My dog has a big leg bruise and is limping. Is this an emergency?

If the bruising is accompanied by lethargy, swelling and lameness, then Chomps should be seen by your veterinarian or at the nearest veterinary ER. X-rays may be indicated to diagnose or rule out fractures. A "simple" bruise with no other symptoms may resolve on it's own within a few weeks. Restrict activity to just leash walks for elimination in the meantime.

This is troubling since without an injury bruising is uncommon in dogs. Please check her urine to make sure visually there is no blood in it, and check her gums to make sure they are pink. If there are tiny bruises in the gums then that could be a sign of general internal bleeding. The most common cause of this a toxicity from rat poison. It also can be due to other reasons. If you see anything abnormal please bring her in right away for blood tests including clotting time. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Coral.

Please make an appointment to have Tammh seen by a vet as soon as possible. She is likely in pain, and may have a muscular or nerve injury, a fractured bone, a mass, or a foreign body in the leg. Your vet can assess the leg during the physical exam and may recommend x-rays to help determine the cause of Tammh’s limp. Pain medications meant for humans can be very dangerous (and even deadly) for dogs, so I do not recommend giving any to Tammh without consulting with your vet.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that Riley is having some problems. These look like fairly significant areas of bruising and you didn't mention any witnessed trauma that may have occurred. I would immediately get him to your local veterinarian. Your vet can gather a detailed history and perform a thorough examination. Once those are done, they can discuss a diagnostic/preliminary treatment plan with you. My biggest concern right now if trauma did not occur would be blood clotting. Is there something going on with Riley's ability to clot?? Your vet will most likely want to perform some blood tests, clotting tests, tick disease tests, and possibly some imaging studies such as x-rays/ultrasound to figure out what is going on. Once a diagnosis is made/suspected, a treatment plan can be put into action. I wish you the best of luck with Riley and I hope he recovers soon.

Poor Chewie. You'll want to continue to keep an eye on him. If you notice that it gets any bigger or if he's in pain more than discomfort go in for a visit with your local Veterinarian. If you notice any bones facing in unnatuaral directions, you'll want to go in as soon as possible. Your doctor will be able to prescribe an anti-inflammatory and make sure nothing has moved.

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.

Poor girl! She does sound painful. Because she has been in pain for a couple of days and it sounds like she may have accidentally made things worse today, I think it would be better to get her into a vet now.