he's in pain -- can I help him?

northernmama

Our 12 yrold Rottie-Sheperd cross got hurt somehow on the driveway tonight. Maybe he slipped on the ice? I dunno. I didn't see it, but I heard him yelping. He has been in pain ever since. About 5 hours now. He is not yelping of course anymore, but definite pain. If he is no better tomorrow I will see if I can get him to a vet, but most are closed here on weekends and I may not be able to get him in until Monday as this wouldn't be considered an emergency here

He is limping and apparently unable to lie comfortably for more than about 45 minutes -- at which point he stands, moves abit and then lays down again. The pain seems to be in his back and affecting especially his left back leg, though he is favoring his left front leg. I can touch him all over and there is no heat, swelling or reaction to my touch, though I haven't pressed firmly anywhere with my fingers. Just used the flat of my hand.

In the meantime, is there anything I can give him for pain so he can sleep better tonight? And how much? He weighs about 90 lbs. I have the typical household medications, but I also have bute for my horses.

northernmama

For anyone else that gets stuck in the situ I was in, you can give a dog buffered ASA -- so Bufferin is first choice, or Aspirin that has "stomach guard" is also buffered. Regular ASA/Aspirin is not as good as it can cause stomach problems. For my 100 lb dog I was told by the vet to give him 650 mg.

I did get him in to the vet late yesterday and he is now on pain meds to see what the future brings.

Too bad there aren't more people on this forum. Oh well

GeorgieGirl

Sorry about the lack of responce in your time of need Northernmama. This is a rather new forum and we don't have a ton of people here yet!
But, Im glad that you were able to get your boy to a vet and that they could help ease his pain. I hope that he recovers quickly and that he'll be up and back to hin normal self soon.

OtterTail

I am also sorry none of us got back to you sooner, but glad you were able to get to the vet. Be sure to monitor your boy for side effects from the pain medication. Which ever one you are using you will be able to find lots of info and warning signs online by doing a search on the drug name. I hope he will be feeling better soon.

Sheltiemama

I didn't have any answers for you. I was hoping someone would come along that would know. So glad you were able to get him into the dr.

Did the vet have any ideas what the problem was? Or what he did to hurt himself?

Jo

Mirta

I had read your post but could not answer either. I know dogs cannot be given any human painkillers. Besides we definitely have different medications here. Only a vet can help in a situation like this. Sometimes rubbing may help, but it is only immediately after you've seen the injury and you know there cannot be a fracture. I myself experience lack of info in issues on dogs' painkillers. Dogs do not complain...but we see them suffer. I hope your dog recovers soon!

dch

Hi,
What did your vet do? Did he take any x-rays? Palpate his spine? Check his legs, range of motion? If so, did your dog react at all? What meds did he put your dog on?

It does sound like your dog could have hurt his spine. Usually when a dog cries that much and that long, with being uncomfortable, it is an emergency!

My first thought was torn cruciate in his knee. Then further reading of your post, I thought maybe a ruptured disk. If he fell hard on the ice, he could have bruised his shoulder as well.

If you don't keep anything on hand for pain, I would get Benedryl (you can give your boy 2 pills, every 8 hours.) and definitely keep buffered aspirin on hand. The Benedryl is not only good for allergies, but will help him relax. Also to keep on hand, Pepto Bismal tablets and Tagamet (sp?).

You may want to look for a doggy accupunturist as that will help with pain a great deal. I've done this with some of my dogs and it helped tremendeously!

When older large dogs injure themselves and get this worried another concern is Gastric Tortion. So you will need to watch him for any signs of this as it's life threatening. It's also why I suggested that you keep Tagamet on hand. Ask your vet if you can give him Tagamet with the meds that he is on now.

I really hope that your boy is ok. And that it was just a muscle pull! It's so hard to see your dog(s) in pain.

Sorry for such a long post!

Good luck! And let us know what happens.

northernmama

Oh I'm so sorry I didn't update everyone on this situation. I didn't get a notification that there were responses. My apologies.

Anyway, going back almost 2 years now... The vet found that he had substantial arthritis in his hips and lower back. No surprise there, we had him on glucosamine and MSM already. We put him on pain meds from the vet and kept him happy for many more months.

Late last fall it was too much for him and we put him down. But he did enjoy his last two summers lying in the sun on the gravel being warm and loved. He now lies in the bush where he loved to be when he was younger. He lived 2 years longer than anyone expected. What a good dog he was.

brandnewday81

im sry but that is great you did everything for him and gave him a great life

fawkese1

wow, thank you for coming back and giving us the update! i'm sorry for your loss, but glad that you got to have him with you for 2 more summers