I don’t know what caused the initial ankle sprain. Polaris was playing with one of the other dogs, and suddenly let out a long whine of pain. I turned around, and saw her holding up her back left paw. I went over and gently squeezed it all over to see if any bones were broken, and then flexed the foot to see if that caused any discomfort. It didn’t seem to. She limped for about an hour, and then was back to normal.
A day later, she was getting up to run to bark at a knock on the door, and let out a screech of pain, limping on the same ankle. Again, after about an hour, she was back to normal.
Two more days pass, with complete normalcy, then today, the same thing happened. A knock at the door, and she sprang up to go bark at it, and squealed as if she had twisted the ankle again. She’s limping a bit, favoring it.
As I said, I feel no broken bones or abnormal swelling in the area. She does not squeal when I flex it (and she’s one of those dogs who will let you know when something hurts.) It just seems to hurt her when she turns it the wrong way, or steps on it funny.
Should I take her into the vet’s office, or wait to mention it at her spring checkup? I don’t know if there’s anything the vet could do for a sprain, and that’s the only reason why I’m hesistating to take her to see him.
Your vet would most likely tell you to put the dog on crate rest, or similarly confined, so the strain could heal. And would most likely either suggest coated aspirin, or prescribe something for inflammation.
No running to the door, no playing in the back yard, give it a good three days. If your dog is on any meds or has health issues, check with your vet before giving aspirin (with food, and aspirin only, not another type of NSAID.)
If she’s still having ouchy episodes after three days of this, it would be worth a vet visit. How big a dog and how old? A “simple” muscle pull can take weeks of rest to properly heal, especially in a large dog. There’s extra cautions with young, growing dogs, and senior dogs.
This is what I would do with one of mine.
What do you mean by dog ankle? Do you mean pastern or hock? It seems weird that she would keep hurting the same leg when she jumps up - how old is she?
If she is older or a bigger breed, Trader Joe’s sells doggie glucosamine that might help her. But otherwise, I think I would take her to a vet to see if there’s a reason other than “spraining” that could be causing her pain.
I would definitely take your dog to the vet. The symptoms that you are describing sound an awful lot like a torn ACL. This condition is VERY painful for the dog and it’s possible that your dog could become lame if not treated. A vet will be able to tell you what is causing the pain and can prescribe the correct treatment, be it sprain or ACL.
Glucosamine isn’t a bad idea (one of my dogs takes it because he has dysplastic elbows) but won’t cure a strain.
The sort of intermittent pain & limping on the same leg is pretty typical of a muscle pull, because it’s not being given a chance to heal long enough. Rest and aspirin (or similar) and tincture of time is the best healer for any muscle injury.
Could be that too, and you’re right about waiting too long though a few days would be OK given the lack of severity of symptoms. But I think an ACL injury (torn ligament) results in constant, rather than intermittent, pain. A muscle pull is the most common cause - of course it could be anything from bone cancer (can cause fractures) to ACL to luxated patella, and only a vet exam would tell you.
Most likely a muscle pull, from my experience…but sure, if any worries persist, the only way to know is going to the vet.
Lissa, she is very cute!
I’m leaning more toward it being a muscle strain or sprain because she’s a real wuss when it comes to pain. If she’s uncomfortable, she lets you know immediately, and she’s very vocal when something hurts. So, I don’t think she’s in any sort of* constant* pain. It’s more like she steps on it wrong and hurts it again.
Thanks. She’s really sweet-- or she will be once she calms down a bit. I’ve never seen such an energetic dog. And man, can she jump. She’d make an awesome Frizbee dog.
I’d take her. My dog had similar symptoms (no whining, though) and it turned out he had a lump (benign) on the leg, and arthritis. (He’s 12, so that’s not your problem.) Though aspirin works, we have a pain killer that is a bit stronger from the vet, and he’s comfortable. We had two guide dog puppies with elbow dysplasia also, which caused them to be career changed. I’d think it would be better to be safe and not risk whatever it is getting worse.