So, poor Ino ran through part of the river in the back that has a bottom made up of uneven rocks and came out lame on his front paw during the evening walk yesterday
. He is still babying it a bit but I have absolutely no clue what is bothering him. The limb has no disfigured areas or swelling and the foot pad looks normal. I have pain management meds (previcox and holistic), but am not sure what hurts. He never gives a pain signal if you touch the area (I don't manipulate it because I don't want to make it worse). He pulls back if you get near the limb- but you can not distinguish if he bruised the pad, hurt his wrist, or if it is a shoulder injury. I have no clue which it is but to be precautious, he is going to be on limited activity today just in case. If it is not better by tomorrow- we will be back in the vet either tomorrow or Tues. I feel so bad for my bubba- he always seems to get hurt. We are in the vets office all the time. He is whimpering right now- but it is not a pain whimper...it is a lets go walk whimper. He heard his girls heading off and is upset but I know he is going to want to play and will ignore his pain so I have to restrict his activities for him. How do you guys tell what hurts on your dogs? He seems to be able to hide what hurts very well (the specific area). Even the limp- he tries not to show it and still tries to use it. He breaks nails a lot and usually does not limp- I find them once I explore his foot because he compulsively licks them. I am hopeful that it is just a bruised pad or something minor (I've bruised my heels walking in that area with shoes on), but if it does not resolve soon- we will take the precautious approach and see our vet. Just wanted to know signs to look for about where the pain is. There is no air licking, panting, ear or eye movement, whimper/growling or other obvious discomfort signs if I touch an area(not that I see- but I am not sure what else to look for). He had a slight limp last year from the same thing on and off for a few days so as a precaution, the vet ran a lyme disease test and he came back negative. His body just is not built for his activity level- he has too much of the English Bulldog frame to put up with his outdoor energy level.