My chihuahua has a swollen, fluid-filled back leg. When to see vet?

I am sorry to hear about your concern for Nyte! There are numerous possibilities for this swelling. One of the most common would be a hygroma, which is a fluid filled bursae that we can see often on the elbows and sometimes on the hock of dogs. It is often associated with laying on hard surfaces (some dogs like to lay on hard floors because they are cooler). Other possible causes could include an infection of the joint, a cyst, or a mass/tumor (and some of these are benign/not aggressive). I would recommend a visit to your vet to examine the area. They may recommend a needle aspirate of the swelling, or an xray to help determine the cause. Until your appointment try to provide soft bedding for your dog to lay on when possible to decrease pressure over the area.

I can see the swelling from the pictures you posted. It appears the swelling goes form the foot all the way to the knee. I see that you live in an area where snake bite is possible. I would check thoroughly for any punctures along the entire leg and see if Diamond is painful in any particular area. If not, other causes of swelling like this could include infection, allergic reaction, trauma, cancer, among others. Sometimes swelling in an entire limb can be caused by decreased lymphatic flow - this can be caused by damage to lymph nodes or a structure under the skin or inside the body that is impinging on the lymph flow. I have also seen swelling like this with a flare-up of a mast cell tumor elsewhere on the body. I agree with your vet; if the medications prescribed to not make a difference, additional diagnostics are warranted. They may include bloodwork, abdominal x-rays, tick testing, or sampling of any small masses found.

Hello, so sorry that Fifa is having this issue. It is very difficult to comment without seeing her leg. I suspect she has cellulitis. Probably some of the IV fluids and/or medications went around the catheter and into the surrounding tissues causing inflammation. It is not typically an emergency but I suggest you call the hospital she was at, or your regular vet, to get her seen for treatment of this problem as soon as you can. Typically oral antibiotics and anti-inflammatories are needed to help correct this. In the meantime you can do some cold water therapy on the leg for 10 minutes 2-3 times per day. This entails using a hose with a firm spray (and cold water) on the leg - move the water up/down the leg for the entire 10 minutes. Use as hard of a spray as she will allow. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Fifi is in pain if she is walking with her right leg lifted. It could be she has torn a ligament leading to the pain and swelling. I would not be concerned about her ears being cold, as they can be colder than the rest of the body given how they are external and don't have theist blood supply. I'd take her into a vet today or tomorrow to get this problem with her leg checked out so it can be treated. Best of luck.

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.

Hello. I am sorry about your concerns about Chewy. It is possible that this is just a significant bruise & possible hematoma under the skin ( & probably in the muscle ) that is just taking a long time to resolve. A simple seroma should have resolved by now, but if there was a large blood clot that formed from the trauma, that may take a bit longer to resolve. The other, but less likely possibility is that the joint capsule at the scapulohumeral junction ( where the upper leg bone connects to the shoulder ) has torn. This can result in the leakage of joint fluid into the surrounding tissues. This can be repaired surgically if necessary. Your veterinarian will probably recommend an x-ray & try to sample the fluid to see if it is blood tinged ( a seroma ), bloody ( a hematoma ), or clear & stringy ( joint fluid ). None of these is life-threatening, but if this is joint fluid, Chewy could wind up with some arthritis in the shoulder. So do not worry too much until you have a chance to have things looked at. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, sorry to hear about Prince. It sounds like he may have right sided heart disease in which the blood backs up into his veins and the vascular fluid begins to leak out of the vessels. This generally leads to fluid in the belly causing abdominal distention, fluid in the chest, and subcutaneous fluid. Other causes of 3rd spacing can be associated with a low protein level either due to liver disease or loss of protein through the kidneys or bowel. It sounds like prince needs to have a full evaluation of his vital organs and this may include bloodwork, an abdominal ultrasound, a heart ultrasound, and blood pressure monitoring. Ultimately, Prince may need to be evaluated by his veterinarian or an internist to determine why he is having fluid accumulation outside of his vasculature. Hope this helps and best of luck.