Poor girly broke her leg yesterday....

GinaGem

GinaGem

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Took our two dogs to the beach yesterday and Bessie ran up a slipway, got her leg caught in one of the holes and has broken her leg. She's had it operated on and we're picking her up tomorrow. Have never felt so sick in all my life. This was her on way from emergency vets to specialists for op:

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Get well soon baby. Any healing vibes would be greatly appreciated. xxx
 
Thanks. It was horrible - i've never heard a dog scream like that. Can't wait to get her home. The vets seem pleased so far so fingers crossed she'll heal ok
 
Aaaah poor girl, (((healing vibes))) I hope she doesn't mind the rest and caging too much, she looks like a lovely girl. In good hands and nice and quick for her.

she looks exactly like my dog who broke her hind, less dramatically, chipped a bone last spring.


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We've done all we can to make the house comfy for her but if you have any advice it would be greatly recieved. She's been good on rest before when she pulled a muscle but never for this long.

She does look like you girl, she does the same facial expression
 
Yes, same face, that really struck me! our girl (Dusty) was in training up to 2.5 yrs old and knows about being shut in a small box.

I can't tell you too much about proper broken leg, because she had a chipped bone off the end of a hinge bone, not a proper snap. (yeuch! sounds awful) She had to keep it dry, which I did with a bread bag and a pop sock just for going out for a wee/poop she went up the garden on a lead.

She did winge loudly at times, they are a vocal breed aren't they? When I put the bag on and off she hurt a bit. She was in a lot of pain straight after the op for about two days and could hardly sleep the first night when the anaesthetic wore off. The painkillers hardly worked those forst two days. I must admit I slightly hurried the pills a bit, three one day instead of two.

I had a terrier (the smallest one) who had a broken leg, totally hard nut, didn't winge at all. BUT I believe, when they have a pin, they hurt less as it is stable, so she may feel better (than that first awful day when she did it) when she comes home.

She didn't eat when she was in a lot of pain, I gave her some gravy with sugar in and a biscuit or something, but she wasn't keen. I had to force the pills in. I was so relieved when she properly ate, after about 24 hours.

The bed needs to be really high and thick, around 4 - 6 inches like a human's mattress, easier for her to get down and up.

GOOD LUCK
 
Thanks that does help. yes she is very vocal - apparently she was singing all night at the emergency vets bless her. She kind of yodels really.

Good idea with the sock over the bag for going out will try that.

She's had a plate put in to attach the two bones so hopefully that will be quite stable although we'll find out more tomorrow. It's a clean break of the front leg halfway between the shoulder and wrist so they had a good amount of bone either side of the break to fix the plate to.

She's usually quite foody but i guess the pain and shock may put her off it. We've bought in some of her favourite things to encourage her to eat. She'll usually eat pain killers whole but again it depends how bad she feels i guess.

We've got her crate in our bedroom which is one of the extra large ones so we've put thick duvets in the bottom (although now wondering if a firmer surface would be better). We've also made a bed out of a old memory foam matress for her in the lounge which we can raise up.

Thanks for your advice
 
I have had my fair share of Broken legged whippeys.
My blue whippet no longer with me...snapped her leg clean in alf down a whole...it was hanging on by a ligament
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we paid £1700 to have it fixated, then plated the seconD time it broke.
I currently have a rescue whippey/greyhound thats just had her fixator off, they heal fantastically well, she went on her first long walk tonight.
If u struggle to get socks/bags on...try getting a roll of cling film and just wrap a new piece around evEry time.....its easier to get on...I use them at work...cos they are easier than re-used drip bags to slide on.
A crate is fab for rest.....best to keep them of beds/chairs cos one wrong fall and your goosed
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This is sophie with her fixator on
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and off

Is your a closed fracture?
The key to recovery is complete rest.
 
Poor girlie
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If she's anything like my whippet boys, she'll milk it for all it's worth ('don't forget my hurty mummy'
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).... although I'm not sure if that's a sighthound thing or just a BOY thing
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And being a sighthound I don't suppose she'll find the absolute rest too much of a trial
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If you're interested in homeopathics, Arnica will help with bruising and swelling, Aconite with the shock and any restlessness. Symphytum, also known as 'Knitbone', is used to help with healing of the bone. But obviously you'd need check with your vet first, and get advice from a homeopathic vet about dosage & compatability with conventional meds.

Hope she's feeling better soon
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Hi

Poor woofy - hope she heals quickly.

I too have a similar looking lurcher to yours! and yes she cries at the smallest things. lovely breed - loves to run - will post up some pics when I get home.... she was a rescue got her at 8 weeks old...
 
Thanks for all your kind words. She's home today and better than i was expecting although i doubt the morphine has worn off yet. She's very tired and has been happy to sleep since being home (except to have a hearty breakfast - thank god she's eating!).

The bones didn't break through the skin which is good as i'm told this would have been more complicated. They've managed to put four screws either side of the plate (vet wanted a minimum of 3 so that's good) and he's put it slightly further round the leg than on a chunkier dog so it doesn't cause irritation to the muscles/ligaments. He said that makes it about 10% less strong but will make her more comforatable.

Cling film is an excellent idea thank you. She's moving about ok so she's able to lay down fine so we've left her with her usual thick duvet in her crate and her new bed in the lounge.

Our other dog was also very quiet with her when we brought him home (stayed with my OH's mum for the morning) and they had a sniff and a tail wag but Bess didn't get up and Dom didn't get excitable so that was good.

here's the x-ray before the op:

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And her chilling at home:

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We will look into therapies on advice of the vet. She's having a check-up on thur then stitches out in 8 days and another x-ray in 4 weeks. They think it'll be about 6-8 weeks before she can start short walks and anytime she's outside for a wee she must be on a lead. She's allowed to put weight on the leg as it will help the bone to heal but only gentle walking about the house and out to the garden.
 
Oooh, those x-rays look awful
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- fingers crossed she makes a really good recovery
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I must have had the most unusual greyhound in the world, when she was in animal hospital with her leg infection and after she had had the leg amputated she was as good as gold and never said a word
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- mind you she worried us in other ways by refusing to eat while she was in hospital, then as soon as the leg was off she went back to normal almost immediately
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