Dog favoring back leg

by Gwen
(Sidney, NY, USA)

Yesterday morning, my Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix was favoring one of her back legs. When I looked at it, there didn’t appear to be any wound or breaks. There is nothing visibly wrong with her.

During the day, she was still running around, but she was holding that leg up. She was still acting like herself.

This morning she was acting like it was more difficult to walk in general. We had to be gone most of the day, and when we came home, she would not get up. She would use her two front paws to balance herself, almost like she was sitting — but it was more like leaning to one side.

When we tried to get her to walk, she would collapse like neither of her legs worked. I gave her a low-dose aspirin, hoping this would help, but it didn’t seem to.

She wouldn’t eat either, so we finally gave her some cooked chicken, which she did gobble up. She also has had very little water.

This came about after we returned from a 2 week vacation. All my dogs – including my Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix – have done quite a bit of playing (running, swimming, etc) since we’ve been gone.

Is there anything I can do to help her at home? I can’t really afford to take her to a vet right now. 🙁