My poor guy is on the 15-day disabled list and I think he'll probably be driving me crazy in a day or two for lack of running
A week or two ago, he was sliding after a tennis ball in the hallway and came up holding a front paw in the air. He wouldn't put any weight on it at all, but that only lasted for about a minute. Then he favored it slightly for another minute or two, and then he was fine.
A couple days later, the exact same thing happened: slid for a ball, came up three-legged lame, but shook it off and he was fine.
Then today we were walking on the park and he went to turn funny to shake his head or something and I think he tripped on a stone (I saw a small rock that was freshly overturned right by his foot), and came up favoring the same leg. He sat down holding the paw up, wouldn't walk on it, then favored it slightly and within a minute was trotting along just fine.
Then this evening I threw a tennis ball for him in the grass, he went charging after it, and came up lame again. Once again he was fine after a very short time.
So I'm going to not have him chase anything for a few days to see if whatever it is might heal. I have a feeling he stubbed his toe or hurt a nail or something, because if it were soft-tissue he would not shake it off so fast, and I'd expect him to stiffen up after resting, which he does not.
I tried to feel his feet but he is foot-reactive so that was a worthless exercise. He pulls back if you just touch them, so I can't tell if I'm getting a pain response. I did not feel any heat in any of his legs/ pads/ toes, though, and no soft squishy areas that would indicate swelling.
Can a dog stub its toe?
Poor guy. I don't know how he'll go without playing for a few days, but I think it's for the best. I always worry about him, because he runs so hard.