How can I tell if my dog broke her paw?

My chihuahua was on her pillow, and I was trying to put her outside and she tumbled awkwardly and fell slightly forward. She just laid there with one forepaw tucked close to her chest and I rolled her over and pet her belly but then I saw that she wouldn't move her paw. I touched it and she whimpered, so I put her into the doggy carrier and called my parents over. She just sat there with her forepaw in the air but she didn't whine or cry out unless you touched it. My parents think its just a sprain, but if we try to straighten her paw out she cries out but she puts pressure back like she's fighting us. She can move her whole leg, just not where I guess her "wrist" would be. We held her down and iced it for a while before putting her back on her pillow to rest. My dad refuses to take her to the vet though, because he simply doesn't want to. There's some swelling, but shes resting fine and she doesn't cry out unless you try to touch that part.Someone please help I'm really scared.

It's most likely not broken. Probably just a sprain. Your dog might hold it's paw in the air for some time and it will probably hurt it for a while. Maybe even a day or two. My dog tripped on a deck when she was a puppy and her paw fell through the space between the boards and she sprained her paw. She cried for like 10 mins and then spent the entire rest of the day holding her paw in the air but she was fine.