like a cat, gallop a few strides, ease up and then repeat...

 

I checked her paws for blood this morning and didn't see any, but her paws still seemed sensitive.

 

I was going to take her to the vet next month for a check up... if this continues, or maybe I'll ask someone from the adoption group to take a look at it!

[LisaB]

Uh, if you were with her when this happened and have no idea what caused it, I'd DEFINITELY be getting to the vet! It looks like she's bleeding from five different places in that first pic.

 

I hope someone with a lot more experience can give you some guidance/reassurance; in the meantime, I'm sending good thoughts for Gigi's tootsies!

 

Sorry...I should have been clearer; I meant that once you'd eliminated all the possibilities everyone listed here, you should get to the vet. I was thinking you'd have noticed her dragging her feet. We have scrapes pretty regularly around here, too. Right now we're dealing with a broken toe...Sweetie's. I think I may start my own thread soon about it for some second opinions.

 

Hope Gigi's doing better today!

[jenn8]

I see zoomies in the one video, but the part that interests me (I was looking hard for knuckling under - dragging the tops of her hind feet) is that it looks like she's walking sort of ... straddle-y, like she's spreading her back legs, and squatting her hips a bit. ETA: Yeah, just watched them both again. She looks like she's waddling a bit. Is that normal for her?

 

I noticed the same thing like something is going on with her hips or rear end. If this just started, I'd get her in to see a vet. Something tells me it would be a good idea to bring a stool sample whenever you do decide to go. It's doesn't cost very much to have them check it.

 

Jenn

[Guest loveagrey]

I'd have to agree. I just watched both clips, and she definitely seems to be doing something odd with her back end. It's like she's curving her spine and tucking her back in and speading her back feet really wide apart. Just my thoughts from seeing the videos. Might be worth having her checked out.

[Guest jessicaksu125]

I'd have to agree. I just watched both clips, and she definitely seems to be doing something odd with her back end. It's like she's curving her spine and tucking her back in and speading her back feet really wide apart. Just my thoughts from seeing the videos. Might be worth having her checked out.

 

 

OK, she's due for a check-up in a month anyway, so I'll just bump that up.

 

Yesterday on our walk she was fine, didn't notice any problems!

[cello]

I agree that her gait is definately "off" in some way. Almost like she has something stuck up her behind. Any chance that she is constipated or impacted in that area? Do you have a way to let the vet see this video when you take her in? Maybe get it on your cell phone, or let them know that you need access to the internet to show him the photobucket site?

Carol Ann

[Guest jessicaksu125]

I made the vet appointment for next week. I'll take a few more videos, and burn them on a cd so the vet can have a look! I hope she's ok, it doesn't look like there's any pain.