Dogs, especially active dogs, can dislocate the joints of their limbs. This injury in dogs can occur when the dog falls or jumps out of a window or a vehicle, when the dog jumps off of tall objects, when they catch their foot on an object and jerk real hard, or when they get caught on some object and just hang there, which often happens when a dog attempts to jump a fence that is too tall for it to clear. Dislocations of the joint can also occur if the dog has been run over by an automobile.
Symptoms that dog owners may notice when a dog has is suffering from a dislocation of a joint are more pronounced when the dislocation is brand new or when the dislocation has been on-going for sometime. There is usually some swelling in the area of the joint that has been dislocated, but this swelling can also be the symptom of other injuries to the joint. The dog owner can take the time to compare the joint in question to the joint on the other side of the dog or the owner may carefully move the limb in question and feel in the area of the joint for any alteration. Comparing the two joints for this movement and alteration is also a way to tell if there is a dislocation of the joint. The owner may also find a bone protruding out with a depression where the bone has come from on the injured or on the side in question and, through comparison, there will be none on the opposite side. The injured dog may show some loss of use in the injured leg or abnormal flexion of the leg. Dislocations in dogs is not a life-threatening condition unless it has occurred to the vertebrae of the dog, otherwise they are very slow mending.
Treatment of a dislocation in dogs involves returning the dislocated joint to the location where it belongs, then keeping it in that position. When treating a dislocated joint in a dog, the person attempting the treatment can use the joint on the other side of the dog as a guide to what and where the joint should look like and where it should go to fix the dislocation. Once the joint has been returned to its proper place, the dislocated joint should be dressed so that it will be held in place. This dressing should be changed when needed and should be on the joint for at least three weeks, which gives the small, soft pieces of the joint that have been torn in the dislocation, the opportunity to heal. If the joint dislocation occurs in an area where a dressing can not be applies, such as a hip, then the animal will have to be kept in a very small area where the dog can not move around a lot. Whether the dog has its dislocation treated with a dressing or not, it is important to keep it as still as possible so that the injury can heal properly.
