Injuries sustained by active dogs that play, run or work in winter conditions can be diagnostically challenging. A thorough exam is essential in dealing with these cases.
For clients with active dogs, the change of season from summer to winter only means a change in the type of activity, not a change in its quantity. Winter means recreational activities such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, bounding after family members on toboggans and sleds or simply changing the daily walk from sidewalks and grass to icy roads and snow. Veterinarians are also called upon to examine competitive sled or skijoring dogs, winter search-and-rescue (SAR) dogs, or avalanche dogs. Constant activity on uneven or slippery surfaces of snow and ice, as well as contact with the sand and salt often used to treat roadways, can lead to lameness diagnostic challenges not typically found in other seasons.
There is a joke in the sled dog world that if a leg falls off of a dog, he will look at it for a moment and just decide to pick it up on the way back. A highly driven dog’s desire to continue active cannot be used as a measuring stick of pain or injury. Veterinarians must understand how the mind of a high-drive dog combined with a high-drive owner with competition or management pressures can contribute to injury and affect rehabilitation success. High-drive individuals will continue working through minor to moderate discomfort or dysfunction, often as if nothing has happened. When both athletic canines and caretakers ignore early warning signs, more serious injuries occur.
How long has your dog been limping?
Sometimes a dog may limp for a few moments and then be fine. Other times, a dog may start limping and it sticks around or gets progressively worse. In other cases, a dog may limp on and off.
By definition, a chronic limp has been present for two weeks or more.
Perhaps your dog’s limp was barely discernible a few weeks ago, but now it’s more obvious. Or maybe you thought your dog’s limp would go away with rest, but it hasn’t.
Whatever the scenario, if a dog’s limp hasn’t resolved in a week or two, it’s time for a veterinarian to figure out what is going on. A chronic limp is almost never an emergency, but you should make the appointment as soon as possible.
If your dog has just started limping, this is called an acute limp. If this is the case, you need to answer the next two questions.
Dog Limping on a Front Leg or Paw
Problems that affect only the front legs include:
Why Is Your Dog Limping? (Natural Remedies to Help!)
What self-respecting dog can resist playing outside in a fresh blanket of snow? Most dogs romp in it with unbridled joy. But winter brings seasonal hazards for your dog, including salt and other de-icing agents, dangerously cold temperatures, deep snow, slippery ice, and more. If heavy snowfall is the norm where you live, you and your dog will have no choice but to spend at least some time in it, even if he’d rather be curled up at your feet in front of the fireplace.
Read on for winter safety tips on how to protect your beloved pooch from the inevitable challenges of snow, ice, and the bitter cold of winter.