He's legs broke...put him down.

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by Liesje

Maybe I'm lucky, but I've had more situations of the opposite, where the dog is very old and suffering greatly and the owners just can't let go..

And then you see the ones where they could probably do a lot better with some supplements, a little pain medicine, good quality food and a soft bed out of the cold but, "it's just a dog."



So sorry to hear about Buddy's leg. Hopefully the custom-made cast will do the trick and he'll be feeling better soon. He's lucky to have a mom like you.

[Stevenzachsmom]

Originally Posted by GSDolch

I'm just gonna keep posting in this thread, don't want to keep making threads for the same thing lol.

OK, so Buddy is home and has his custom made splint. Talked a long time with the vet and I was hoping I could get some advice from people more experienced with this than I. I've never dealt with a broken bone in a dog before.

I take him back in in 7-10 days, they are going to re xray it again, if the bones are still in the same spot where she reset them, then we are going to rewrap and go a few weeks before another xray. However, if the bones have moved again, it looks like he will need surgery.

Not an issue, if he needs it fine, however. She is talking about possibly taking his leg. Not saying that that will be the case, just that it might have to be an option. If the bones do not heal properly, she says that if they do surgery to try and put them back together, the bones will not meet up correctly and that could cause him to be in alot of pain because of it, and basically it just wont heal. So we may have to look at amputation.

Has anyone else had any experience with this?

Gosh Johanna! I've never had a dog with a broken bone either. The x-ray in 7-10 days sounds right and promising. The talk of amputation sounds very extreme and premature. JMO. I don't understand why she is saying the bones would not meet up correctly, if they do surgery. It would seem they are meeting up OK now - in the splint.

This will probably seem off the wall, but I stated previously that my mother broke her wrist in September. I really liked her ortho., because he listened. "Mom" did not want surgery. (She is 85.) He told her that if she was in her 40s, NOT having surgery wouldn't be an option. He said he would cast it and see how she did. He warned that she would most likely have limited use, after it healed. It was her left hand. She is right handed, so willing to take the risk. Fast forward, six weeks later, the cast was removed. The wrist is obviously horribly out of position. The doctor put up the x-rays and kind of grimaced. Then, he put my mother through range of motion exercises. He was shocked. Absolutely shocked at how well she could move that wrist. He had the tech come in and look at the x-rays and my mother's use of that wrist. The tech was likewise dumbfounded. The ortho said to my Mom, "You made the right decision not to have the surgery."

Now I realize Buddy is not a human, and can't tell you how everything feels. My mother mostly feels pretty good. Doctors always WANT to put things back the way they are supposed to go so they work the way they are supposed to, but my mother is proof that is not always necessary. I would give Buddy time to heal and see where he is in a week, or so. Hopefully the bones will stay in place and you won't have to make any other decisions. Amputation is not something I would even want to be discussing at this point.

[GSDolch]

I don't think she was saying to consider it an option now, but that it could be I think. We talked about everything and I asked her for the skinny on it all, and well, she gave it to me lol!

Hopefully everything goes OK.

[Stevenzachsmom]

I agree. Fingers crossed that splint will do the trick. I'm really thinking it will!