Today Cuervo started limping. I think it may be from jumping out of a truck before the tail gate was put down. He was able to walk on it earlier with a slight limp, but now will not put any weight on it. I tried to put a cold compress to the swollen area, but he is not having it, growling and getting defensive. I can tell it is sore at the "wrist" but the majority of the swelling is higher up, but below the elbow, on the inside. My possible thoughts are a muscle or ligament injury, or possibly a fracture. Anybody have any similar experiences and advice?

I'd give it a few days and see if he starts using it more. After than I might take him the the vet.

Aspirin for pain ... 3-4 81 MG Baby Aspirin every 12 hours. A couple Benadryl every 8 hours should help reduce the swelling.

Hopefully limp goes away in the morn, watch for swelling. I use to let my dog jump down from the tail gate, but she did it one day and started limping, she was fine but freaked me out and cost me vet bills. Since then I help her down always. I let her jump up but not down.

Thanks. I gave him some childrens tylenol, I will get some benadryl also.

Man, sorry to hear that it got worse. Keep me in the loop.

Thanks Larry. I think it happened when knucklehead jumped over the tailgate at the second spot. Appreciate ya.

Depends,,, is it in the front or back?

Angie

I worked at Tractor Supply in huntsville my first couple years of college at Sam Houston. They sell some dog asprin, but a lot of the guys who ran hog dogs used some different horse ointments for things like that. Might be something to look into.

Hoping its not the back for his sake and your wallet.

It is the front leg. I'm seeing some improvement this morning.

tylenol for dogs is a NO NO.

Glad he's improving.

X 10!

A canine liver’s doesn't have much ability to form glucuronides and as a result, Tylenol or acetaminophen is converted to N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone, also known as NAPQL. NAPQL binds to cellular membranes damaging and destroying liver cells, which causes liver damage and dysfunction. The accumulation of metabolites from this uses up an anti-oxidant found in red blood cells and causes hemoglobin to be converted into methemoglobin. Because methemoglobin doesn’t carry oxygen, this reduces the levels of oxygen in the blood stream. The remaining hemoglobin is damaged and attached to the red blood cells’ membranes forming tiny inclusion bodies called Heinz bodies.

Symptoms of Tylenol toxicity

•Chocolate brown mucus membranes within 4-12 hours of ingestion. This is from methemoglobin and the lack of oxygen in the blood stream and tissues.
•Brown or bloody urine
•Difficulty breathing
•Depression, weakness
•Loss of Appetite
•Fluid accumulation in the face and paws
•Watery eyes
•Coma and death
Blood tests run on animals with Tylenol toxicity will show elevated liver enzymes and elevated bilirubin levels. A blood smear stained and looked at under the microscope may show Heinz bodies in the red blood cells. This liquid portion of the pet’s blood may also be yellow when separated from the blood cells.

Most Common Pet Poisons - According to ASPCA - since acetaminophen is rapidly absorbed by the body, it is very important to start treatment right away. This includes:

•Inducing vomiting in the pet
•Orally giving activated charcoal to bind to Tylenol still left in the stomach
•Osmotic cathartics, which cause diarrhea by retaining water in the intestines
•Intravenous fluids to maintain hydration and support the pet's blood pressure
•Acetylcysteine: Provides cysteine and increases the sulfate and glutathione levels in the blood. This causes the Tylenol to bind with these instead of damaging cells.
•Ascorbic Acid: changes methemoglobin to hemoglobin
•Oxyglobin: bovine hemoglobin, which helps to increase the blood's oxygen carrying capacity
•Oxygen through a cage or nasal tubes
•Medications to control other symptoms such as seizures
Always talk to a veterinarian before giving a pet any medications. If you suspect your pet has ingested Tylenol or any other medication contact a veterinarian and pet poison control center immediately. The sooner treatment for ingestion of a medication is started, the better the pet’s chance for recovery.

Osweiler, G D. National Veterinary Medical Series: Toxicology. Media PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 1996

No more tylenol.

Glad he's doing better.

The more I think about it here is what I remember. When we were half way around the second east area I saw him gnawing right around his dewclaw two or three times. Shortly after that he started gimpin' a little bit. Then it progressively got worse. Did you notice anything before that?

If not, maybe he got one of those nasty thorns in his paw and he was able to get it out before you found it.

That is around where I saw it too. Either a thorn or when he jumped out before leaving the first spot. The swelling seems to be higher up, it could be one of those nasty thorns, we were talking about how bad they are. Now hopefully I don't have to take him in for acetominiphren poisoning. He should be ok, it was childrens tylenol and he is fairly large... Thanks Larry.

What did you two get into??

After closer looks, it looks like he got tore up in some mesquite.

Any progress?

Yes, Thanks for asking. He has improved a lot and is only showing a slight bit of gimpiness if any at all. I'm gonna keep him on lockdown one more day and get back of the swing of things tomorrow and resume training.

Next time use BABY ASPRIN that is what my Dr told me I could use when Remi go thurt and we where out of town.

That's what I will use in the future. Aparrently acetominiphren can be very toxic to dogs and especially cats...hmm maybe I shuld throw a few in the cat dish. Thanks.

kdub ... for you and others ... just a heads-up in case you or your friends / family chew sugarless gum (like Trident) ... it is sweetened with XYLITOL which is even MORE TOXIC to dogs than acetominiphren. Don't leave packages of that gum laying around in the vehicle or at home where the dawgs can reach them unnoticed! It can begin showing toxic reactions and unless you found the remnants of the gum wrappers, you'd never know what caused it.

Glad to hear Cuervo is on the mend.

A thorn in his paw?