Limping dog

[hiredandsqueak]

Bella jumped off of the back of the sofa earlier and landed badly. We have them digging up the pavements so she was in a rush to bark at the front door as she saw them from her perch. She didn't yelp but she is limping. I've given her metacam, she's eaten all her dinner and she is still jumping on and off of the sofa so can I wait and see how she is in the morning before calling the vet do you think?

Honestly, I wouldn't call the vet at all unless the limp didn't improve after a few days of rest and medication at home.

It depends how much metacam you've got and how much pain she is in and how often this happens.

Even if it improves after a few days, if this is a 2nd or 3rd occurence then I'd be starting to suspect a cruciate ligament injury.

If it's just a one off and you've got enough pian relief for her, I'd see how she goes.

Well she's up this morning and the limp is gone. We will have a quiet day and just a stroll around the block on her lead once it stops raining rather than the usual traipse off lead today just in case. The rain puts her off wanting a walk anyway so she won't feel hard done by.

My rules are (as an agility trainer/owner of active dogs) is that if they are weight bearing give it 3 - 4 days and see if it gets better before calling the vet. If not weight bearing then vet right away.

I am not a massive fan of pain meds initially as it can make them stupid and do more damage. Better it hurt a bit (if there is obvious swelling then absolutely pain meds or follow vet advice).

I'd exercise onlead only for 2 weeks minimum and then be cautious after that. Absolutely no ball throwing for at least a month (or every tbh). Dogs mask pain really well so if they are limping it is REALLY hurting.

Thank you for that I will be cautious for longer now. No pain meds at all today and she seems happy. We've had a quiet day. She's an old girl so doesn't do much chasing these days but she does like a good walk with an occasional spurt if something catches her eye. I'm going to try and discourage her using the back of the sofa as it's quite a jump for a small old dog.