Help! My dog's paw keeps swelling up

What is it with these people who you go to the trouble of replying to and then they just clear off straight away? It’s honestly so frustrating!!!

This definitely sounds like oedema to me.

My mare (I know, she’s not a dog!) suffered from oedemas towards the end. She had swelling just like that... The treatment was Oedex and cold-hosing the affected leg.

In my mare’s case, it was caused by a circulatory issue (or was it lymphatic? I can’t quite remember!) due to tumours. It’s almost certainly not that with your dog, but you still need to find the underlying cause regardless...

Anyway, if the fluid inside is lymphatic fluid, which is basically like water (though I’m a bit surprised a vet would put it that way), it really does point towards it being an oedema.

Change vets. Get a second opinion.

Next time he has a flare-up, you could try hosing his leg down with cold or cool water to see if the swelling goes down faster than usual. For a minor oedema, applying a clay poultice can also soothe it and help the swelling go down.

If you notice it goes down quickly after that, it’s definitely an oedema!

But regardless, you really do need to get a second opinion from another vet.

Hi there,

As mentioned before, it could be joint effusion (this can happen during strenuous exercise, following an injury, or due to arthritis: how old is your dog?), but it’s usually painful and generally limits movement. To confirm this, various further tests are possible, such as blood tests or an X-ray, for example. Usually, this build-up isn't the cause of the pain itself, but rather a consequence of an underlying joint issue.

However, you mentioned that your dog isn't in pain, so another diagnosis might be possible—especially as your vet said it’s "water"... and synovial fluid doesn't really look like water, so it would be quite surprising to mistake the two. It could be water retention in the knee.

I can only suggest that you head back to the vet, describe everything to them in detail, and perhaps even ask for further tests to be certain of the diagnosis, especially if your dog seems uncomfortable.

Hope this helps,

Anais

Oops! Diagnosis (not diagnostic).

It looks to me like it’s the knee joint. Looking at it, it makes me think of joint effusion. But if the vet says it’s water!

Anyway, there are surely further tests to be done that this (lax) vet hasn’t even considered!

Hi,

I can only suggest that you get a second opinion from another vet. They might have a fresh perspective, but you really can't leave your dog without a proper diagnosis, especially as something that might not seem like much now could get a lot more serious over time.