My lab puppy is 5 months old now. We went away for Christmas and a lovely lady looked after her. Unfortunately while she was there she took a knock from another dog while she was playing, just one of those things :-( Dog minder took her to my vet who gave her a jab and said to keep an eye on it. Anyway she's still a bit unsound so I took her back to the vet today, they did an x ray and there's a chip broken off her shoulder bone. He's sent the pics off to some special clinic in Shirley and they've recommended getting it pinned, so I'm going to make an appointment for the next day or two. Very disappointing, but hopefully she'll be fine in the long run. Poor little pooch. I have signed up for 2 training classes starting this week :-( Never mind........

Oh poor baby, hope the clinic gets her sorted.

Oh Jane no that is such bad luck poor girl. I was just thinking about getting in touch for our meet up so it looks like it might have to wait now :-(

That is going to be fun trying to keep her calm. If you have already got one I have a large cage you can borrow if it will help ?

Thanks Lucy - I have a crate for her which she is quite happy in. When I go on Wednedsay they will tell me how still I need to keep her and if we need a larger cage I will bear it in mind. the one we have is 37x24 inches - is yours bigger? I am slightly agonising over whether the pinning is really necessary - but I guess I have to take the vet's advice. They said they've done follow up on dogs with and without the pinning and that there is a much better long term outcome for those that are pinned.

I would opt for pinning rather then let it heal itself.

Will measure the crate and let you know

Thanks I needed someone to say that ;-)

Oh poor girl, and poor you - looking after an injured dog, and containing her, isn't much fun either!

The way some pups crash about - even in supervised play - can make you wince but that does sound like she took a real hard knock, or at least an awkward one.  Pinning sounds like the best option and I hope she gets better soon x

The most important thing is post op rest as the more she is calm and does over so it the quicker things will heal.

Did you know there s a hydrotherapy pool near Witney as suspect she would benefit from that as well to help build her muscle time up after being off her feet for a few weeks but the specialist will be able to advice what is best.

It would depend on where the chip was as to which option to go with, at her age bone growth and healing will be fast.

With reduced activity you will have to ensure her weight doesn't get out of hand and put more strain on the joint when she is finally allowed to mobilize,it is so easy to give lots of treats to keep them occupied but most have a high calorie content, freezing Kongs filled with low calorie broth, mainly water, not too much fat and adda few sliced green beans for added texture/interest works well.

You don't want an overly large crate,just big enough to stand up.turn around and lie down, not run/jump around in.

Hope the consultation goes well.

Thanks for all your help. I am taking her tomorrow and I'm dreading it - she's completely oblivious of course! Keep your fingers and paws crossed for my poor baby. I hope they let me bring her home tomorrow.

Will be thinking about you today let us know how you get on

How did you get on ?

The vet at 'Willows' gave her a thorough going over and asked me lots of questions - I was in there an hour. He said that she didnt seem very lame and that it was a tricky operation because it's a small piece that's come off and it can split when they try to put a pin in it. He decided  -and I agreed - that we would keep her quiet (ha ha) for another 2 weeks and then he's going to re x ray to see how it's coming along. You know I was uneasy about the operation Lucy - so I was pleased to hear what he thought. I'll keep you posted.
Jane

I hope all goes well for Willow. out of interest what kind of dog was she playing with?

Thanks for the update, hope she continues to progress with no surgery needed

tadog - it was an older lab puppy - 11 months old and 23 kilos compared with Willow 5 months and 14 kilos - just bad luck I think, what do you think?

i personally would not advise pups of unequal weight or size playing together. even an extra few kilos can make a differance. i do hope everything works out well for your dog. 

Dog minders need to be extra cautious when dealing with other peoples dogs.  This could have happened in an instant, and been just bad luck, but I wouldn't have wanted these two to play together for any period of time.  Their unequal size, weight, and age makes injury almost inevitable.

Fingers crossed for her continued recovery