My mom took my lab to her house today while I was working and she was watching my kids. Dixie was running around and some how injured the inside of back left leg. It looks like a small abrasion with maybe a little puncture. It is right on her ankle joint. She seems to only be in pain when she goes from standing to laying or vice versa. Walking doesn't seem to be an issue. If it was just a little bit of pain I wouldn't be worried but she is panting noticeably harder than normal even when laying. There isn't any swelling to the injured area.

I'm planning on seeing how the night goes and reevaluate if she needs to go to the vet.

Any advice?

Ripped dew claw?

No it isn't the dew claw the injury is more interior

The panting would concern me more than the limping, especially since you didn't see how it happened. BTW: My Brittany is also named Dixie.

Not a vet, but have owned a lot of dogs including livestock guardian dogs that sleep rough and tend to get into a lot of stuff.

I'd keep an eye on Dixie, but if it doesn't look like a snake or nasty insect bite I'd expect it to settle down. I'd palpate to make sure there's nothing broken (though if I understood the OP it doesn't sound like there is), clean with soap and water, then put some Bag Balm on it and call it good other than keeping an eye on here.

Dogs bang themselves up once in a while just like people. Unlike many people though, they don't usually whine about it unless it is a big deal.

Good luck to Dixie and you!

ETA: Need to work on my reading comprehension skills - completely missed the panting. Palpating gently should tell you if she is panting from pain. I'd definitely keep an eye on the panting and see whether it slows down. If it doesn't, and especially if it increases, I'd consider heading to the vet sooner rather than later.

I palpatrd the area and nothing seems broken. We have moved her onto our bed for the night and I have called the vet and left a message. Hopefully I will be able to get her in first thing in the morning. Assuming things don't get worse and we head to the emergency vet tonight.

What is bag balm?

It's an ointment. Does a very nice job.

My Dixie passed away last year.

Dogs generally recover and heal fast. But like you, tomorrow morning, reevaluate and if for nothing but peace of mind, have a vet take a look.

If you think it's some kind of bite, I've used benedryl with good results. According to petmed online, "The standard dosage for oral Benadryl is 1 mg per pound of body weight, given 2-3 times a day. Most drug store diphenhydramine tablets are 25 mg, which is the size used for a 25 pound dog." Seems to help in several ways. One of which is help calm a dog. I've known dogmen to only give Benadryl for snake bite. I know from experience though, antivenin is around $800 per 10ml at the vet. I hope it doesn't come to that. You'd likely know by now. Hang in there Dixie !!!

One other thing that comes to mind is your narrative of positional pain. My thought is that it might could be something more than soft tissue trauma and the scrape might be from her way of trying to get to it (?). Not always the things we see turn out to be the ultimate issue.

Bottom line is there's little to no way to diagnose the problem over the Internet. Wouldn't hurt to have a vet take a look if Dixie is not her usual self or close to it in the morning. Timing would be a consideration too for me, depending on my dog's condition. Wouldn't won't to wait and roll into the weekend. Had to use an after hours emergency vet once. Cost $150 just to walk in the door before anyone looked at and sewed up my dog.

Given the info you've provided, I'd avoid giving her any medications and get her in to the vet first thing tomorrow. They usually open early for drop-offs, so do that and leave them your number.

If it's a puncture, my only real concern would be something penetrating the joint or into the common calcaneal tendon (i.e., the achilles heal). Either will require antibiotics plus or minus exploratory lavage.

Dixie has an appointment at 11 with the vet. She seems to be in better shape this morning but we will wait and see.

If it were my dog, she'd go to the vet ,too.

I'm perfectly comfortable with being called overly cautious when it comes to loved ones....jmo

Got finished with the vet she thinks it is just soft tissue damage. Got sent home with some pain meds.

Dixie was doing much better this morning and even better by the time we for to the vet at 11.

Good Girl Dixie !!!
Surprised antibiotics weren't given ... IF there was a puncture wound.

Seems whenever I go to the vet with something like that, they ALWAYS give pain meds. I don't use them unless the dog is in quite obvious pain. The most common pain meds are Carprofen/Rimadyl. It does NOT agree at all with one of my dogs. Bowels become loose within a couple of days of administering. I also don't like what I find about NSAID type meds in dogs, and so err on the side of caution when giving pain meds. For example, Carprofen/Rimadyl ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carprofen

If that isn't the pain meds Dixie is on, research. If she doesn't REALLY need them, I either wouldn't take a chance or administer sparingly. Sometimes I think my vet (yours may be different) gives those automatically. The mark up is huge and it's easy to rationalize prescribing.

Get all better soonest Dixie !!!

Good news. My first thought was that it sounded like it might be a bite of some kind.

Glad to hear all is well and your pup is on the mend.

Sometimes the NSAID (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) is used more for it's anti-inflammatory effect than the "pain" control. If we control inflammation, we tend to get shorter healing times, etc. It's always fun when I prescribe an NSAID and they come back in a week with no real improvement and a bottle o' medicine that hasn't been used.

Just about everything has potential negative side effects, but for the most part they are very safe. That said, there are over 16K people who die every year from NSAID complications, so it's always wise to err on the side of caution. Dark, tarry stool, vomiting, loss of appetite, etc? Yeah, stop that medicine and call me.