Help please - hurt dog

[lackingimagination]

We got back from a country walk and she was hopping on her rear leg but didn't seem to be wincing or in too much pain. Rubbed her down and she soon started walking around normally but every now and again would jolt it and have a limp.

It seems to be the pad area that's affected, I have bathed her and checked for thorns, insects etc. I have cut her hang claw and tried rubbing a bit of savlon in and around the pad (only did this 20 minutes ago).

The thing that's confusing me though is that she will lie down absolutely fine and then 60 seconds later it will jolt and she gets unsettled. She's licking it a lot. But she isn't yelping in pain. I thought maybe a muscular spasm but it's definitely something around the pad area as she's twitching it away when I try and touch it.

This has been going on for a couple of hours now, the poor dog is in a state as she can't sit still for more than a minute. Any ideas please???

A seed or a thorn stuck in? You'll need very bright light and maybe some clippers to track it down

My last dog got a rose thorn stuck in and I couldn't find it until it started swelling round it as it was very dark and her paws were black

Maybe theres a splinter that you can't actually see? If it's not upsetting her too much maybe see how the next few hours go and if it's no better tomorrow, get the vet to check it.

Thanks for your replies. Yes, a splinter/thorn seems most likely. She's long haired too so difficult to see properly even having cut as much hair away as possible.

I was just starting to panic as we live 15 miles from the nearest vet and DH has the car today.

If its a seed it can be a pain in the bum. Have another look. My poor dog burnt his paws on newly laid tarmac once, poor boy we had to bathe his paws in salt water bless him.

My dog does this if he's stepped on nettles - it's worse in spring as the new shoots are much more potent (and harder to see so easier to step on).

We bathe his paws and give him a piriton - he's fine after a few hours but it's obviously very distressing for a while

Nettles, that's a great shout! There were definitely some around too.

She's asleep now so it seems to have calmed down. Thanks everyone.

Keep an eye on her - if it was a country walk she may have stepped in chemical fertiliser or insecticide etc - some of these can be caustic. Give her paw a good wash - this will help if she has stepped on something, too. Certainly won't do any harm.