How to keep puppy off paw?

[Olyn's Momma]

Yesterday my puppy got run over by another much larger dog at the dog park. He cried very loud and held up his front left paw like it was hurt badly. I picked him and cradled him, up but after about 20 seconds he wanted down and started playing again, with a little limping. Later that night he cried out again when he jumped down from the couch and limped for a few minutes. This morning he was playing as usual, but now he is limping around the house. I felt around his paw and it doesn't seem extra sensitive (ie:I highly doubt it's broken), but it's definitely tender. What can I do to keep my puppy off his hurt paw so he doesn't make it worse?

[luckypenny]

Rules state that before we answer any questions, new members must post at least 3 photos of their pets. Members with puppies must post double .

ok, I'm lying, but it would sure be nice to see pics of your pup

Welcome to pets.ca Olyn's Momma .

Is your puppy crate trained? Or can you limit his area to just the kitchen or a small room where there's no furniture for him to jump up and off from? This way you can control the amount of exercise he gets with perhaps more frequent but shorter walks. You can also give him chew toys and stuffed Kongs to keep him occupied. If he's still limping after a few days, I'd take him in to have his paw looked at just in case.

Now, where are those pics???

[kathryn]

I don't think you should worry about it, it will heal naturally. If you don't suspect it to be broken or anything, then I don't see a way or a reason to try to keep him off it. From time to time one of my cats will have their paw stepped on by myself or another cat and I just leave them to walk it off. One of my kittens fell down the stairs a few weeks ago and injured his front paw and he limped around for the rest of the day and the next day, but then was back to normal the day after that. I would imagine it would be the same way for a dog.

I do not know much on dogs though, so wait for someone else to come along and they can yell at me if I'm wrong

[Diamondsmum]

Just a FYI.. My girlfriends Golden @ 10wks fell off deck & broke front leg.. yelped loud & was limping.. but still a happy/playfull dog after it.. when they took him to vet x-rays found the break.. cast & he healed nicely..

I dont want to worry you but.. I'd have it checked..

could be more his shoulder or higher up..

[JennieV]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

i would recommend that you take him to the vet as well, and do limit his activity as much as you can, no running, no jumping.
My parents own a Jack Russell terrier and an Airedale, and when the JRT was small the Airedale kind of landed on him accidentally, in a play. He yelped and cried and was limping bad...we took the pup to the vet, x-rays and all later - there was nothing wrong. The dog still limps and after lengthy activity like a run and play in the park he feels that hind leg and hip of his. We took him to the hospital again, the vet said he feels that the dog is very sensitive in the hip so they had to sedate him to take x-rays properly, so he would not be in pain, but again, nothing! he suggested some strong painkiller. I suspect that it could be artritic pains, or maybe even hip dysplasia, but the vet could not indicate anything. you can see after all this time that the right hip and leg is smaller than the other one.
so the moral of the story is - take him to be checked just in case, make him heal now, so it won't be a problem all his life. and Limit him play with larger heavier dogs, that simply could hurt him accidentally.
I hope your doggie will be okay!

[bendyfoot]

Yeah, I'd go with a vet visit, and consider crating in the meantime. Better safe than sorry...