Mollie is limping pretty bad

[Davy Crockett]

Yesterday Mollie the Border Collie got, accidentally, shut in a room when I went away for a bit.
When I came back she had a pretty good limp that continues.

She has a small cut, maybe 1/4" long on her right front leg above the ankle.

We washed it with saline and peroxide.
There may be some slight swelling.

Is there anything I should check?
I suspect she may have gotten her leg caught and pulled it.

Thank you

[grower]

Aside from getting her some antibiotics, I think you'd just have to wait and keep an eye on it. Normally, dogs lick their wounds -- which is the most healing thing they could do. Check it a couple of times a day, and if it gets very warm, that would be a sign of infection. Then you'd have to take her to the vet. I would not wrap it, or put any medicine on it that would make her sick when she licks it off.

[Summerthyme]

Feel up the leg, pressing gently on the various structures. If she did indeed get the leg caught, she probably sprained the shoulder. (in a dog who fell or jumped from a height, the injury is usually in the "elbow")

I doubt the cut is causing her the problems, unless it's a LOT deeper than you think. Use a good flashlight and spread the skin edges enough to be sure it's not, if there is any chance of that. These little dogs are amazingly strong for their size, and she probably used her strength to frantically try to escape her "prison", at least for a time.

If she does appear to have sore spots in her shoulder, a heating pad or towel soaked in hot water and wrung out well applied to the sore spot should help. Border Collies are tough... she should be fine.

Summerthyme

[Davy Crockett]

Thanks for the tips.
I'll dig deeper and report back

[Davy Crockett]

The cut doesn't seem too deep but it is tender.
Her shoulder and elbow seem ok.
It doesn't bother her when we press on it.
But her wrist does seem to be sensitive when we press on it.
That's also near where the cut is.

The leg does appear to have some swelling

[Summerthyme]

She's probably got some bruising in there, either from direct pressure on whatever she cut the leg on, or from "wrenching" it while trying to get out. The lameness/soreness may get a *little* worse tomorrow, but then should improve fairly quickly. I've had dogs get broken toes by getting stomped on by cows, who were back running mostly on the leg (admittedly, in a cast) within a week. Like I said, tough dogs.

However, if the lameness gets worse, or she is actively reluctant to put any weight on it... or if the swelling gets a lot worse, or begins to extend up the leg (symptoms of a possible infection) then it's probably time for a vet visit. I don't expect that to happen. Not sure where the cut is, but soaking it in some warm epsom salts water won't hurt, and won't hurt her when she licks the cut (as she will). A bit of antibiotic salve on the cut won't hurt, either.

Look at it this way... maybe she'll be a little less of a nuisance for a bit... or has that finally settled down? LOL!

Summerthyme

[Davy Crockett]

Calm is not a word to describe Borders as you well know.
But, in a relative sense, she is a lot calmer.

She still wants to go but isn't even trying to put weight on the one leg.

We'll dig out the Epsoms.

You probably cringe about Mollie when I send you stuff.
But she's really sweet.
Mostly.

Although not as bad, I can't break her of herding me when I step off the porch.

Oh. We have bunnies now and Mollie is fascinated on them.
She just lays under their cage and looks up at them.

Surprised she hasn't gotten squirted yet
Hadn't thought of that

[Davy Crockett]

Update:

She's still moving on three legs and holding the paw.
It feels a little warmer than the other one but not much.

She doesn't holler when I put pressure but you can tell it's bothering her because she tries to grab my hand lightly with her mouth.

We have looked and looked and can only find the little scratch

And it's still swollen

[Summerthyme]

Well, it's friday now. She's protecting whatever is wrong with it by staying off it, so unless it's an active infection (which would be awfully quick) she probably isn't doing any more harm.

If she's otherwise eating, and seems happy- not lying in the corner, avoiding contact with people or trying to "hide" (all typical behavior of seriously injured animals, wild or domestic) you're probably safe letting it go until Monday and seeing how she does. If she's showing any of those signs, it might be wise to call the vet and see if they can see her.

The good news is that dogs aren't susceptible to tetanus, so that's one worry off the board. She doesn't happen to have a splinter between the pads by any chance, does she?

I wish I could be of more help. This is one of those things where experience makes all the difference- after almost 40 years of doing this stuff, I can tell "serious" from "will heal on it's own" pretty accurately just by assessing body language as well as the local signs. But it's awfully hard to do over the computer!

Summerthyme

[Davy Crockett]

Just got back from the vet.
He thinks it is inflammation and he found the spot and she let us know.

He gave us some inflammatory (carprofen, I think) and said to get her spayed.

I said WTH!!

He said to keep a Border Collie calm (yeah, right) and if, after a few days, get an x-ray if not better.

First time to this vet