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Molly and I were walking at our local park last night. It was a little warmer than it has been lately and she had lots of energy and wanted to run in circles. I knew she wanted to run because she kept looking back at me. The snow on the ground was melting, but there were patches of ice in places on the sidewalk. While walking on the sidewalk, Molly decided to take off and run, but she slipped on the ice and her legs buckled under her. She got up quickly and kept walking, but I stopped to see if she was hurt. She wasn’t, thank goodness, but it made me think about how dogs can injure themselves if they fall on ice or fall when it’s snowing and slick.
Can Dogs pull a muscle, stretch a tendon or tear a ligament?
Yes, of course they can. Just like us. These are called soft tissue injuries. They can get a soft tissue injury from falling or slipping, from a dog fight, or even while they are playing. These soft tissue injuries can be very mild or pretty severe. If your dog is limping, there is chance he/she has a soft tissue injury and could be in pain and you need to have it looked at by a vet.
Soft tissues consist of muscles, ligaments and tendons. Tendons are what attaches the muscles to the bones and the ligaments are what connects bones to each other. When a dog has a soft tissue injury, he/she can have swelling and pain in whatever part of the body they have injured.
A lot of times, a mild soft tissue injury, like a mild sprain will heal in a couple of days, but if he/she limps more than two days, it’s time for a vet visit. A vet can look at the pulled muscle or strain and determine how serious it really is. Our dogs can’t tell us how severe the pain is so we don’t understand how badly they hurt or how serious the injury might be. If the soft tissue injury is severe, your dog might need medication and be confined to his/her kennel for a bit. In very severe cases, surgery may be needed.
There are lots of reasons that dogs limp. It may not necessarily be a soft tissue injury. He/she might have a cut on their paw or maybe something stuck between his toes. Limping could also be caused by toe nails that are too long.
If your dog is diagnosed with a soft tissue injury, they will need to stay quiet for several days. That may mean some kennel time. When they need to go outside, he should be kept on a short lease to keep him from running or re-injuring himself. If you have stairs in your home, you will probably want to carry your dog up and down the steps to minimize the risks of re-injury. Your dog may try to convince you he feels better in a shorter time than what your vet said to keep him confined. Don’t let your dog go back to his normal activities too soon. Healing a soft tissue injury takes time.
Dogs love to play and sometimes, they do get hurt. As a pet owner, you may not be able to foresee or prevent a mild injury from happening, but you can know what to do when it does happen. With a little TLC, your dog will be back to running and playing in no time.
Until next time,
Love and Pug Kisses,
Candy
