My dog fell and is limping for days. Is her elbow injury serious?

Poor Lily! There are many different possibilities in this case. It may be that she has simply bruised herself or damaged a muscle or ligament. However she may have a more serious injury such as a fracture or ligament rupture. If she seems to be comfortable and nothing looks out of place you could let her rest 24 hours then if she is no better or getting worse head to the vet.

If the lameness has persisted for 3 weeks and you notice that there is a difference in the shape of the shoulder area and leg position, I fear that the injury could be more serious than a sprain. Muscle injuries normally recover in 4-5 days of rest and antinflammatories. I would recommend to have him reassessed, there is a medication that can be given at home prior to the visit to help with the stress, I would ask your vet. Hope this helps !

If it just started you can let her rest for a few days with minimal walking and minimal physical exercise, if it does not improve within 3-4 days you will have to take her to the vet in order to get it checked and treated, she might need pain killers for a few days. if the vet think it's something more serious such as a fracture, joint injury or foreign body, he might recommend to have an xray done as well.

If it just started you can let Tipu rest for a few days with minimal walking and minimal physical exercise, if it does not improve within 3-4 days you will have to take him to the vet in order to get it checked and treated, he might need pain killers for a few days. if the vet think it's something more serious such as a fracture, joint injury or foreign body, he might recommend to have an xray done as well.

Hello, sorry to hear about Nova. If he is still not using his leg and several days have passed, I would recommend having him re-evaluated by a veterinarian to confirm that he does not have any more severe injury. He may need x-rays and a full orthopedic exam to ensure he does not have joint instability or a small fracture. Regardless, for any orthopedic injury, he should still be rested for at least 10-14 days. If within this time, he is not improving or back to his normal self, he likely has a more severe injury. Hope this helps and best of luck.

I’m not sure there’s much more you can know about the underlying cause of Prancer’s lameness without a radiograph to see the bone. Certainly all the things you mentioned would not help to heal any injury either. The first concern I have is related to the hard area on her hip for some type of mass or cancer. Hopefully it’s not that and it’s unrelated. The fall could have injured the hip/joint and certainly being dropped didn’t help that. She could also have ruptured her cruciate ligament. The fact that she is still lame after two months makes me worried about an injury to the bones or a ligament injury. A trip to the vet for a thorough palpation may give the answer and a radiograph (x-ray) may be needed to look at the bones. At home you are doing the right thing by resting her. Do not allow her jump, go for walks or even use stairs. She needs to be rested. If a fracture is present somewhere however, it needs to be completely immobile and may take 8 weeks to heal (although non union fractures can’t heal properly). There’s not much you can give her to heal bone injuries but omega 3 fatty acid supplements and adding in a joint supplement such as Dasuquin can help to naturally decrease any inflammation. I hope this helps and I hope you get things figured out quickly. Please feel free to post any additional questions you may have. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The treatment would be complete rest and anti-inflammatory medications for 4 days - a week time. I would recommend a check up as signs are quite persistent. A soft tissue injury is the most likely reason for it. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.