Can dogs walk on broken legs?

edited September 2008 in General
Ok. So, as most of you know by now I am in a wheelchair. Mika went out to potty as usual but coming back up the ramp we had an accident.

She tends to walk right beside my chair but she is normally very good at getting out of the way when it matters. However, this time, for whatever reason, as I rolled back a bit like I normally do bc the ramp is so steep, I heard Mika literally screaming. She slid down the ramp and sit at the bottom screaming while holding up her right paw.

I, naturally, went and picked her up and held her close to me, telling her it was OK. She even ate a treat in mid-scream but she continued to scream even after the treat. This screaming went on for about 5 minutes straight at least. Three dogs from the neighborhood came to inspect and they never come in our yard. Once she stopped screaming, being a Shiba, she gave the dogs a warning bark saying, "Get out of my yard!"

Nevertheless, she limped around once we got inside for a few minutes. But a couple of treats later, bc I felt terrible, she is walking around fine and even running behind me when I roll fast. Should I be worried that its broken or fractured? Would she walk on it without a limp if this was the case?

I have a vet appointment for this next week for her second round of shots. Would it be OK to wait until then or should I get in as soon as possible? I am worried but she is showing no signs of limping or anything anymore. She just screamed so much that I feel like she is hurt bad. As you fellow Shiba members know, the Shiba howl is one of the most unholiest noises I have ever heard in my life.

The odd thing was that she didn't seem mad at me at all. She looked at me for comfort and even licked my hand and her tail is perked up so she seems in good spirits. Anyway, sorry for the rambling I am just worried and I know you all understand. Please offer up any advice/similar experiences and either ease my mind or get my butt in gear to do what's right for Mika. Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • edited November -1
    If she's not limping, she should be ok.
  • edited November -1
    She sounds ok. She was probably more scared than anything else. My Mika is VERY dramatic. She'll scream and howl for 5-10 minutes, show the paw she's hurt, cry some more, it's heart wrenching and scary.

    Definitely doesn''t sound like Mika broke it, but how does the paw feel when you examine it? Can you move it for her without her howling?
  • edited September 2008
    If she is acting normal, she's probably fine. If it was broken she wouldn't be putting any weight on it and would be visably painful. When my Shiba Taj would get into it with Kohji, after I would break it up, she would literally scream, act like she was hurt, tremble and whimper and I would console her and look her over to see if she had any bites or lacerations. She would never be hurt and would be really sassy to Kohji afterward and basically was doing the drama queen thing to get attention.
  • edited November -1
    Shibas are drama queens. I am guessing she is fine. Anytime Nemo has had a serious injury he is very stoic, when he gets an injury that might sting at first, but is nothing serious in the long run, he screams.

    Just keep an eye on her. Pick her up again, and inspect that leg carefully, squeeze on it it a bit, bend her elbow, move her paw around, etc.
  • edited November -1
    Brandon hit it right on the head!
  • edited November -1
    Thanks for the reassurance everyone. She seems to be fine this morning. I can move her paw however and it doesnt seem to bother her at all. I guess she is a drama queen as well bc I thought I had killed her the way she was screaming. Now that think about it, she hit her head running one time and she screamed for like 30 seconds bc of that and she didn't seem hurt at all. Nevertheless, I'm grateful she is OK and I will be picking her up to go up the ramp until she gets better coordinated.
  • edited November -1
    I'm glad she is ok, and I second what everyone else said - especially the drama queen thing.

    I stepped on Maui's paw once [when he was a puppy] and he screamed and cried for several minutes, then held his paw up the rest of the day. I took him to the vet later in the day because he was still holding it up. After several x-rays and a $300 vet bill we [the vet, jen and I] came to a conclusion: There wasn't a damn thing wrong with his paw, he was just milking it for the day. Shiba are clever like that - they LOVE attention.

    Anyway, I think she probably learned her lesson too.

    ----
  • edited November -1
    Nathan: So glad Mika is OK. I suspect this little incident will also teach her to be very aware and wary where wheels are concerned... All in all, not a bad lesson, but too bad she had some momentary pain. Best of luck to Mika...
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