Hi!

I am actually a member but I can't remember my username or password and can't get the latter without the former!
At the moment though I can hardly remember my real name as I'm so upset and am writing this with tears pouring down my face!
My 1year old dog Benjy was jumping up at the door tonight when he fell and landed awkwardly. His leg was in an awkward angle.
He's been x-rayed and this shows he's dislocated at the 'elbow' joint.
The Vet has put him under sedation and pain medication. He did try to get it put back into place but didn't succeed although he is going to try later.
If he can't he's going to wait until morning to see another Vet who 'knows about these things'.
He said that the might have to go in plaster.
I'm really worried about him and wonder how he'll do when he comes home ie. resting (which is going to be SO hard).
Has anyone had any experience of this and can give me reassurance.
I can cope with most things in life but can't bare to see any of my animals ill or in pain.

Liz

HI Liz

I'm so sorry to hear about your Benjy's accident.

I haven't have any experience of this, but i wanted to send you best wishes and to please keep us in touch with how he is :)

Lindsay

hi im sorry for what has happened to your dog,im sure he will be fine,as for resting him when he comes home i would either put in a room where he cant harm himself more or use a crate to insure he has plenty of rest so his leg can get better.
good luck and please let us know how he is,what breed is he?

Hi Liz

Sorry to hear about your dog's accident but I'm sure he will be OK. My first dog escaped from the garden after my daughter and got hit by a car and dislocated his back leg. The vets had difficulty keeping it in place as he was a very small dog (norfolk terrier) and they couldn't bandage it in a figure of eight. All they did was to 'bruise' the leg by manipulation while he was sedated and when he came round he automatically held his own leg up and in place because the muscle was sore.

One of my current dogs had her cruiciate ligaments operated on and spent weeks with her back leg in plaster but she coped OK. They are much better at recovering than humans - they just get on with it. Don't worry - I'm sure all will be well.

Thanks everyone for your kindness. It's much appreciated as I'm feeling very fragile today!

I phoned the Vet this morning to be told that Benjy did not dislocate his leg but has broken it!
There may also be some soft tissue damage but they won't know until he goes under anaesthetic later on.

He did say there was no pathological reason for the break so I suppose that's reassuring? Also, he does have youth on his side.

Benjy is a Sheltie and they do tend to have 'chicken legs' with not very strong ligaments.

He was an accident waiting to happen as he charges around the place. I'm SO glad I took out pet insurance!

With regards to cage rest I did have a cage for him as a puppy and he HATED it! He howled to get out. Would I need to put him in a cage as I don't work due to ill health, so will be home all to supervise him?

If anyone has had a dog with a broken leg I'd appreciate info and advice ie are they allowed any exercise as he loves his walks?

He may have to stay in another night but I hope not as I miss him SO much. The house is SO quiet!
More tears coming!!!!

Thanks again for taking the time to reassure me.

You're all very kind!

Liz

Hi again

Not sure about broken bones and exercise but when ours had the cruiciates done she didn't want to exercise much at first. Then she began moving around on 3 legs for a bit. We had to take formal walks very steadily working from 5 minutes a day to 5 mins twice a day to 10 mins etc. In all it took about 3 months before she was back to her usual long walks twice a day.

Your vet will advise for your particular case.

Hi, sorry to hear about the broken leg, but accidents do happen to pups. ;) Many years ago (25 I think) I had a 4 month old pup who broke her leg and apart from having to carry her up and down stairs she carried on as if nothing was wrong :) Just keep an eye on the pup, and the bandage/plaster, and you should manage :D

hi Liz, i had a sheltie puppy who had broken his leg when born, his mother was clumsy with him.My vet opperated on it at8 weeks old,he had a external fixture on it and a plate inserted , the fixture was taken off after 6 weeks but the plate is still in, he is just like any other dog apart from his foot turns out a little from the hock.As for trying to keep him quiet that was a different matter! he was one of 3 puppys and he seemed to know when to rest himself, i just made sure when he played he did not get carried away. for the first few days after his opperation i put him in a cage

Thanks again for the reassurance! Imagine operating on a puppy that size with those tiny bones!

This is the day of Benjy's op and I must admit my stomach is in knots and my heart is thumping as I wait to hear how it went.
I think I'll relax if I get good news.
I'll still miss him terribly but at least I won't be worrying.

Liz

Well I've spoken to the Vet and I'm in tears!

It turns out that it's actually a very bad dislocation with a small fracture under it.
He's going to have an external fixator put on. He said there's no reason why he shouldn't make a very good recovery and the only thing he may be left with is a slight limp if that.
It's not the care and the prognosis that's upset me today it's that he may be kept in for twenty days in total! I miss him SO much and long to hold him and don't know how I'm going to get through this.

Has anyone any experience of having a dog away from home this long?

Any advice and encouragement would be really welcomed.

