whats wrong with my dogs leg?????

I don't know what you consider professional answers, but I'm experienced, so I will respond.

Hopefully you have taught your dog to allow you to feel it's paws and legs as it grew up. If you have, all will go well.

Gently take the paw and check all pads and between the digits.

Look for cuts, thorns, blood, bruising, etc. Touch and gently push to see if this causes him pain. If the paw seems fine, start palpating the rest of the leg. I believe it's a hind leg from your description. To palpate, you rub your hand along an area. If no twitching or pulling away, you can gently squeeze and see how he responds. When you get to the hip area press gently from various angles to see if he responds.

Some dogs are stoic and won't show pain for you.

If you want to wait and see if he just bruised something, you can give him ecotrin which is a coated aspirin and was recommended to me by a vet as preferable to regular aspirin.

If you find any swelling that could be an insect bite, you can try benedryl for allergies to see if it helps.

If you can't find anything, you can either try those things or you can go to the vet. If you try the ecotrin and/or benedryl and the dog is still not better in a few hours, then take him to the vet.

He could have arthritis developing.

He could have a strained muscle.

He could have hip joint problems.

He could have a cruciate ligament injury.

My dog had cruciate ligament injury and the vet determined it by palpating and listening for the drawer effect. There's a looseness to the joint and a sound that it makes when handled for testing that tells the vet if this is it.

If your vet recommends surgery, join the yahoo group called "Orthodogs" as they are very helpful and supportive.

Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure what's wrong with your pup is to take him to the vet. If it were my dog and it was limping and/or hold his paw in the air I would:

1. look to see if he had anything in it.

2. I would monitor the behavior to see if the pup did it all the time or only some times - if sometimes I'd note when he did it.

3. I would try touching the leg to see what type of reaction I got from him.

4. I would take him to the vet for a proper diagnosis.

Your dog might have just sprained his leg or he could have torn a cruciate ligament. There's no real way of knowing without having a vet look him over.

If your dog has a tendency to jump or run a lot, then it might be a torn cruciate ligament. This is not an uncommon problem in many dogs - especially active ones.

The cruciate ligament is basically a knee injury for a dog and there are a couple of procedures which can be done to fix it.

Good luck with your pup - I hope he's feeling better soon.

I would recommend taking your pooch to the vet. I had a very similar problem with my dog just recently. They took some X-rays and found her knee was slightly out of joint. Right now they are treating her with Glucosamine and an anti-inflammitory which is working out well so far. Some breeds are prone to hereditary diseases such as hip displaysia or arthritis. Also, check between his toes to make sure he doesn't have any foreign objects stuck in there. At any rate, please be a responsible pet owner and have your pet looked at.

Try to get a look at the leg. This won't be easy because dogs in pain are prone to biting when you try to handle sensitive areas.

Try distracting him with treats (or have someone else give him treats) while you examine the leg for any obvious signs of trauma.

If you don't see anything, try giving him regular aspirin (NOT TYLENOL!). You can give him 1/2 of one adult asprin pill (if he's over 15 pounds but under 35 pounds) or one asprin if he's over 35 pounds.

Give him an hour or two on the asprin. If he's not improving, you need to call the vet.

He may have just strained it, in which case the asprin will help. If not, no one can diagnose the problem except for a vet.

While he is laying down, check to make sure that he did not do anything to the pad on his paw. If there is nothing there then try and see if you can touch or move the leg that he is holding in the air. If you can manipulate the leg without him reacting, then chances are he may have just either laid on it wrong or he may have pulled a muscle. If he does react to you touching the leg in question, then make a call to your vet and have him checked out.

Have you checked to see if anything has went in the dogs pad or between the toes? Could the dog have hurt itself while you were upstairs? I know my dog heard me coming down stairs it jumped off the sofa the wrong way & hurt its back leg I just left it in peace for a couple hours till it felt a little better, then I took to the vets to get checked over, it had pulled it & swelling was causing the dog not to want to put it down.

http://www.bigpawsonly.com/acl-injuries-in-dogs-fe...

take a little look @ this site, it is very helpful until you get your dog to the vets to be checked over.

Yes.

Is his leg swollen? My dog had Lyme Disease and she couldn't walk on one of her legs.

Dogs show several different forms of the disease, but by far, the most common symptoms are a fever of between 103 and 105°, shifting leg lameness (limping usually one foreleg), swelling in the joints, lethargy, inappetence, and maybe most importantly, response to appropriate antibiotics. The limping usually progresses over three to four days from mild and barely noticeable to complete disuse of the painful leg. Once the dog starts to be affected by the bacteria, Lyme Disease can progress from a mild discomfort to the stage where a dog will be in such joint and muscle pain it will refuse to move; it is not uncommon for an owner to have to carry a sick dog into the animal hospital. Over the span of two or three days a dog can progress from normal to completely unable to walk due to generalized joint pain. In addition to joint damage, the bacteria can affect the dog's heart muscle and nerve tissue. If the disease is diagnosed in time, treatment can cure the dog before permanent joint or nerve damage occurs. Certain antibiotics, such as the Tetracyclines, are very helpful in eliminating the disease.

He might have developed Hip Dysplasia. This is where the hip joint doesn't fit correctly in the hip socket. It is fairly common among Labs, Great Danes, German Shepards and other large dogs, but any type of dog can have it. Depending on the severity it manifests as arthritis as the dog ages. Take him to the vet for X-rays and he can tell you if this is what is wrong and what to do.

Shes been humping too long.. Lol, I'm just kidding, your dog probablly has what is none in both human and animal. Arthrites. You should bring her to the vet, they could fix her up in no time, they did that to my friends dog, you can also get pet-meds. Or your dog just may have a fractured bone. I hope you and your sweet dog make the best of it.

I think you should look at his foot carefully for anything stuck in his paws. Thorns, sticks, glass, etc. Make sure you check between each toe. Feel to see if you feel any lumps or bumps of any kind. If you see anything stuck in his paws, see if you can remove it. If you find lumps, or bumps, you should take him to the vet. Also take him to the vet if you don't notice anything. I hope this helps. Let us know what was wrong.