I could use 's advice right now.

[Guest guest]

Gosh how I miss . Pepper, my dog, has been limping really bad today. She's always such a speedy dog and hardly ever sits in one place. Today she hardly moves and is limping on her right front paw. I will take her to a vet if this doesn't stop in a day or two, but you know how that is. After $200, $300 dollars maybe they'll let me know what is wrong, or maybe she just somehow strained her paw and they won't tell me anything anyway. So, I was thinking, if was bodily with us maybe she could suggest something, like what to give her for pain or whether there was absolutely anything I can do about it. We all know she was such an expert on dogs.

Please fell free to send your suggestions. I know there are some other "dog people" in the group and I sure hope you can fill in for . PLEASE!

Mojo

[Guest guest]

Mojo,

My lab mix dog had the same type of problem about two years ago, we took him to the vet and he prescribed Rimadyl for Bruce. He got better but has had a few episodes since then - my vet said that we could give him Glucosomine (a supplement) instead of the expensive pills and he seems to do well. The other thing the vet said was that when Bruce was in pain, we could give him a coated aspirin (something like ecotrin) it seems to help him.

Hope this helps a little I know I hate it when my babies are feeling badly.

Kim T.

I could use 's advice right now.

Gosh how I miss . Pepper, my dog, has been limping really bad today. She's always such a speedy dog and hardly ever sits in one place. Today she hardly moves and is limping on her right front paw. I will take her to a vet if this doesn't stop in a day or two, but you know how that is. After $200, $300 dollars maybe they'll let me know what is wrong, or maybe she just somehow strained her paw and they won't tell me anything anyway. So, I was thinking, if was bodily with us maybe she could suggest something, like what to give her for pain or whether there was absolutely anything I can do about it. We all know she was such an expert on dogs.

Please fell free to send your suggestions. I know there are some other "dog people" in the group and I sure hope you can fill in for . PLEASE!

Mojo

"The LUPIES Store" Come check out our store...http://www.cafepress.com/thelupies"The LUPIES Web Page"http://www.itzarion.com/lupusgroup.html"The LUPIES online photo albums!" Check out what your fellow Lupies look like...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=lupies

[Guest guest]

Mojo -

First can you give me an idea of what kind (or combinations) of dog Pepper is? And how old she is, whether she has any known health issues and how much she weighs? The "first aid" you might use to help or make her more comfortable if she is a Chihuahua would be a lot different than, say, is she is a St. Bernard 8-). I can check for safe first aid in my Home Vet Care Handbook but their suggestions are based on size.

Usually causes of limping front paws are either injury to the paw itself or to the shoulder. If the shoulder, she's more likely to look like she hurts all over - if an injury to the foot, it's more likely she'd walk on 3 legs instead of 4 (off kilter rather than stiff)

Will she let you massage her shoulder area? Is there any swelling? If the leg bone or an entire toe seems swollen there is a possibility that something is broken and you need the vet for an X-ray. If she doesn't give you any flack feeling it, then look more closely at the foot - common things are torn/broken toenails - they bleed and look a lot worse than they are. Treatment is mostly preventive measures to prevent infection - soaking to clean, some antibiotics (either topical or internal depending on what you have access to) and wrapping it to prevent further tearing. Injuries to the pad are also common - either a cut or other abrasion (treat similar to the previous) or something caught in the "sections" between the pads which can be anything from a piece of something that was on the ground where she stepped to a burr or even a seed that was on the ground. If there is a foreign body there, it needs to be removed - either with fingers or if something small like a seed or splinter then tweezers or forceps may help you grab it. Some dogs will get a cyst between their toes that eventually bursts - if you see a pimple like thing that would be most likely what it is. You pretty much have to wait for it to burst and bloody pus-like discharge to drain - again, cleaning and antibiotics.

Is she eating and drinking per normal - if she's normally "food motivated" and turns down a treat you've got more of a worry than if she's taking things in (and letting them back out the other end <go>).

Sue (not a vet but with 35 years of dog breeding/handling experience)

I could use 's advice right now.

Gosh how I miss . Pepper, my dog, has been limping really bad today. She's always such a speedy dog and hardly ever sits in one place. Today she hardly moves and is limping on her right front paw. I will take her to a vet if this doesn't stop in a day or two, but you know how that is. After $200, $300 dollars maybe they'll let me know what is wrong, or maybe she just somehow strained her paw and they won't tell me anything anyway. So, I was thinking, if was bodily with us maybe she could suggest something, like what to give her for pain or whether there was absolutely anything I can do about it. We all know she was such an expert on dogs.

Please fell free to send your suggestions. I know there are some other "dog people" in the group and I sure hope you can fill in for . PLEASE!