Liz

Oh poor you, and poor pup! :( If it's any help, one of the pups I bred and homed with a nice family badly broke a hind leg and was kept at the AHT in Newmarket for about 4 weeks. An external fixator is much better than a plaster cast in cases like this, so I'm sure he'll make a good recovery. And they'll be able to make sure he rests properly. We owners are usually too soft and sentimental when it's our 'baby' that's hurt, and think "Poor pup, a short walk won't do any harm" when in fact it will.

I'm sure they'll look after him really well and give him lots of love. The nurses at places like that give their longterm patients loads of attention. But it's still horrid for you.

At the vets for twenty days Is he insured ? One reason vets like dogs to be insured is so thay can reap the rewards

I used to train a GSD who cut all the muscles,tendons & ligaments to one foot. She had the damaged correct bandaged up & when home the next day

As he will jhave an external fixator he should be able to come home before that

Hi Liz,

When my Cairn, Abby, was five months old she rolled off the seat of the sofa and came down on her leg wrong. She pushed out and fractured the growth plate on her tibia (knee). She had a pin put in the leg, but no cast. It was absolutely horrible trying to keep a puppy still, she was ready to dance around on her broken leg a few days after surgery. I could only take her on lead walks for 10 minutes, four times a day. At least three of the four times I would end up carrying her home, not because she was in pain, but because she was bouncing up and down on her broken leg like some sort of springy jumpup toy. It scared me to death. I kept her crated when I could, the rest of the time I spent on the floor with her in a small office in my home, rolling a ball for her or letting her play with a stuffed kong.

Abby had to be x-rayed after two weeks, when thankfully the doc could remove the sutures from the op and she could do without a buster collar. She had very limited exercise again for another two weeks. Went back for another x-ray, the pin was beginning to come loose because one part of her leg had grown and the other had not -- another surgery to remove the pin and another two weeks of rest.

I have to say, it nearly drove me mad trying to keep her entertained. It was the longest six weeks of my life. Abby recovered completely, thankfully. Today Abby just had her stitches removed following a spay operation - and I removed all the puppy gates and barriers that stopped her from jumping on the sofas and running up and down the stairs. It is no fun being nurse to a young dog who needs rest!

Believe me, if your dog does need to be confined for 20 days you will miss him more than he will miss you! Dogs adjust a lot easier than people do. Make a list of all the things that are easier to get done without a dog around (time to decorate a room?) and perhaps plan a weekend trip.

Your dog will recover fully I'm sure. I have had experience of a dog in quarrantine for 6 months. She was my very pampered Yorkie, used to sleeping on the sofa, the bed .. anywhere she wanted. Hated boarding when I went on holiday. Even she adjusted very quickly to quarrantine - if she could do that, 20 days will be no problem for your pooch.

Stacey

Hi
Sorry to read about your dog. I live on an island and my dog had to go to the mainland and have her leg amputated she was 8 at the time and I had never left her with anyone since she was 8 weeks old, she is very much my dog. It was a long operation around 11 hours and she had to stay in the 'hospital' quite a while. I did stay on the mainland all this time (at my sisters) and commuted the 120 mile round trip every day to see her and sit with her for a while, she came through it fine and as long as I visited everyday i knew she would not feel I had abandoned her and of course I felt alot better, I must have driven the vets mad but they were very good and accomodating. I am sure you will be allowed to visit and sit with him, it sounds a long time I know but it will be so worth it to have him back with you healthy.

Ruth

Thanks again for all your reassurance and advice .
It means a lot to me!
It's so good to know there are so many nice people who genuinely care and you are getting me through a hellish time.
I must admit I'm dreading the Vet's phonecall tomorrow in case he gives me any more bad news!
I was thinking about it long and hard today and realised that, though it's going to tear me apart not seeing him for so long' it's his long term welfare that's important and, if staying at the Vet's is best, then that's what needs to be done.
With regards to visiting him this is is impossible as I'm in Caithness and he's in Fife where I know no-one.
Also, I don't keep well.
I also think he would expect to come home with me every time I saw him.
I have been reassured that the Vet Clinic he is staying in is really good and they look after the animals in their care exceptionally well. I must say that John Ferguson, the Vet, sounds really nice.
That helps to know he's being looked after so well.
Still doesn't stop me missing him though so roll on twenty days!!!

Liz
xx

Hello everyone!

Benjy's through his op and everything went well. The prognosis is good.
However, there is a sting in the tail in that the fixator has to stay on four weeks! This means he'll have to stay away even longer than I thought and this is making me SO sad.
I have a mixture of emotions. Relief that the op is over but heartache at missing him SO much.
I could possibly take him home in seven-ten days and then take him back to get the fixator removed (does anyone know how long they have to stay in for this?) in three weeks time. However, transport is a problem. If only I had a Private Jet!!
I'm not worried about his physical wellbeing but his mental wellbeing and mine come to that!

I don't keep very well and it's Benjy who makes life worth living. I'm lost without him!

I will be speaking to the Vet tomorrow so will have more info then.

