Took my 4 month old chocolate lab, his name is Odin, for a walk last night on a leash. First time he had ever been on a leash. About 5 minutes into the walk he walked in between my legs. With out realizing until I had put my full weight onto my left foot, I had stepped on his back right paw. He yelped really loud and I realized what I had done. He seemed fine the rest of the walk. Got tangled up a few times with the leash but he didn't show me any sign of issue with his paw. When we got back to the house and he got a drink I noticed he was limping a little on the paw I had stepped on. Gave it a feel once he had calmed down from wanting to play. Didn't feel broke or swollen, he didn't pull away or cry when I touched it.

This morning when I got up and let him outside he wouldn't put weight on it. Called the vet and asked for him to be seen. They said to drop him off and the vet would look at him when he had time. Dropped him off around 8:30am. Vet called around 12 and said it wasn't broke with a visual and physical exam but his two digits on the left side, our index and middle finger the way he explained it, were swollen. After discussing possible outcomes, we agreed that getting an X-Ray would be the best option instead of waiting a week, it not healing, and then find out it was fractured. They knocked him out for the X-Ray, he is very hyper around groups of people. Learned later he made lots of friends with the staff.

Around 1:30 the vet called back and said no fracture, just some inflammation. Told me there was a possibility of arthritis later on in life in that paw, 10-13 years old. I had felt bad before but hearing that really made my feel like shit. So for the next week it's leashed when he is outside going 1 or 2. Kept in his kennel, and no playing activities. They gave me some meds to reduce the inflammation, half a pill twice a day. Not sure how I'm supposed to keep him in his kennel for a week. He is going to think he's done something really bad if I'm keeping him in there all day. I'm hoping in the day or two the digits will stop the inflammation and he can put weight back on it.

Here he is about two weeks ago.

Good looking dog. I bet he heals pretty quick.

Good lookin' pup.
Don't worry, OP. He'll get even when he gets a little older by chewing up every goddamn thing he can.   Luckily, they outgrow that phase.

We had a chocolate lab that chewed one of those "indestructible" orange knobby retriever bumpers into 1/4" pieces. She also ate through several 1X6 boards on the fence and some of the siding off the house. And yes, she lived to be darn great dog.

Very nice looking pup you have there.



There are booties which sled dog drivers use.  You could ask your vet if they know of a source in your area.  One of those will provide enough cushioning for the paw that way you can take him for small walks sooner.



They usually come in sets of four, use all four if you only use one he'll pay too much attention to it with four he'll become acclimated quicker.



When you take him for walks, use a short lead, no more than 3', that length will prevent him from getting tangled up while he's heeling.

Very nice looking Choc Lab pup.

One of my first walks with Yellow Lab pup resulted in a $500vet bill. The leash was too long and he was being a puppy asshole.  He was about
three months old at the time, darting into every sniff that he thought looked interesting.  Well he darted into a mature chollo cactus and was covered with barbed needles over his face, throat, and legs. It's the only time in the nearly two-years Ive had him, have I heard him yelp.  He then proceed to snap at the embeded spines, getting several into his tongue and inner lips.

I had no chance being alone with him toget the spines out myself.  He was strong enough even at three months to make extracting the splines impossible by myself. His vet was only a couple of miles away, and it was 7:30 in the morning, so I loaded him up and off we went. The vets and staff were in the office when we arrived and they took him immediately, knocked him out and went to work using all three of the clinics techs.  About 2 hours later, he was spine-free, but they kept him all day to make sure he recovered from the anesthesia without any probles.

The offinding cactus was adacent to a well traveled sidewalk, in a family neighborhood. The cactus has been delt with appropriately.

Puppies are like kids, they get banged up all the time. My last two pup's both hurt themselves running around before they were even 12 weeks old. Luckily it was just a few muscle strains, nothing to worry about, but your heart does come up into your throat when your pup goes lame for a day or so.

He is doing better today. I have taken him outside several times today for number 1 and 2. I swear this dog has a bladder the size of a elephant. He is beginning to put weight back on his paw, but not a whole not. Hoping by Saturday he will be just about healed up, he is going nuts being kept inside his kennel. I bought him a new bone to chew on but I don't think he likes it.

Cute pup. He'll make you pay more than that in the long run.

There are worse possible outcomes to a walk.  The first time my wife decided to take our walker coonhound/ beagle mix for a walk without me almost ended in losing her.  My wife got 5 or 6 house down when a Doberman escaped from its back yard and attacked Daisy.  She was less than 6 months old at the time.  The Doberman did some serious damage to her back leg.  She had 3 drain tubes and one of the wounds was atleast 3 inches deep.  The Doberman's owner paid that part of the bill.  She also had a embiblical hernia repaired and got fixed on the same day.  

Monday will make a year since we adopted her from a hunt club that had an unexpected litter.  A couple of black scars visible through the white on her coat are the only signs.  That dog runs the backyard and jumps the 3 ft wall along the back of the patio like nothing ever happened.

Glad your hound is ok now. That is one thing that drives me nuts with living in town; people not having control over their dogs. There was a shitzu that came charging out at us a few walks ago from an open garage door. I was about to punt the little shit back into the garage but the owner came out and got him/her. I'm still trying to get mine to walk on a leash. He just about chokes himself unconscious from pulling so hard on the leash. But I don't want him going into people's yards, I don't like it when people allow their dog to crap or piss in my yard.

I use a harness when walking Daisy and she still manages to almost choke herself.  

The way the attack happened from what I was told , since I was at work when it happened.  She and a friend were walking Daisy.  When the close to the Doberman's house, the dog started going nuts in their backyard.  The owner's 8 year old daughter though she go into the backyard a calm the dog.  As soon as she opened the latch, the Doberman rammed the gate and knocked the girl out of its way.  My wife started to pick up Daisy, but thought better at the last second.  I sounds like if my wife hadn't pulled Daisy close to try to pick her up, the Doberman would have grabbed her by the neck instead of the back leg.  My wife was in the middle of the road screaming for help until the owner finally came out and had to repeatedly punch the dog before being able to pull it away from Daisy.

My wife forgot her phone and still won't carry the pepper spray that I bought for her.  Luckily, Animal Control arrived fast and took my dog to the vet.  The Doberman's owner was forced to may for Daisy's bills and also had to install an electric fence to keep her dog.  Animal Control only let the dog live but with restrictions because it had no history of issues previous.  I've now set a rule that Daisy is only walked when I'm with her and I carry when I walk her.