If your dog is limping, struggling to put weight on a leg or generally having difficulty walking and moving around, your pet could be suffering with a sprain.

Sprained legs in dogs are common — particularly in active canines who run and jump a lot — and can easily be resolved with a bit of rest. In other cases, however, a dog with a sprained leg may have a more serious issue that needs further attention from a veterinarian.

In this advice guide, we’ll cover how a pet parent can spot typical dog leg sprain symptoms, examine possible causes, and highlight treatment for a sprained dog leg.

Sprains can usually be split into three categories, determined by the amount of damage to the ligament and surrounding tissues — these are simply graded from 1-3, and we’ll look at these grades in more detail later.

Sprains often present with symptoms that are nearly identical to other disorders, such as muscle strains, minor fractures, and bone degeneration, so it’s important that, if your dog is limping or clearly in pain, you don’t automatically dismiss the issue as a sprain without getting your pet checked.

When us humans suffer a sprain, we can vocalise our pain immediately and start to investigate the problem. Dogs are different. Though some might yelp if the sprain is a result of a sudden injury, many canines will only provide us with subtle clues as to their problem. In fact, the symptoms that indicate a sprain can range from barely noticeable to temporarily crippling, depending on the severity of the sprain itself.

Some dogs are particularly stoic; these pups have a tendency to just ‘get on with it’ and may well try to mask their symptoms. So, be vigilant and pay close attention to your pet – they may be trying to tell you that they have a sprain in their own canine-secret way.

The list of typical dog leg sprain symptoms can include:

Sprains can affect a dog in many areas of the body — but the most common example in a dog is a sprained leg. This is usually in the wrist or elbow joint, but shoulder and hip joints are also commonly affected. Essentially, sprains can develop anywhere a ligament is; a dog can have a sprained front leg or a sprained rear leg. 

Sprains in the neck and back can also occur and cause a dog a great deal of discomfort — but these are much less common, fortunately. Sprains in the back are more likely to affect breeds with longer backs — among them Dachshunds and German Shepherds.

Sprains in the tail — one of the causes of tail trauma — can make your dog’s tail appear limp, while sprains involving the jaw may make it uncomfortable for your pet to eat or chew.

Sprains and other kinds of similar damage to soft tissues are most often caused by trauma or injury.

Ligaments and tendons are prone to being sprained and strained, as they get pulled, stretched and twisted. This can happen due to a range of situations. Dogs can sprain ligaments while running and over-extending themselves, slipping over, clambering onto sofas and bounding up stairs, for example.

Highly active breeds generally love to charge around without really thinking of the consequences — an excitable English Springer Spaniel may suddenly take off, sprinting across an open field after a bird and unintentionally injure itself. A Border Collie may leap off a high bank and into a river for a swim, injuring its front leg as it does so.

Dogs may also suffer a sprain play fighting with other dogs or, more seriously, after being involved in an automobile accident — though that kind of incident will typically result in more than a mere sprain.

With such a wide range of potential causes, there’s a chance you may not even know what’s given your dog a sprained leg. Even the most innocuous slip or stumble can lead to a sprain.

A dog with a sprained leg may recover relatively quickly if it’s a minor issue, but if symptoms are showing anything more than a mild sprain, you should take your dog to the vet as soon as possible. Even mild limping should be treated if it lasts more than 48 hours.

Muscular strains and damage, minor fractures, bone degeneration, and even cancerous conditions have many of the same symptoms as a sprain so your dog will need to be checked thoroughly. A dog presenting with a limp may actually have torn its cruciate ligament. Canines have a Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL), which is at risk being torn or ruptured, which is a serious injury. In terms of severity, there’s no comparison between a dog tearing its CCL vs a sprain. A ligament tear usually needs surgery to resolve.

Your veterinarian will begin with a thorough physical examination, paying particular attention to the joints and musculature. Radiographs (x-rays) will usually be employed to better visualize the joint and the surrounding bone in order to rule out other disorders such as fractures and osteoarthritis.

Arthroscopy is an imaging technique that allows the examiner to get a clear visual image of the ligaments of the affected joint. An arthroscopy is a surgical procedure, performed by inserting an endoscope into the joint using a small incision. Once the veterinarian has evaluated the sprain he or she will give it one of three grades:

Providing it’s serious enough, your pet will need treatment for a sprained dog leg. The course of treatment depends on the severity of the injury. For a mild sprain, there are steps you can take at home — mainly making sure your dog gets plenty of rest and has restricted exercise (short lead walks only) for a period to avoid making the injury any worse and to promote recovery.

Beyond that, additional treatment will be dictated by the grade of sprain, as diagnosed by the vet.

Grade I sprains generally only need minimal care, although they can take several weeks to heal correctly. They are often splinted to prevent movement, and anti-inflammatory medications are prescribed, but the joint generally heals fully.

Grade II sprains also require a splint and anti-inflammatory medication, but due to the more severe trauma may also need corrective surgery. Most grade II sprains heal completely, although the healing time may be further extended, particularly if surgery is required.

Grade III sprains almost always entail some sort of surgery to remove or repair the torn ligament and if complete healing is accomplished, it will require extensive healing time. Surgery on the ligaments can be either traditional or can be achieved by laser surgery.

For a dog with a sprained leg, recovery time varies. If the sprain is minor and doesn’t require surgery, aftercare should be fairly simple.

Keep your pet as inactive as possible during the healing period to avoid causing the sprain to reoccur, and continue with the anti-inflammatories as recommended by your veterinarian.

After any surgery, it is essential to keep the site clean and free from dirt and debris. You’ll need to keep your pet from interfering with the site and examine it often over the next two or three weeks for swelling, bleeding or pus.

Keeping your recovering companion in a calm, quiet environment will help encourage healing, as will having appropriate food and water within their reach.

All being well, your dog should make a full recovery from a sprained leg.

Paying to treat a sprain out of pocket can be a major financial burden. Fortunately, most pet insurance companies reimburse claims within 3 days, putting 90% of the bill back in your pocket. In the market for pet insurance? Compare leading pet insurance companies to find the right plan for your pet.