Poor little one!! Here are the first things I check: can I touch and move every bone – checking for a fracture. How much rotation to the inside is there of the lower leg on the upper leg – quick test for torn cruciate ligaments (ACL – football player injury). Are all 5 muscular components of the Achilles tendon still there – can have a torn ligament at the hock/heal. The next thing is to check that the head of the femur (leg bone) is well seated in the pelvis – need to do radiographs (x-rays). The x-rays will also tell if there is loss of bone at the head of the femur – this is a progressive loss of bone in the leg bone due to damage to the tiny little blood vessel in the socket joint that connects the pelvis to the femur – called Legg-Perthes- Calve’s disease. I also check the knee (stifle) joint while I’m taking radiographs to look for the “fat pad” sign in the knee that supports a torn cruciate ligament. If all of those are ok, I will adjust (veterinary spinal manipulation thereapy) the cutie, use therapeutic laser on the sore part of the back, and I may prescribe some pain meds or anti-inflammatories. One tiny little fall like that can have many different repercussions, several of which can become surgical cases. The sooner you get the small one checked out, the better.
My 3.4# Chihuahua fell off the couch and now he’s limping on his back leg. Help!
