Goat attacked by dog now won't stand. Help please

[plasticpumpkinfarm]

The rest of the herd is recovering well- except for one doe. She's about a year and a half old. She sustained several superficial injuries- bite marks to top of neck, upper front leg, also scratched there. A few scratches on her side. no visible injuries to hind legs. She was knocked down- the ground was quite slippery and there was mud on her and on her bell she wears on her collar. The attack happened in the middle of the night and we were unaware of it till feeding time in the morning. When I found her she was standing with the others in their stall. All looking quite shaken. She didn't favor any leg and there was no bleeding. They ate and drank and she laid down and got up several times. Getting up looked painful. Her haunches trembled but she managed it unassisted. I washed and treated all wounds and gave some pain relief,immune support and probos. The next day she had laid down off to the side where the other goats won't bump/step on her and seems to plan on staying there. She eats and drinks well and greets me with her normal meh not the i'm hurt sounding one. I tried helping her stand and at first it seemed like her foreleg hurt her and she didn't want to put weight on it to stand. So I let her rest again today I tried to help her stand and one back leg definitely is bothering her she held it out and won't but any weight on it. I've replaced the hay under her but I can't completely lift her on my own to check the front and back legs at the same time. It's been 3 going on 4 days since the attack happened. The local vet won't see her and the one several hours away is out of state right now. I felt her legs and nothing feels wrong. Any suggestions?Ideas?Thanks!

 

[freemotion]

Could she be developing an infection that you can't see? Can you take her temp?

How awful for you! I've never experienced this with my goats, I can hardly imagine how horrible it was to find them like that.

 

[Roll farms]

I would probably be giving her some Pen G to help ward off infection and speed healing.
Definitely get her temp taken like Free said.
If she's not UTD (w/in 6 mos) of her CDT, I'd be giving her tetanus antitoxin.
That and supportive care are all you can do w/out a vet.

 

[warthog]

I am so sorry to hear this, hope she gets better soon

 

[Ariel301]

My first two thoughts are--neurological--if she fell, she may have hit her head or her spine and done some damage there. It would be a bit odd for that not to show up right away though. Second--tetanus. I just lost a goat to this, and early symptoms are stiffness in the legs and not wanting to walk. If it's neurological, there's really not anything you can do without a vet. I would check around to see if any store has some tetanus antitoxin available if she's not up to date on her tetanus vaccine (and maybe even if she is, the shot isn't 100% effective, and the only real hope in treating it is getting the antitoxin in her early enough.)

A shot of antibiotic wouldn't be a bad idea if you haven't already done it. Dog bites can be dirty.

And something else just occurred to me...rabies. If a dog attacked them during the night, and you never caught the dog, it's always a risk. Did any other goats get bite wounds?

 

[plasticpumpkinfarm]

Thanks everyone.
I will take her temp again tomorrow. It was normal initially but infection takes a while to develop.
Her last tetanus was over 6 months ago but I'm ordering more and will order pen g too- hopefully it will be here in time. I only have LA200 right now.
Another a young buck was bitten too but he is well on his way to 100% Our other young buck was killed. Our other doe was untouched- not sure how she managed that. Definitely no rabies. We know which dogs it was and did catch them -they woke us a about 2am we just didn't know they had attacked the goats. That was a first for us. I'd estimate the dogs weight at 50 lbs. I'm wondering what type of injury would happen if she was jumped on and knocked down and her hind leg extended out behind her. Could a torn or strained muscle cause her not to stand? I think her front right leg and hind left leg are bothering her. Neither is swollen or feels warm. She just doesn't want to stand on them. I don't think anything is dislocated either especially since she was able to get up and down the first day.

 

[ksalvagno]

Do you have Banamine? That is a pain reliever/fever reducer that is Rx. Used at 1cc per 100 lbs. It can really help if for nothing else than to make her feel more comfortable.

 

[Ariel301]

Torn or badly strained muscles could indeed make her not want to get up and be hard to find by feeling. That would be a much better problem to have than the other ones I mentioned, that heals pretty well without much treatment. I would second the Banamine, so she won't be hurting as much.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

This is exactly the reason it drives me CRAZY when I see loose dogs in our area and why we recently added our first LGD pup. They'll probably get sick of hearing from me but ever since we got livestock I never hesitate to call the local animal control. It's good you were able to ID the dogs!

I'm sorry to hear about your doe and hope she gets better!

 

[plasticpumpkinfarm]

I can't get any banamine as it requires a vet prescription. I do have owe-ese (from molly's herbals @ fiasco farm which I have been using ) and I have some rimadyl left over from when my dog was spayed. But I don't know if goats can have rimadyl or what the dosage would be.
My initial thought was muscle strain & bruising but then she didn't want to get up and I started worrying about what else it could e ie fracture etc.
If it is indeed muscle strain/torn or I guess even if not- Should I leave her lying down? She is up on her brisket not on her side. I've been lifting her as much as I can to replace the hay under her every day. Wouldn't encouraging her to stand strain the muscles more? I don't want her to loose strength from not getting up and I wonder about circulation too. I might be able to manage to get her up onto a bale on hay. Good idea or not? And how long should I leave her there? An hour or two? All day? Or should I just let her lie down till she feels ready? I have noticed she shows an interest in getting up when the grain arrives (I've given her her own dish so she doesn't strain herself).
Also would any supplement/vitamin help her heal faster? They have minerals available 24/7.
Thanks soo much