Why does my dog have a swollen, foul-smelling leg and trouble walking?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Sage. Her mobility issues are most likely untelated to the new bump. She may be experiencing an exacerbation of age related arthritis if she fell a bit from the vehicle. This could make her very sore. Keep her quiet and do not give any over-the-counter pain medications as these can be toxic to dogs. She will need to see her veterinarian for an exam and possibly x-rays. Pain medication will likely be prescribed as well. The mass can be evaluated as the same appointment. A procedure known as a fine needle aspirate is commonly performed. The veterinarian will collect a small sample of cells to evaluate under the microscope. This will let you know if the mass is cancerous or not. It is a rare for a mass to affect mobility, but it is possible. I hope this information helps!

This sounds like Prada may have an infection or abscess on her leg. This needs to be assessed and treated by a veterinarian, who will also prescribe antibiotics and pain medicine if indicated. Please take Prada to a veterinarian ASAP.

I'm so sorry to hear that Tabitha isn't feeling well. I don't see any distinctive lesions, but the swelling does appear to be significant. At this point, I would recommend moving on to different diagnostics like a joint tap to test the fluid in the joint as well as a skin scrape or other diagnostic for the skin lesions. It would also help to know approximately how old Tabitha is. I don't know what resources are available to the adoption group/agency, but if she could be evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon that would be ideal. Hope this helps in some small way! Best of luck to you and Tabitha. Sounds like she has found a wonderful, caring forever home with you! I am also happy to answer any other questions via consultation.

I am very sorry to hear about your dog. What you are describing sounds like most likely a tumor. There are many different types of tumors. Two of the more common we see in this area are lipomas, which are fatty tumors and feel soft/squishy, and sarcomas which are firmer feeling. Unfortunately it sounds like this is large and causing her problems. She needs a visit to the vet's office to examine the tumor and see if it can be surgically removed. They may want to take an x-ray and may want to do what is called a "fine needle aspirate" to collect cells to try to identify the type of tumor before surgery.

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.

This appears to be swelling in the knee joint. What we would consider the "ankle" is much lower in the leg. There can be a pocket of joint fluid on the inside of the leg. It is possible this is a skin lump at the exact spot of this fluid pocket, but I doubt it. I suspect she is not putting weight on the leg because she injured the knee, and now as the swelling increases it is becoming more and more painful. I recommend she be seen by a veterinarian to check the stability of the knee to determine if she ruptured her crainial cruciate ligament or CCL (which is like a human's ACL).