Looking for advice on Limping Dog

[Zizzy35]

I have a limping dog at home. It is his front leg.
He’s been to the vet, and nothing showed through X-rays, and exam. He is not in any pain.
Vet said it’s most likely a muscle strain.
I’ve cut back on his walks, to just trying to keep him in to rest. I’ve tried not walking him at all this weekend, even with the sad eyes.
He is a high energy dog, it is really hard to keep him contained, especially with all the squirrels just outside the window.
He’s a big boy too.

Thank you.

[Bigpoodleperson]

Did your vet recommend any medication. I would try him on a pain medication/antiinflammatory drug to see if it helps. If he is limping, then he is in pain. Even if he doesnt cry, it doesnt mean he isnt in pain. My dog tore his patella tendon a few years ago, and during the whole process he never cried. Doesnt mean it didnt hurt like Hell!

[Zizzy35]

Yes he was given Deramax I believe it is called.
Your right he may be in pain, but isn't showing any.

I just feel real bad, and I don't want it to get worse.

Thank you.

[elegy]

If it is a muscle strain, rest and anti-inflammatories (the Deramaxx) are the best prescription.

Did they test for tick-borne diseases? It says you're in NJ- lots of Lyme there.

[Zizzy35]

Yes he was tested, and he's negative.

[smkie]

-Victor feels your pain. He too is a high energy kind of guy. He suffered with a wrist sprain, or possible fracture last summer and we couldn't do anything at all. Even jumping down from the sofa would cause pain and we would lose ground. The doctor told me that if it were a tendon issue it could hurt as bad as a break and take even longer to heal which it did. We made up a lot of little dumb games like Alligators in the sheet and which cup is it under to help him not suffer of total cabin fever. IT JUST TOOK FOREVER for both of us. Vibes for a speedier heal.

[Zizzy35]

Thank you for the input. I took him to the vet 2 weeks ago, and it seems to have gotten worse. He finished the meds he was given already. I am going to call the vet this morning, and maybe take him in for another look.

[Barb04]

This happens to one of my dogs when he runs too much. Rest for a week or so helps.

[lizzybeth727]

I worked with a dog that had the same symptoms, the vet said it was a soft tissue strain or something. He had to go on crate rest for two weeks.... Only coming out of the crate to walk (on leash) outside to toilet, and lay with us. The trouble is, when he stops limping that doesn't necessarily mean he's fully healed.... So you have to make him rest for a lot longer than he's showing symptoms to make sure he doesn't regress.

With that dog, we went on lots of car rides and really increased any kind of enrichment we could do to keep him mentally tired.

[Maliraptor]

What was xrayed? Complete leg from shoulder down to toes?

If so, then soft tissue injuries are horrible to heal, and take a lot of time and crate rest as someone else already mentioned.