Took the girls out this morning and Merlot jogged down a slight hill and must have slipped, tripped, jarred her front leg on the uneven ground. She let out a yelp and then was hopping on 3 legs. She seems to have injured her front right somehow and initially was reluctant to put it down. I had a really good look and can find no obvious inj. She did after a few moments walk back to the car and is putting some weight through it. Of course it is NYE and the vet is open till 12 then shut till Tuesday. It does not look like a serious inj such as a fracture but possibly a sprain. So A dillema...if I go to the vet with her I expect they will order rest and pain relief (I have Metacam at home) I cannot see that they would x-ray today unless it was sever and she was unable to use it at all. I hate to call the vet out over the holidays as they work so hard but I fancy a trip this morning will not solve anything. I am tempted to rest and give her some pain relief and see how she gets on over the next couple af days. What do you think ?
Aileen

I would see what she was like on complete rest for a few days, the vets i've been to on this type of injury tend the recommended the same and give Metacam if needed. Will you be able to keep her quiet tonight though?

Yes she does not race about in the house !!
Are you coming ??
Aileen

I can't find anywhere for the dogs to go, my Dad won't have them as we all stayed there the other night and my dogs jumped up at his back door and left foot prints (rollseyes), big deal!!! I would love to come, however I think it's going to have to be a no this year :-(

Hope Merlot is ok and hopefully with some rest she'll be fine :-)

I would do just that. Rest and metacam and see how she goes. If you have checked the leg for swelling and felt it for signs of sever pain and she is using it a bit then that is probably all the vet would do. It goes without saying that if she deteriorates and shows signs of serious pain then you may need to review this.

Would say rest but no pain killer, it hurts for a reason to stop the dog overdoing it. Wait to see a vet before giving medication and if it is needed to control inflammation or swelling but for pain let the pain do its job. Would not be surprised if in 48 hours the limp has gone and the dog is back to normal but if not see a vet.

Sorry Nova I do not follow that line... :-( I know why the pain is there and the pain relief helps to make her more comfy. I can keep her rested without prolonging the pain.
Have just bumped into my vet while out at the bank who agreed, pain relief and rest give her 2 days and unless it worsens, if not better by Tues then down for further investigations. My vet run thier own OOH service so I know I will find one I know if I need to go before.
Aileen

No problem if your vet has said it is ok to give pain killer.

If a dog injures a limb and because it is not in pain it continues to use that limb it could be doing untold further damage so I would never give a pain killer until a vet has looked at the damage to make sure that movement was not going to make matters worse.

Dogs with broken bones have been known to continue using the limb because they have been given pain relief and the truth of the damage is only known when the bone breaks through the skin, that is an extreme example but until you know what the damage is I would not give any medication except for antihistamine in the case of an allergic reaction where no harm is likely to occur because of the relief.

This does not apply to those who are able to diagnose for themselves but most of us can't so better not give prescribed medication in case we make matters worse.

> Would say rest but no pain killer, it hurts for a reason to stop the dog overdoing it

I'd say the same.

Buster sometimes gets a limp from stumbling, I can get Metacam for him just by phoning the vets and they'll have some ready to pick up (no need for a vet visit), but even if I have some at home, I won't give any for a day or 2. I'd rather see how rest helps before resorting to medication. If only a mild injury, rest with a little controlled exercise (best to keep Buster moving a little or it's counter productive with his bad elbows ), will usually be enough to help.

I'm reluctant to give Metacam imediately as it can mask a more serious injury and I don't like to use it unless I have to. If Buster is lame enough to require a vet visit, then he'll have Metacam as soon as the vet has seen him. Otherwise I wait for a few days of him taking it easy and if not a great improvemnt I'll give him Metacam (if it appears to be the usual problem that's playing him up, otherwise he'd see the vet).

Maybe it's because of the environment I work in but we are daily amazed by the amount of peole who bring children in with injuries and our first question is "Have you given pain relief" the answer so often is "No we thought you would want to see how bad it is first" Yet at the first sign of a headache/muscular ache etc.. we dose ourselves up with paracetamol/ibubrofen. The first thing offered in A&E is pain relief. Metacam is always part of my dog medicine chest and if a dog is in pain I will give some pain relief. My vet and I have had this conversation many times and she agrees, why leave a dog/child in pain if a little pain relief will help. No one is suggesting ignoring serious injury and a mild pain relief such as Metacam will not mask the pain of a serious injury such as a broken bone. If I was in the least bit worried that she had done any more than a sprain or pulled muscle I would have gone directly to the vets as she did it. If she has done more than that even with a vet visit this morning a hairline fracture or torn muscle/tendon would have been treated the same for the first 24 hours. She is as we speak settled on a vet bed in the dining room in the quiet resting. She will have no excersise untill Monday at the earliest and we will moniter her over the next 24 hours. Rest assured she will be in the car on the way to the vet if she detieriorates.
Aileen

>My vet and I have had this conversation many times and she agrees, why leave a dog/child in pain if a little pain relief will help.

The difference is that you can tell a child or an adult not to move/to rest and explain why, and they'll understand and co-operate. A dog won't - if it doesn't hurt then it'll behave as normal, possibly doing further damage to an injury.

I.m with you on this Aileen why let the dog be miserable ,its bad enough for a normally active dog to be restricted without being in pain aswell.  
I think most experienced owners know their dogs well enough to gauge extreme pain in which case of to the vet we go whatever the day is new year or not.
A bit of rest and comfort may be all she needs I know you would never waste time getting her there if you felt the need.
Hope the gorgeous Merlot soon feels much better (she is one of my favourites but you already know that ) and you all have a wonderful new year.
Sharon x

>its bad enough for a normally active dog to be restricted without being in pain aswell.  

It's the other way around; a dog in pain will naturally restrict its activity whereas one that's had pain relief is less likely to.

If you do have to take Merlot to the vet (hopefully not) then make sure that any pain relief is out of her system first to make it easier for the vet to locate the source of the trouble. Dogs that don't say "ouch" can be the very devil to diagnose!

Glad some of you understand my thinking I was starting to feel my attitude was cruel. Dogs reaction to pain is just not the same as in people.

Withhold pain killer from a injured dog until it has had professional examination, but if a dog has a long term condition giving pain then I would be the first to say that life enjoyment is far more important than life length.

Add to that I would never tell someone to give an animal painkillers, it really is a matter for the vet, different for you to adjust your animals meds. but never to suggest to others what they should be giving except as I said in the case of antihistamines that will do no harm even if they do no good.

Remember one paracetamol can kill a cat!

> Glad some of you understand my thinking I was starting to feel my attitude was cruel.

I agree, I'm not always experienced enough to diagnose what is going on when a dog is in pain so no give pain relief until we have sought advice and then only enough to take the edge off it - otherwise I find they dash around causing concern that further damage will be done.  I find that a dog resting in some discomfort is much easier to deal with and settled than having to cage one that is injured but pain free.

How's Merlot doing today? Better I hope

Much better thank you she has improved overnight a lot. :-)
Aileen

Good news x

Yay, brilliant news Aileen.. Hope she continues and is full recovered very soon x

I,m  so glad she is feeling better Aileen x

Merlot is back to normal today. Thank goodness it was just a sprain.
Aileen

Thats good x

Good news :)

Good news indeed. :-)