Labrador Retriever: Misdiagnosed Osteomyelitis, Stick in Paw

Maybe this will help someone who has an ongoing paw injury with their dog and isn't getting any good answers.

Our lab was running through the woods and went down hard and could barely walk. He was not putting weight on one paw. My husband took him to the vet emergency room and it was not clear what the injury was. We started taking him to our vet who did exploratory surgery and did not find any foreign objects. From that point on, the dog was treated for his secondary symptoms. He was also given medications to treat osteomyelitis, a bone infection (which he did not have). The dog was clearly in pain and could barely get around. We had to keep the paw wrapped and he kept removing the gauze. He managed to do this even when muzzled.

After nearly four months of various appointments and doctoring, we visited a different vet who determined there was a foreign object in the paw (it went in between two toes). He did surgery and removed a stick 2.25 inches long and a half inch wide.

The moral of the story - Get a second opinion!

Two months after injury

Three+ months after injury

Stick removed by the second vet to evaluate the dog

Labrador Retriever: Paw Pad Troubles

my Chocolate Lab's paw

The dog cut his paw and now of course won't leave it alone. The dial-a-vet said to have him wear a sock, which seems like a ridiculous idea.

Neosporin's been a bust too. He just licks it off. Once you finally get it on his paw, that is. He's frightened of all medications, including heart worm tablets disguised as "treats," so it took some doing to get him to cooperate.

I do believe antibiotics are in his future. I don't see how the dang thing is going to heal without some help.

Update:
I did cover his paw with a sock as the dial-a-vet recommended, and the dog seemed agreeable. As soon as I left the room, however, he promptly took off the sock and ate it. It took 4 days for him to throw it back up. I don't recommend the sock route.

We did end up needing a trip to the vet and antibiotics to get this cleared up.

Labrador Retriever: Leg Injury

A few weeks ago, our almost-two-year-old chocolate lab fell or tripped while running through the woods and messed up one of his front legs. We took him to the vet that day, and she said it looked like a soft tissue injury (you can't confirm without an MRI or something, which evidently isn't a normal thing to do on a dog). She said he'd likely be OK with a week of "bed rest".

At first I was worried that we wouldn't be able to keep him down, but he really couldn't do much and it was all we could do to get him outside and back for a potty break. It was like 10 degrees out, so that was a lot of fun for all of us.

After a week, he was still hopping on three legs and not wanting to get out of bed. We returned to the vet and got x-rays to rule out a fracture. The second vet also thought it looked like a soft tissue injury so we got some new pain pills and went home for another week of laying low.

A full two weeks after the injury, he was walking pretty much normally - occasionally hobbling just a bit. By three weeks, he seemed to be 100%.

For posterity's sake, here's a video of how pitiful the little guy was. There's a treat on the floor a few feet away -- which he normally will do anything for -- and he couldn't/wouldn't go get it:

Labrador Retriever: Ear Infection, Infected Gash, Sting, Hives

Our lab got himself into a mess and here is how we got him all fixed up:

Chocolate Lab: reaction to sting of some sort

Bosco spent Halloween pawing at his nose and had swollen spots around his snout and eye. Benadryl got him through the night, and the next day the vet thought it looked like a sting. The dog had barreled through the woods the morning before, and it's entirely possible he got stung. Rx: another dose of Benadryl.

The vet also discovered an ear infection. We try to keep up with his ears but he loves swimming, particularly in nasty pond water, so it's an uphill battle. Who knows how long that's been bothering him. Rx: ear drops in both ears for 10 days.

The vet inspected a scab on Bosco's ear. He returned from a rowdy play date last week with a gash on his ear. The ear scabbed over and we forgot about it. The vet discovered it was nasty and infected. Whoops. She pulled off the scab and he now has a gaping wound that we're supposed to keep clean. He promptly rubbed it in the dirt upon returning home. Super.  Rx: antibiotics and neosporin.

gash on ear + hives

While the vet was cleaning the gash on his ear, Bosco became super anxious and broke out in hives all over his face and the top of his head. Rx: a shot on the scene, steroids for 10 days, and Benadryl through the week instead of just one more dose.








Another view of the hives:

(close up of the hives on my Lab's head)