Question:
Kayla (Pitbull) has been limping on and off for several days. One minute she seems fine and is running around, next she is hobbling along on 3 legs with the other one 6 inches off the ground. I've checked the pad and between the toes, and can't find any reason for the action. Is it possible that she has just sprained the foot and it needs a week or so to heal? She's not yelping at all, but I nearly lost a finger when I poked around trying to feel the bones in her foot.

Obviously if I don't see any improvement by the weekend, I'll book an appt. with the vet, but just wondering if anyone has any insights or experience with this type of injury.

Answer:
I could be wrong, but I think the general rule is to wait 24 hours. If there is no improvement, go to the vet. It sounds like you should take her and have her checked out ASAP. Animals very rarely show pain, so if you're seeing something it's probably very distressing for her. :(

I hope she's okay!

Answer:
Originally Posted by Me and Kayla
Obviously if I don't see any improvement by the weekend, I'll book an appt. with the vet,

If your vet is anything like mine, getting checked out and possibly needing an xray, getting an apt during the week is best. Otherwise, if it worsens over the weekend, you may need to head to an emergency vet. If you have the option of getting an apt before the weekend, I'd take it.

It's already been going on for several days, right? has there been improvement or is it the same? if it's the same or worse, I'd head in sooner than later. If Kayla won't let you touch or put pressure on her paw bones, I'd say it needs to be looked at.

My dog has landed funny going down our stairs, or from doing zoomies, but it's generally a quick hobble, and he's MUCH better the following day (after a night of rest).

Answer:
I would agree, except for the fact that one minute she is putting pressure on it and running full guns up and down the stairs, and 20 mins later she is standing with her foot 6" off the ground and limping. I know that Pitties have a high pain threshold, but it strikes me that if it was really bad she wouldn't be able to walk on it at all. I don't see it getting worse....it just hasn't changed for the better in 2 days. I'm just wondering if giving it a couple more days to see if it gets better is going to do more damage?

Me and Kayla

Answer:
My dog recently sprained her ankle, one minute she was walking fine and the next little while she was limping. When she would lie down, she would tuck her sore paw underneath her leg. It was very sore, she wouldn't let us touch her paw at all.

When she hurt her paw, it was in the morning, I thought she stepped on a rock or something. I took her to the vet the following day, she was also whinning abit.

No xrays where done, the vet could tell nothing was ripped or broken, by bending her leg. The diagnosis was a "doggy version of a sprain ankle" she needed complete rest for minium of a week, it was actually two weeks where she didn't go for walks, ran or played.

Answer:
Originally Posted by poodletalk
My dog recently sprained her ankle, one minute she was walking fine and the next little while she was limping. When she would lie down, she would tuck her sore paw underneath her leg. It was very sore, she wouldn't let us touch her paw at all.

When she hurt her paw, it was in the morning, I thought she stepped on a rock or something. I took her to the vet the following day, she was also whinning abit.

No xrays where done, the vet could tell nothing was ripped or broken, by bending her leg. The diagnosis was a "doggy version of a sprain ankle" she needed complete rest for minium of a week, it was actually two weeks where she didn't go for walks, ran or played.

That sounds exactly the same as Kayla's injury. How the heck do you stop a dog from walking, running or playing though. Not a chance I'll be able to keep Kayla from moving around. :(

Me and Kayla

Answer:
I don't know if I'm late, but IMO, dogs are a sort of "seize the day" animal.. No matter what state they are in, they try their best to make the most of fun situations. They'll put their pain aside for a few minutes, get the endorphins pumping and then when they stop, the pain comes back, probably worse. So you can't judge a limping dog by the pain-free moments, IMO.

Answer:
She's a husky, it was very difficult on us for her not to walk around. We don't crate her either, basically we took her on short walks for her to go to the bathroom. Her leash was very short, there was no way she could have ran on such a short leash. In the house, we blocked off the area where she could go.

At the beginning, she didn't really want to go on walks, her paw was sore and she knew it.

When she was feeling better, but her paw wasn't 100% she was driving us crazy!!!! She would pace at night and when we were home, she would follow us around.

If it doesn't get better in a day or two, take her to the vet. I was lucky, my dog it was just a sprain but my parents dog years ago hurt her leg. They too thought it was just a minor problem, but it turned out to be a ripped knee ligament. My parents dogs symptoms weren't much different from my dogs symptoms.

Answer:
She's not yelping at all, but I nearly lost a finger when I poked around trying to feel the bones in her foot.
That alone says the pain is very bad, often dogs will break toe bones, and sometime if not noted or they are not taken to the vet the the bone can then pierce out through the skin or foot pad which can result in a nasty infection as well, I know of 3 greyhounds that are currently recovering from broken toes, they are put into splints to allow the bones to heal.

Sorry but this should be a vet visit now with x-rays

Like Prin said when excited they release hormones (endorphins) which will mask the pain temporarily and with activity they can do further damage

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