My dog won't put weight on his front paw. When should I go to the vet?

I would wait a few days-he may have just sprained it. If he's crying or whimpering however, you should bring him ASAP.

It may be the split pad but it may also be a pulled shoulder muscle which is very painful for them and they cant put their weight on their front paw if that's the case. I would have the dog checked over at the vets in case the paw needs staples and if not then he may need an anti-inflamatory painkiller to aid the recovery of a pulled muscle.

I'd actually take the dog in right away so long as I had the money, because you probably won't need to do X-rays unless it's actually broken. Most vets know enough about anatomy to just feel the paw and be able to tell if a bone is out of place. If it is, then you know it's broken, and they can do an x-ray to find out more about how best to treat it. I wouldn't wait because every day you wait is another day that a broken bone would be healing the wrong way; if you take it in several days too late, it may even need to be re-broken before it can be set. Hopefully, of course, it's just a sprain or a torn ligament, and then you won't need to do anything but encourage the dog to rest. :)

Good luck!

Dog Front Paw

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It is very difficult to determine whether your dog has a strain or a sprain. If his leg is only sprained, it might heal quickly, depending on the severity.

A strain is much more serious and there is the possibility for some types of permanent damage.

The best advice I can give is to take the dog to the vet and have him/her check it out. You don't want to take a chance when there is the possibility of a more serious injury.

wait a day or two, then take him. if his paw or something is broke and not sprain, it needs to be set properly because if not it will heal in such an awful way, all bent! double check his paw pad for thorns and stickers just to be on the safe side.

My daughter, the vet tech, said to observe how far up he holds his paw. The higher they hold it, the lower the injury/pain. In other words, if he is holding it high, it's probably his paw. If he is holding just slightly off the ground, it's his shoulder.

do you see any obvious deformity? it could just be a thorn in his paw, or a cut. give him a bath so you can examine him closely, and see if you can feel any abnormalities. I hate to see you go to a vet, they waste so much money. wait it out a day or two first.

have you tried touching or bending the leg? If it hurts him to touch it, go now. Otherwise try getting him to play and see if he runs on it. If he still isn't using it in two or three days, take him in