In the meantime thanks ever so much for your kindness.
Much appreciated!

Liz
xx

Hi Liz,

Sorry Benjy will need the fixator on longer than you expected. Besides the transport problem, if you took him home I am sure you would need to keep him confined to a cage. That was the vet's orders when Abby broke her leg. I only let her out of the cage in my little home office, a slightly bigger cage in size :-) - and both of us were pretty miserable about it.

I hate to say this, but I really think it would be easier on Benjy if he stayed with the vet. He would not understand why his mum was placing so many unfair restrictions on him. And if you gave in .. well, you could undue the operation.

I know I find life without a dog to be very empty too. However, a month is *only* a month and I know you can put up with it for Benjy's sake.

I am very glad Benjy's op went well, I knew it would.

Stacey

Glad all is going well so far, Liz! That's really good news!
:)

Thanks!

I just keep having visions of him confined to this cage looking miserable and thinking his mum has abandoned him!

Am I 'humanising' him too much and will he adapt better than I think?

I want whatever is best for his long term recovery and if this means him staying at the Vets for another month then so be it, but it will be HARD!

I will be speaking to the Vet tomorrow so I said I would be guided by whatever he said.

I keep feeling guilty about the accident as well. I do everything I can to keep him safe and he goes and falls inside the house! What makes it worse is, the Vet says he only usually sees this kind of injury in an animal hit by a car! That makes me feel even worse.
Then, of course, when he comes home I'm going to be terrified every time he jumps up or runs fast in case he injures himself again! He's such a bundle of energy who rushes everywhere!

Better go as the tears are starting again!

Liz

First thing - don't feel guilty! Easy to say, I know, but accidents happen. You didn't do anything deliberately to hurt him, so please don't beat yourself up (it's the sort of thing I do, so I know how easy - and how silly - it is!). He's going to get over this fine - it's just a matter of waiting. A month seems like a terribly long time when you're looking at it from the beginning - but it soon passes, really. You'll miss him far more than he will miss you, because you will be counting the days and he won't.

Talk to the vet, and be guided by his advice. Maybe you'll be able to have him at home after all. Fingers crossed.
:)

Thanks!

I've been sitting here crying as I just can't get his cheeky face out of my head!
I hate to wish my life away but I really hope this month goes through REALLY quickly!

I think if I get to two weeks it'll be a little bit easier as it will be halfway through.

It's been just one blow after the other as first of all I was told he would be away for ten days, then twenty and now a month.

I have no concerns about his care as I know he's in the best place but that doesn't stop me missing him.

Hi Liz
Glad the pup's op went well. Don't worry too much about him being hospitalised for a few weeks.....when one of my cavaliers was 5 months old, she had to go to Bristol Vet Training Hospital. She had to have the first 2 vertabrae in her neck attacked to her head..(!!) as it hadn't grown properly, and she would have died without the op. She was only given a 30% chance of recovery from the op, which lasted 6 hours, and then a 50% chance of being able to walk afterwards.
Luckily, she pulled through and was in the hospital for 4 weeks, with a fixed brace on her neck. I called every day, and was given an update by her vet. She wasn't bothered at all, apart from she barked a lot, both in there, and when she came home.......and for the rest of her life!!!!!
When she came home, we had to cage rest her for another 6 weeks, with a different neck brace on, so that the screws they had put in her neck knitted into the bone. We also had other dogs, so it was more difficult....an "only" dog would be easier.

Result was one "mended" dog, who never had any other problem from the op, and who lived to a good age of 12.(She died last year, from kidney failure.)

So, try not to worry....I'm sure he will be fine, and it will be a lot easier for your vet to keep him restricted than you!

Good Luck
Sami

Hi, having a crate can help keep your dog still. There is a shop on ebay which sells crates cheaper then most shops. I have two crates. Depending on the dog's nature you may have to secure them a little more but I think that would go for any crate you buy. If you are interested go to http://www.stores.ebay.co.uk/id=41643570&ssPageName=L2

Im not trying to advertise for them I just thought they were a bargain. Good Luck and hope all goes well.

Thanks both!

I do realise I will have to do whatever is best for Benjy's long term recovery and if that means some short term misery then so be it!
It would depend on whether he needed cage rest or not as to whether I would take him home. It wouldn't be fair to keep him in a cage all the time at home as there are too many distractions such as our cats.

Hopefully the four weeks will go quickly!

He's probably in the lap of luxury and it's me whose miserable!

Liz
xx

Good news!
Benjy is well enough to come home this Sunday!
Thankfully, he doesn't need cage rest but he does need to be kept as quiet as possible. Easier said than done!
Does anyone have experience of caring for a lively dog wearing a fixator ? Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks everyone for all the advice and good wishes.

I'll let you know how we get on!

Liz

Oh that is good news, Liz! :) :) Can't offer any advice though - just moral support!
:)

So pleased for you both Liz - again no advice as not enough experience but I am sure you will get loads of good advice soon.

Gina