Can a dog pull a muscle?

Many dog owners think that unusual dog movement is caused by a pulled muscle. Limping can be caused by many reasons, and pulling a muscle is one of them. Although it happens very rarely. If the dog really a pulled muscle, you can usually see these symptoms:

  • Lameness
  • Swelling
  • Stiffness
  • Instability.

There are three stages of severity of a pulled muscle. Stage 1 is determined when a muscle is an intact and only mild inflammation and bruising occurs. When there are changes in the muscle structure with inflammation and some tearing it is usually stage 2 muscle tear. Stage 3 muscle tear is classified when a severe tear in the muscle has occurred.