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Leg Sprain


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So Max sprained his right rear leg on Sunday morning, I think getting into or out of the car. He could not put much weight on it. I took him to the vet worried about osteo or an ACL tear, but the vet looked at it and was pretty sure it is just a strain, and x-rays did not show anything. The lower leg is swollen. The prescription was an antiinflammatory drug am/pm and icing it. I have done a probably less than good job of icing it though I have done it every day for 10-25 min. (Vet said once a day 10 min).

 

My concern is the leg still is swollen, and Max still can't put much weight on it. Been four days. He does not appear to be in pain except when putting weight on it, and has been eating (though he skipped breakfast today and only ate part of his dinner, I expect he will eat more later tonight). So my questions are:

 

(1) is it normal to stay swollen for that long?

(2) Could I be keeping it aggravated by letting him move too much? I let him go outside to go potty on his own which he does, and he gets upset when I take Logan for a walk as I hear him crying three houses down, I'm afraid he may be jumping around when we leave in spite of the bad leg but not sure how to make him not do it. (He loves his walks and I think is very depressed at this point).

 

I was told to follow up with the vet in one week (which would be Monday), so he will be checked again then. Should I be hitting the panic button and taking him back tomorrow? (They are closed Sunday, and Saturday is extremely crowded at the vet). I'm thinking doing so could just aggravate the sprain since it is hard for him to get into/out of the car and I am not good at helping him. So my current plan is to wait till Monday but would be interested in any feedback if the medical experts think I should take him back tomorrow. I simply don't know what the typical recovery time is for a bad leg sprain.

 

Thanks for any thoughts,

Rob

Rob
Logan (April 7, 2010 - July 9, 2023) - LoganMaxicon15K.jpg - Max (August 4, 2004 - January 11, 2018)

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Guest newyorkgrey

Hi, Rob, I'm no expert, but I am an expert in spending a ton of money at the vet! My dog broke her leg last November, and we have been through the ringer with a failed surgery, bad splinting, etc. So, I no longer hit the panic button and run to the vet. She fares better under my watch, where I can see how she moves around. I can say that not once has my dog placed weight on the leg when she did not want to, she's never lost her appetite and still thinks she can fly, so I have to keep her created when I'm out at work. I'm pretty sure Max would favor the limb until he feels better.

 

I can't tell you what to do. Just passing some positive vibes to you and your dog, since I know all too well what it is like to obsess over a dog's leg!

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Felix did the same thing playing with the kids at sara Lawrence colkege. It's nearly 2 weeks and he still has a limp and his toes on one paw still look a tad swollen . His paws,pasturns, toes,ankle were totally manupulated by a vet. No crying,whining signs of misaligned joints. Sprains take forever to heal.rest and antinflammatories. Let's see how long it takes our spastic boys to heal!!

Felix did the same thing playing with the kids at sara Lawrence colkege. It's nearly 2 weeks and he still has a limp and his toes on one paw still look a tad swollen . His paws,pasturns, toes,ankle were totally manupulated by a vet. No crying,whining signs of misaligned joints. Sprains take forever to heal.rest and antinflammatories. Let's see how long it takes our spastic boys to heal!!

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which anti-inflammatory are you using, not all are created equal. ectolac (i'm pretty sure that's the name) does very little. and are you keeping him on crate rest?

 

you can always call your vet, leave a message and see if he feels that you should come in earlier. if he is sleeping the night(not crying and pacing) then he most likely can wait until monday. i always wait things out. i personally had a sprained tendon in my foot, it would have healed faster if i broke it! at month 3 i was still wearing a support bandage and taking motrin!

Edited by cleptogrey
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He is on Vetzrofen Ch 75 g #30 (probably misspelled as it is handwritten), one pill am one pill pm. I just gave him his latest pill a few minutes ago (8:25 am).

 

He seemed more restless last night and is not bearing much weight, so I plan to call when the vet opens at 10 am and expect I will be taking him for a recheck. As I said, my big concern is making it worse during the car transport. I have styrofoam steps so getting him in should be ok, just point him up the steps and I can lift his rear end ok. Problem is getting out as there is no leverage to grab him he has to jump out. I'm sure I can get assistance at the vet end though, so should be ok.