Mojo

"The LUPIES Store" Come check out our store...http://www.cafepress.com/thelupies"The LUPIES Web Page"http://www.itzarion.com/lupusgroup.html"The LUPIES online photo albums!" Check out what your fellow Lupies look like...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=lupies

[Guest guest]

Dear Sue, thank you for responding.

First of all, she is a Schnoodle, a schnauzer poodle mix. She weighs around 18 pounds. I do realize the weight has a huge difference in dogs. She is two and a half years old, so this should not be age related. I know dogs get arthritis, could it be this early?

She is eating her can food, but will not take snacks. She normally eats everything that comes her way, so it definitely is not like her. She drank very little water though.

She does not jump around at all now. Even when we get up she still stays on her blanket at the foot of the bed and wags her tail instead of getting up with us and running around. It is also very difficult to get her out for a walk. When she first gets up, she's afraid to put any weight on the paw, you can see she is. She'll hold the paw up for a while before deciding to step on it and she'll repeat it a few times. Then when she takes a few steps it's better. The more she moves the better it is, but every time she is down for a while it gets worst getting up for her. She is definitely not herself and I'll see if they can see her at the vet today. I checked the bottom of her paws yesterday. A while ago she had a broken toe, bleeding one and she was slightly limping, but nothing compare to this. I also compared both of her paws and there doesn't seem to be any difference from the shoulder down, or I can't feel it.

I am really worried at this point. Time today is very tight, and tomorrow I have chemo. There really isn't anything I can cancel, so getting her to the vet is not going to be easy, especially if they can't see her today.

Mojo

I could use 's advice right now.

Gosh how I miss . Pepper, my dog, has been limping really bad today. She's always such a speedy dog and hardly ever sits in one place. Today she hardly moves and is limping on her right front paw. I will take her to a vet if this doesn't stop in a day or two, but you know how that is. After $200, $300 dollars maybe they'll let me know what is wrong, or maybe she just somehow strained her paw and they won't tell me anything anyway. So, I was thinking, if was bodily with us maybe she could suggest something, like what to give her for pain or whether there was absolutely anything I can do about it. We all know she was such an expert on dogs.

Please fell free to send your suggestions. I know there are some other "dog people" in the group and I sure hope you can fill in for . PLEASE!

Mojo

"The LUPIES Store" Come check out our store...http://www.cafepress.com/thelupies"The LUPIES Web Page"http://www.itzarion.com/lupusgroup.html"The LUPIES online photo albums!" Check out what your fellow Lupies look like...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=lupies "The LUPIES Store" Come check out our store...http://www.cafepress.com/thelupies"The LUPIES Web Page"http://www.itzarion.com/lupusgroup.html"The LUPIES online photo albums!" Check out what your fellow Lupies look like...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=lupies

[Guest guest]

F>irst of all, she is a Schnoodle, a schnauzer poodle mix. She weighs around 18 pounds.

Then she is comparable in size to my guys which makes it easy for me to relate.

>She is two and a half years old, so this should not be age related. I know dogs get arthritis, could it be this early?

Arthritis is not impossible but it usually shows up first in the hips and hindquarters - and I think you said this is a front paw?

>She is eating her can food, but will not take snacks. She normally eats everything that comes her way, so it definitely is not like her. She drank very little water though.

That would be an indication that she likely is in some degree of pain.... you do want to be sure she drinks some water so that you don't end up with her dehyrdrated or prone to a kidney infection.

>She does not jump around at all now.

and

>wags her tail instead of getting up with us and running around. It is also very difficult to get her out for a walk. When she first gets up, she's afraid to put any weight on the paw, you can see she is.

Again more signs of some degree of pain...

>Then when she takes a few steps it's better. The more she moves the better it is, but every time she is down for a while it gets worst getting up for her. She is definitely not herself and I'll see if they can see her at the vet today. I checked the bottom of her paws yesterday. A while ago she had a broken toe, bleeding one and she was slightly limping, but nothing compare to this. I also compared both of her paws and there doesn't seem to be any difference from the shoulder down, or I can't feel it.

Aha - some clues! My guess is if the toe episode was fairly recent that perhaps she had a minor injury (landed the wrong way jumping of the bed, stubbed it while running around - that sort of thing) and is just being cautious until she is sure it doesn't hurt more (or any more). There could be a chance she is developing an infection that got in there when the earlier wound was open and that is making it sensitvie - I'd keep an eye on it to see if it starts feeling warm/hot to the touch or starts to get swollen. You might also want to take her temperature - dog's normal temp is around 101 to 101.5 - above that they are running a fever which could indicate an infection as well.

[Guest guest]

>dehyrdrated or prone to a kidney infection

oops - should have said bladder problem which could lead to more serious problems

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