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Dog limping - not sure why

Posted 1005 days ago

Hi everyone.

My parents have an 8yo kelpie x border collie. 8 days ago she hurt her back leg or paw. I was the only one home but never saw what happened. Anyway for a couple of days afterwards she would not put any weight on the leg at all, and would hobble around on 3 legs. I checked over her whole leg and paw but just can't find what is wrong. There's no swelling and it doesn't look like any claws are split or torn.

After a couple of days of her hobbling round I told my parents that she should be taken to the vet, but they still haven't done it. She did start putting some weight on it after a few days but she still limps, and she's not spreading the paw out completely on the ground. Sometimes it seems almost ok, but being part kelpie she can't help chasing birds and things and keeps aggravating it. Though she isn't off her food and isn't licking the paw, the limp is still there and she sometimes goes back into 3-legged mode.

After reading several online articles it seems the majority of vets recommend to bring a dog in if it's still limping after a couple of days since it could have torn a ligament or something. Or may need anti inflammatories to help heal.

So do you think my parents are not being concerned enough about this? I've heard some bad sprains can take a couple of weeks to heal. But obviously being forced to walk around on it could be causing more injury, or at least not giving it time to heal, don't you agree?