My dog slipped on ice a month ago and is limping. Should I see a vet?

It can be so hard to get an active dog to rest an injury! Because this has been going on for a few months I think it would be a good idea for Abraham to see a veterinarian. Often active dogs will injure their ACLs or hips which can result in on and off lameness. Your veterinarian can assess Abraham's left hind leg and decide if pain medications or even X-rays are needed. Please remember there are no safe over the counter pain medications for dogs so your veterinarian will need to prescribe meds for Abraham. I hope this is helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and wishing for a speedy recovery for Abraham!

Great question! I would definitely take her into the vet for an x-ray since Moka has been limping for the past few days. The leg is obviously bothering her, or else she wouldn't limp at all. Keep in mind as well that limping is a sign of pain, and you don't want her to be in pain any longer. It could be that she has arthritis, which would get worse when the temperature drops at night, or it could be something more serious like a torn ligament in her knee. I would have her seen by a vet tomorrow if possible. I hope this helps :-)

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Dexter! Since it has been going on for 3 weeks already I think it is time to have him seen by your Vet. Common causes of hing leg lameness are: hip dysplasia, cruciate (ACL tears), Lyme or other tick borne disease, immune polyarthropathy, HOD, panoseitis, or simply a strain or a sprain. If you haven't strictly rested him (leash walks, no running or jumping) for a week you can try that first. But if he is still having problems he should be seen. I hope this helps and I wish Dexter the very best!

There’s not much to do other than monitor Howl (adorable name!) for continued limping. It can be difficult for veterinarians to localize pain so I wouldn’t really bother trying to perform any kind of exam at home. If limping continues for more than 24 hours or if Howl won’t put any weight on the leg you should see your vet. It would be a good idea to restrict activity to short leashed walks only for the next 3-5 days just in case.

If Sonnie has been limping for 2 weeks, then it is time to see your vet to see what is going on. Often when dogs have the adrenaline rush of being outside and running, they will limp less than when they are walking slowly inside, so that is not unusual. The licking you are noticing may be due to pain at that location, so hopefully your vet can find the problem and figure out treatment to make Sonnie feel better. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Sonnie feels better soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Limping can be caused by several different problems - if x-rays didn't show a fracture, then it is likely that Bentley has some type of soft-tissue injury causing him to limp. One of the most common injuries like this that we see in dogs is a torn cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) - this is the same ligament that human athletes sometimes injure, called the ACL in humans. This ligament is responsible for stabilizing the knee joint when the dog walks, so if it is torn it causes significant lameness that does not improve with rest and pain medication. Other possible causes of limping for over a month would be a torn muscle, or a torn tendon or ligament in another part of the leg. Unfortunately, these injuries will not show up on x-rays. If your veterinarian doesn't have any other suggestions for further testing (such as a sedated orthopedic exam to check joint stability), then I would recommend asking for a referral to an orthopedic specialist. Bentley may need an MRI or other advanced imaging to diagnose the problem.

Hi there. It's hard to say why Brunoo might be limping without being able to examine his leg and take some x-rays. If he's been limping for a year, this indicates that something serious may be wrong. He may have a torn ligament in his knee, a fracture somewhere that has not healed, or a joint problem such as hip dysplasia. I would recommend taking him to the vet for an exam when you are able to. He/she can do a complete orthopedic exam under sedation if needed to evaluate the laxity of his joints, range of motion, etc. and check for any evidence of swelling or other issues. It's likely that he will also need x-rays as part of this visit to help determine the problem.