 

Thanks for your comments. I did some Internet reading last night and it does seem like a sprain can take weeks to heal, but he is closing in on 12 yo and I can see it is putting physical strain on him.


Also, not on crate rest since I have no crate (and he hates the crate). But he is not interested in wandering, except that he gets excited when I take Logan for his walk. (BTW, Logan is getting screwed here as I am not taking him to avoid upsetting Max :-)

 

I will mention that to the vet and will see if I can borrow a crate if it is recommended.

Rob
Logan (April 7, 2010 - July 9, 2023) - LoganMaxicon15K.jpg - Max (August 4, 2004 - January 11, 2018)

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Got back from the vet. Turns out it was not a sprain, but rather a small puncture wound that was now abscessing. It has been cleaned out, drained and Max already looks much better. Explains why he was crying last night and this morning -- it must have been getting worse over the last 24 hours or so.

Rob
Logan (April 7, 2010 - July 9, 2023) - LoganMaxicon15K.jpg - Max (August 4, 2004 - January 11, 2018)

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Got back from the vet. Turns out it was not a sprain, but rather a small puncture wound that was now abscessing. It has been cleaned out, drained and Max already looks much better. Explains why he was crying last night and this morning -- it must have been getting worse over the last 24 hours or so.

 

Ahh, I wondered about a puncture but thought you'd have seen it. Sweep got a small, visible puncture wound in December, though we never knew from what. Her leg swelled to an "impressive" degree (vet's term), starting as a goose egg behind her elbow and then settling into her lower leg. Did you get antibiotics? After a day or two of Clavamox her leg was almost totally normal, so hopefully your boy will be good as new very quickly. It's a pitiful sight, I know. Best wishes to you both.

 

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Rachel with littermates Doolin and Willa, boss cat Tootie, and feline squatters Crumpet and Fezziwig.
Missing gentlemen kitties MudHenry, and Richard and our beautiful, feisty, silly
 Sweep:heart

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Got the antibiotics, still supposed to stay on the antiinflammatory. He has a huge yellow bandage wrapping the whole leg, and he goes back Tuesday to have it removed. I think the bandage is wrapping something to ensure it continues to drain, but not sure.

Rob
Logan (April 7, 2010 - July 9, 2023) - LoganMaxicon15K.jpg - Max (August 4, 2004 - January 11, 2018)

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Did they maybe put a drain into the abscess? If they did, you'd likely be seeing a fair amount of mess as part of the normal healing process. I hope Max is feeling better.

Beth, Petey (8 September 2018- ), and Faith (22 March 2019). Godspeed Patrick (28 April 1999 - 5 August 2012), Murphy (23 June 2004 - 27 July 2013), Leo (1 May 2009 - 27 January 2020), and Henry (10 August 2010 - 7 August 2020), you were loved more than you can know.

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I haven't seen any mess, I thought they mentioned a drain inside the bandage but honestly I was worrying more about how I was going to get him into and out of the car so I may have misunderstood. Anyway he seems to be doing well, still strongly favoring the bad leg but putting weight on it, and I think part of the problem is the bandage is wrapping partway over the foot pad so that may be affecting him. Last night (~3 am) he wanted to go out and when I opened the back door he actually ran out after something. He is not supposed to be running, but on the other hand no apparent damage and I guess it is good he wants/is able to run. I noticed him licking the bandage this morning but not (yet) chewing it. Since it comes off tomorrow I'm not too worried on that point. He finally ate last night for the first time since I think Thursday morning -- he is hungry but I think he is afraid of Logan. (Usually I take him into the back bedroom to eat to avoid the conflict). I started with the peanut butter covering the pills (he has been eating that with the pills, but he loves PB and I give Logan some at the same time so no conflict) and I think it primed the pump so to speak and he then ate his food from my hand.

 

My other concern is I found out Friday I will be required to go on a week-long business trip May 23-28th, so hopefully he will be fully recovered by then.

Rob
Logan (April 7, 2010 - July 9, 2023) - LoganMaxicon15K.jpg - Max (August 4, 2004 - January 11, 2018)

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