# Foot wrapped up in lead for many hours-now swollen



## ChesnutMutt (Jul 8, 2012)

My stepmom has a red heeler mix that is 11 years old. She was hit by car about a year and a half ago and has a few fused vertebrae near her tail. She has trouble walking sometimes and today one of her legs got tied on her lead and she was stuck under the house for unknown hours. Now her paw is 2x bigger than the other one and she can't put any weight on it. My stepmom has been debating putting her down or not but we are wondering what we can do for her leg right now or if its serious. We know that we will have to go to the vet if this doesn't clear up but just wondering if anyone has any experience with swollen legs.

Thanks


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

My grandma was feeding a feral cat, and one day she showed up all tangled up in a 6-pack plastic thingie. We had to put a trap out but thankfully she went right in. We had her spayed and vaccinated at the same time, and the vet was worried because one of her legs was swollen from being tangled. Of course, as a feral, we couldn't do much about it, but she recovered quickly and the swelling went down after a day or two. 

An old dog may not recover as quickly, but tell your mom to rub the leg to try to get all the fluids back where they belong. It really depends how long the blood flow was cut off . I would take her to the vet tomorrow regardless, it can't do any harm.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

I can't imagine why anyone would leave a dog on leash unsupervised. I would think that this might be a veterinary emergency. And I would find an emergency vet.


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## ChesnutMutt (Jul 8, 2012)

Pawzk9 said:


> I can't imagine why anyone would leave a dog on leash unsupervised. I would think that this might be a veterinary emergency. And I would find an emergency vet.


she was on a lead. we have had to keep her outside because she can't control her bodily functions.


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## ChesnutMutt (Jul 8, 2012)

Willowy said:


> My grandma was feeding a feral cat, and one day she showed up all tangled up in a 6-pack plastic thingie. We had to put a trap out but thankfully she went right in. We had her spayed and vaccinated at the same time, and the vet was worried because one of her legs was swollen from being tangled. Of course, as a feral, we couldn't do much about it, but she recovered quickly and the swelling went down after a day or two.
> 
> An old dog may not recover as quickly, but tell your mom to rub the leg to try to get all the fluids back where they belong. It really depends how long the blood flow was cut off . I would take her to the vet tomorrow regardless, it can't do any harm.


Looking at it again we saw pus inbetween two of her toes. Stepmom said it might have ruptured? 

She doesn't mind if we poke and prod her leg at all which is strange cause she is very picky about people touching them. It was probably at least a few hours. She gets caught in it sometimes cause she still has trouble walking but she has been doing better since we gave her some vetprofen. When i took it off it was imprinted in her fur and she dragged her back legs away like before. When she doesn't use her legs for a while they revert back .


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## ChesnutMutt (Jul 8, 2012)

we put some peroxide on her foot for the pus


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

She really should see the vet tomorrow. That doesn't sound good. And if she has to be kept outside because she can't control her bodily functions, it may be time to let her go peacefully . My grandma kept her dog in the garage for months because of that, and I think the poor guy was confused and sad about being away from his people.


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## ChesnutMutt (Jul 8, 2012)

Willowy said:


> She really should see the vet tomorrow. That doesn't sound good. And if she has to be kept outside because she can't control her bodily functions, it may be time to let her go peacefully . My grandma kept her dog in the garage for months because of that, and I think the poor guy was confused and sad about being away from his people.


Definitely. Yeah, that's been something we have been trying to avoid but It is coming time. Oh yeah, she feels left out and its killin my stepmom inside. She misses her being in the bed with her and everything


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

ChesnutMutt said:


> she was on a lead. we have had to keep her outside because she can't control her bodily functions.


You mean she was tied out? Has she seen the vet about the incontinence problem? There are meds that can help.


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## ChesnutMutt (Jul 8, 2012)

Pawzk9 said:


> You mean she was tied out? Has she seen the vet about the incontinence problem? There are meds that can help.


yes, she was seen when we got hit by the car and we got her to walk again. Incontinence just came with it. I assume that since we are able to keep her outside that my stepmom didn't see any need to take her to the vet. Last month she was having issues and we got some vetprofen from the vet and it has been helping.

Shes starting to lick her leg a lot so I assume that's a good sign?


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

ChesnutMutt said:


> Shes starting to lick her leg a lot so I assume that's a good sign?


It may mean the feeling is coming back. May also mean it hurts.


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## ChesnutMutt (Jul 8, 2012)

Pawzk9 said:


> It may mean the feeling is coming back. May also mean it hurts.


Alright, my stepmom is seriously thinking that its her time for her to go now.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

ChesnutMutt said:


> she was on a lead. we have had to keep her outside because she can't control her bodily functions.


They make dog diapers. Or you could gate off a small rm and put newspaper down or pee pads. I feel sorry for a dog that when it becomes old, gets kicked outside. Has this dog seen a vet for her incontinence? There are meds that can help with that as well.


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

Anyway you look at it the dog needs to see a vet. The receptionist should be able to tell you how much an exam cost over the phone. Once the vet has examined your dog they can explain all the treatments options and probable outcomes and they should be able to give you an estimate before doing anything other than the initial exam.


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## ChesnutMutt (Jul 8, 2012)

Went out today and she had begun to gnaw her foot off 

our vet is gone this week so we called everyone we could and found someone. We decided to go ahead and put her down...she lived a long hard life


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

Wow man, she could have had it amputated, I can't believe you had her put down. Can I get some details though before I settle on my opinion of the situation? Like why EXACTLY did you have her put down?


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## ChesnutMutt (Jul 8, 2012)

Kayota said:


> Wow man, she could have had it amputated, I can't believe you had her put down. Can I get some details though before I settle on my opinion of the situation? Like why EXACTLY did you have her put down?


Yes you can. She is 11 years old, has cancerous tumors, fused vertebrae, incontinent, she has had trouble walking since being hit by a car, just please...it was time..I wish it was sooner so she didn't have to go through this extra pain but she is in a much much better place now. Our family is having a very hard time with this.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

Alright... I'm sorry for your loss.


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## momtolabs (May 27, 2012)

Sorry for your loss.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Awwwe .... I am so sorry for your loss ... she had so many things wrong ... but she is in a better place than here suffering.


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

I'm so sorry for your loss.


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