Swollen Foot

[Guest amberj002]

On Wednesday night the dogs were playing in the yard, they were running and playing pretty hard. Abe walked up to the house with a little limp. Sometimes you have to really watch to see if he is limping and other times you can really tell. As of this morning he was still doing it. He doesn't hold it up when he stands, just a limp when he walks. It is swollen a little on the side of his foot, looks like in the ankle area.

 

Do dogs have ankles and can they get a sprain like we can? I thought I would keep an eye on him over the weekend and if he continues to limp I will call on Monday. Is that too long to wait? What else can I do besides keep him from running around?

 

I am worried about my boy

[turbotaina]

Yes, they can strain any of the various ligaments or tendons in there - their feet, in fact, are pretty complex. You can try icing it with a bag of frozen peas to see if you can get the swelling down, or cold hose it two or three times a day for about 5 minutes a pop.

[Guest argolola]

I will pray for him.

[Guest Tigonie]

Well, it's already been two days, and--if memory serves--they say heat is better after the first 24 hours. You definitely want to keep him off of it as much as possible. I wouldn't think you'd want to wrap it or anything if it's swelling.

 

Is it any worse than it was before? That is, does it seem to be getting better? If it seems pretty minor and there's a noticeable improvement in the symptoms, I'd be more inclined to give him rest and "wait and see" if it heals up on its own. But if it's as bad or worse than it was, I'd see about a vet visit. The vet can prescribe pain medication and an anti-inflamatory (like Rimadyl). He or she might also do an x-ray to see if anything is broken. (Apparently, it's fairly standard for them to x-ray both the affected foot and its mate on the other side for comparison, so ask how many x-rays if they go that route, so you're prepared.)

 

I hope your pupper is up and running again soon!!