Dog on 3 legs, vet today or tomorrow?

Mince Pie

Mince Pie

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 June 2011
Messages
9,756
Visit site
My collie is totally non weight bearing on his left hind leg, I've had a look between the pads and around the foot but can't see anything although the foot seems a little hot. He was fine yesterday so not sure what happened but the main question is do you think he needs to see the emergency vet or, if I keep him quiet, he can hang on until tomorrow?
 
Does he appear in a lot of pain, e.g. crying out, very unhappy etc. If so then I would take to vet today, but if he seems okay in himself perhaps keep him restricted today, i.e. lead only exercise, and get him checked out tomorrow morning if there is no improvement.
 
Complete cage rest except for on lead "comfort breaks" maybe give him an aspirin..it is a very under rated pain killer and anti inflamatory.
 
Agree with the others also you could tub it gently in warm salt water just to see if there's a thorn or bit of grit anywhere; keep stroking/rubbing gently with the tips of your fingers, amazing what you can find sometimes.
 
Dog has gone lame again on that leg, not as bad as before but does 'hop' a few steps with that foot off the floor. I have checked it from hip to toe, have flexed it and checked the muscles around his hip but can't find anything and he doesn't seem to be sore? Any ideas on what it could be? He is still very active - runs around like a nutter and then when he stops he holds the leg up :confused:
 
broke_but_happy said:
Dog has gone lame again on that leg, not as bad as before but does 'hop' a few steps with that foot off the floor. I have checked it from hip to toe, have flexed it and checked the muscles around his hip but can't find anything and he doesn't seem to be sore? Any ideas on what it could be? He is still very active - runs around like a nutter and then when he stops he holds the leg up :confused:
Click to expand...

take him to a vet. we cannot advise over the net

my dog has a slightly odd gait on her back left - i took her the vets and shes having x-rays etc on monday.... (since last year her bills well over 2.5 k) and her lameness is NOT obvious to outsiders!


she already has e,bow dysplasia on her fronts - and a bad back leg so i dont believe in messing about - spesh when like yours is an obvious lameness.
 
I'd really advise going to the vet. If they still can't find anything ask for a referral to a chiro or similar. It might be coming from the back, or may be a soft tissue injury. This is what we found with Jess anyway. She was x rayed to be sure there was nothing wrong skeletally or Hips/Cruciate. When a Mctimony lady checked her, her withers and pelvis were out and she was very tight in the muscles along her spine.
Hope you get to the bottom of it.
 
Yes and he was fine after 3 days rest and metacam. My vets are an animal hospital and were very good when he swallowed a kebab skewer 2.5 years ago. I will make another appointment tomorrow and ask for scans etc, I'm just confused as to why he is hopping lame but shows no sign of pain when I manipulate his leg :confused:
 
Yellow Dog is like that on his front leg. When he was a pup he decided to try and scale the 6ft wall in my parents garden :rolleyes: then launched himself off the top. He damaged the ligaments in his shoulder and sometimes too much hooning makes it tender and he hops on it for a bit then he's fine again. Vet isn't worried tho and neither is Yellow Dog :)
 
Cop-Pop said:
Yellow Dog is like that on his front leg. When he was a pup he decided to try and scale the 6ft wall in my parents garden :rolleyes: then launched himself off the top. He damaged the ligaments in his shoulder and sometimes too much hooning makes it tender and he hops on it for a bit then he's fine again. Vet isn't worried tho and neither is Yellow Dog :)
Click to expand...
Actually considering some of the handbrake turns he pulls this sounds like a very plausible scenario :rolleyes:
 
it sounds very much like a cruciate to me, Id see if you can see an orthopedic vet. Sometimes if they are partially ruptured it can come and go. Also, we have a BC who has some nerve damage in his lower back and from time to time will stop weight bearing on a hind. Did the vet check his nerve responses by turning the foot over? Other option is to see a good canine chiro. where are you located?
 
i am also having the same issues with my collie one minute he is lame in front rest him and he fine and then after a walk chasing chickens ,ponies etc he can be lame behind always the left side though been to the vets for xrays but they say there is not point as they are still saying bad soft tissue damage which would not show up by xraying so it 2 months cage rest one month of anti immflamatories if after that its mri scan but very expensive we are on day 4 and he is popping out of his skin lol
 
General musing post.

Dog is in the vets having x-rays. They are starting to wonder if he has hip dysplasia, if he does is it likely that he will be on restricted exercise for the rest of his life? He is a very active dog and I don't think he would be happy if he had to take things easy from now on. Again if it is ligaments/soft tissue damage will it ever fully heal? I did the ligaments in my ankle nearly 2 years ago now and it still plays up. I know that keeping them mentally active is as good as physical exercise but he knows most tricks as he had a major op several years ago and was on lead only exercise for 6 weeks so I can't think of anything else to teach him.
Any ideas on what to do now?
 
Mine was like this on his left hind - suddenly went non-weight bearing with no obvious sore spots. He was x rayed and diagnosed with mild hip dysplacia (sp?). After several visits to the physio, nightly massages from me and weekly swimming he is now improving but this is a long term condition so he will require careful management for the rest of his life - which I'm happy to provide :-)
 
re soft tissue damage--this was what Jess had. I kept her on restricted exerciseand the vet also found she had some arthritis in her fetlock. She is on Rimadil and has been rested since July last year until around Christmas when I started to let her run really free.Shee also had 2 visits from a Mctimony practitioner. She is now back doing flyball and on Saturday in training, was timed and was half a second faster than before she was unsound. There is hope
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top