Swollen leg -dog

[Identityincrisis]

Posting in here as traffic is higher than All About Dogs.

My lurcher has an infected rear paw the swelling came up around 2am Monday morning, i took him to the vet that evening as he was completely non weight baring, needed to be carried everywhere (the leg taking the weight is arthritic so not strong enough) vet prescribed synulox AB’s and strong painkillers (on top of metacam and paracetamol for the arthritis) he was completely out of it Monday night, was quite badly sick after we gave him the AB. Today he has been sooo much brighter, totally mobile and putting the bad foot down, a little bouncy BUT the swelling has got worse. He’s just had his third AB (did the first count due to sickness??) is it too early to take him back to the vet tomorrow?? Should I wait a bit longer to see if they work?

 

[Clodagh]

If in doubt take him back. They won’t mind.

 

[AmyMay]

Is there heat in it?

 

[druid]

If you are concerned definitely bring him back or at the very least phone the vet for advice

 

[Identityincrisis]

Is there heat in it?

Not really

 

[planete]

Take him back. Does it look as if blood is pooling in the leg? Some lurcher lines have deficient coagulation and a knock can suddenly trigger a bleed in a dog who has previously been fine. Keep track of how much bigger the swelling is getting and take him back sooner rather than later if it keeps increasing.

 

[planete]

Sorry to be so alarmist but I had a very serious situation develop last year with one of mine because of this. The odds are that yours is fine and will turn out to have something benign. Keep us updated please.

 

[Identityincrisis]

Take him back. Does it look as if blood is pooling in the leg? Some lurcher lines have deficient coagulation and a knock can suddenly trigger a bleed in a dog who has previously been fine. Keep track of how much bigger the swelling is getting and take him back sooner rather than later if it keeps increasing.

Sorry I’m not sure what you mean by blood pooling? The swelling is rising rather than pooling at the paw, if that’s what you mean?

 

[Identityincrisis]

I marked the original swelling so i could keep track. God, i hate it when they’re poorly, I always second guess myself

 

[planete]

Sorry I’m not sure what you mean by blood pooling? The swelling is rising rather than pooling at the paw, if that’s what you mean?

Sorry, I just mean that the blood vessels keep leaking blood into the tissues even after coagulation should have stopped any bleeding. You then end up with a huge swelling and you need to administer tranexamic acid to halt the bleeding, internal or external.

 

[Mfh999]

I would soak it in warm salt water and manipulate it to see if there are any soft spots and repeat as often as you can before you visit the vet again. It won't do any harm and might bring things to a head, same as a poultice does. There could be a foreign body in there unseeable to the naked eye. Lurchers are sometimes, notoriously tough so will sit through anything or they can be total wimps and think they're throat's been cut; I'm not sure which is the worst to treat! Hope he's feeling better soon.

 

[Blurr]

I just had this with my Chihuahua, in his paw. He had a few days on ABs but the swelling increased, so he went back to the vet and had a GA so they could investigate more closely. They managed to get the pus out, didn't find any foreign bodies (said they usually get a grass seed or similar) and with a few extra days ABs Chi is mended.

 

[Identityincrisis]

Thanks everyone, the swelling has reduced overnight, thankfully!! I will continue to monitor it but he’s also fully mobile and weight baring now.

@Mfh999 he’s a combination he doesn’t do the death scream but he definitely errs on the side of ‘if in doubt act like your leg is hanging off’