So LB hurt a front paw in late December, hurt it worse in the first week of January, and for most of the month has been on soft duty in which I tried to keep him from jumping out of the Jeep or running down the Lair’s stairs too enthusiastically while it healed. But for the last week I haven’t caught him favoring it at all, so in yesterday’s beautiful afternoon I thought what this pack needed was a nice long walkie.
LB certainly didn’t disagree. We went up the ridge and along the road to the end of Ian’s property, then into the boonies till we got to the edge of the cliff along the south wash. Turning back, we had fun going overland along the cliff faces. Except after maybe a mile of this – me having forgotten all about LB’s injury – he suddenly and with no warning at all went tripodal again. And by the time we got back to the Lair, having to do it in some fairly rough terrain, he was favoring that paw pretty badly. So that was a mistake. But he seemed to like it anyway. By late afternoon and time for a Jeep ride to tend Landlady’s chickens, he seemed right as rain but I need to remember to go a bit slower with him. He’s a pretty heavy dog, and can’t shrug off injury to the parts that hold him up.
Thanks for the update. I was wondering how the critter was doing. Like us, he isn’t getting any younger.
Joel – I’m guessing you’ve already done the gentle prod and poke technique as far as trying to figure out what’s bothering LB? I’ve always made it a point to familiarise domestic animals to thorough examination for just such reasons. You never know when you might need to take the electric trimmer and scissors to “Fluffy” in order to see what’s going on under all that fur. I assume that you and LB are on terms where he’ll let you examine him?
If he’s exhibited the signs you describe I’m almost surprised that you can’t find a pressure point that he’d show sensitivity to. At least then you’ve got a starting point on a WAG diagnosis. The anatomy of a dog in that area (arm/leg) is not terribly different from your own – and you’ve always got his opposite leg for comparison.
Thorns, cuts, and subsequent infections have been issues for many rural and working dogs. They’ll usually lick or even gnaw at those kind of injuries.
PNO, when LB was a puppy I was warned that I should spend time getting him familiar with having his paws manipulated, especially if he was already reluctant about that, which he was. I of course ignored that advice. Now LB hates having his paws messed with, and he’s very strong, and while I’m his god and he’s very reluctant to take the “please” out of “please stop that” he will do so under sufficient provocation.
Bottom line: I know the injured paw is more sensitive than the non-injured ones but I don’t know any detail. There are no foreign objects and there never was any blood. He doesn’t lick it obsessively or indeed ever even seem to notice except that sometimes walking on it hurts. I set him back with that walky, that was clear yesterday when he was limping again, but it’s still apparently healing in its own good time.
He he gets to feeling better.