5 days ago my dog was running in a grass area chasing squirrels and he stopped running and just sat down and wouldn’t come to me when I called (very out of the norm) and finally he did but he was limping and wouldn’t put much weight on his back left leg. I looked at his paws toes everything and he didn’t react to anything. Friday same thing he wouldn’t really walk on it so o took him to a vet (that I’ve never been to before since I moved) and they examined him, took X-rays, and sent me home with gabapentin and rimadyl. Radiology looked at his images and said they don’t necessarily see it as a tear and that it could just be a soft tissue injury. So our short term plan in to finish out the medicine and basically crate him unless he is going out to the bathroom to totally limit his steps. I bought one of those slings so I can take some of his weight from him and I’m giving him lick mats to keep his brain somewhat tired. My questions are 1) for him to get outside to potty from my home is maybe 100+ steps for me. Is that too much for him to do and then get back inside or should I look into other options? 2) what happens if it is just a soft tissue injury? Does he keep resting and get on more meds? 3) is it normal for radiology to not really have an answer but more of a maybe yes maybe no?
My dog is a 6 year old male golden retriever. He’s very very active, we walk 5+ miles a day, he goes for short runs with me, loves to play fetch, loves nature walks, loves to swim, loves running at fields. I want what’s best for him and me. Any help would be appreciated as I’m a stressed out and overwhelmed dog parent right now!