They are so special and give us so much joy-and sadness.
We just returned from a car trip throughout the northwest where my springer spaniel (field dog) ran and swam wherever she could. Along the way she picked up a foxtail and began to favor her right paw. By the time we got home she was not putting weight on it at all. The vet put her under general anesthesia and surgically removed a foxtail that had driven its way half way up her front leg. They only travel one way-up. She's now feeling much better but they do tend to scare you with their difficulties that they cannot communicate. Take care of that pup of yours and you will be rewarded ten fold.