Mercury's Mom

We took the boys to the dogpark this evening to run off some steam and play ball. There was only one other dog there, a 9 month old intact male akita. The dog seemed really nice but after sniffing hello he grabbed Mercury around the waist, around his hips, and yanked back hard while trying to hump Merc. Mercury yelped and went down. Mercury only has a slight limp, you have to really be watching for it, but refuses to get into my jeep, go up our front step or get on the bed. I carried him into to our jeep, back out again and inside our house. Mercury is choosing to walk on it and seems to be ok but looks pained when getting up off the floor and is groaning more than usual. He must be in pain because he actually snapped at his brother when Jup tried to get him to play when Merc has NEVER snapped at anyone for any reason. He is not even attempting to get on the couch or bed.

I called our vet who says he most likely just pulled a muscle but Im worried the akita may have damaged his hip. Is that possible? What do I do for Merc untill he goes to the vet tomorrow? How do I make sure he doesn't make his injury worse? Is it bad for him to sleep on the hard floor or would putting blankets down be even harder for him to get up off of? He usually naps on the couch and spends nights on my bed. Should I try to keep him stationary?

Am I just beint a worry wart? The boys are only 5 3/4 months old so I am worried about stressing their joints, especially their hips.

Aidan

I would say a warm (but not hot) heating pad and a good massage just like for a person for a pulled muscle. If something was seriously injured I doubt he would be putting any pressure on it.

I had a similar incident with Vega when he was younger trying to play rough with my shepherd. He went to jump over something and at the same time my german shepherd side swiped him and he went down really hard. He limped for several days.

However, he was smarter than we thought. I of course put a heating pad on him, babied him, loved on him, treated him as if he were dying, etc... well after the two-three days he would run around and play and if I would have to scold him for anything he would just start limping again...lol like he knew if he was injured we would baby him and injured puppies can do no wrong. It was quite amusing. He kept trying to pull it off for several weeks.

He was really only limping though for about 2 days and only slightly. I did the same as you did..called my vet who said if he was putting most of his pressure on it that it's probably a sprain or a pulled muscle and it got better on it's own.

I would say if he's still limping after then take him in. Better safe than sorry, especially when it comes to their hips and joints.

bigpoodleperson

I would not give him anything at home. When Riley Really hurt his back the other week my chiropractor said to ice his back for 20mins on/20 min off. I would personally either put blankets on the floor or pick him up on my bed. Poor baby! I hope he feels better soon!