My life just gets better and better ..... not

I posted the other day. My bitch is in season and I am having my head battered with all of that.

Anyway I came home from work today, I had left my male out in the garden. I came home an a flag (paving slab) which was simply against the back fence, is smashed on the floor and my male is limping around everywhere.......

Then I have the chaotic greeting and hear him yelping as he jumps and lands, jumps and lands , jumps and lands .....

All is calm now ... he is not putting weight on it and is definitely limping on it.

He has been lying down as normal, appearing to be in no stress at all, and has been shifting around the floor to 'get more comfy' as he does, using the said leg.

Looking at him, it's like a kid who's sprained their ankle and cannot put weight on it so is limping.

I imagine that if he'd broken his leg/paw (as I have broken an arm, and the pain is unbelievable) he would be showing defining signs of stress?? If so .. what are these?

He still seems comfortable and is yet still more interested in finding out where the bitch is.

I have phoned the vets. One seemed to be telling me how drastic this is - get him up, consultation fee, painkillers fee, x-ray fee, treatment fee....

The other told me to simply wait 24 hours, and we will know if he has or has not got a break as breaks (as I know - coz I left mine 24 hours!!!) get much much worse both in healing and in pain when untreated.

Anybody who has had a dog with a break can tell me what it was like? Any help from any of you would be greatly appreciated (again)

Thanks

Lee

I had a wolfhound that broke three toes when she slipped on an icy step. She was limping heavily but still taking weight on it. We took her straight to the vet and the X-Ray showed the foot to be in a bit of a mess. To cut a long story short all three toes were wired the next day. After that she made a good recovery, the wires never had to be removed and she was quite sound after it had fully healed.

When I (I know I'm not a dog by the way! ) broke my arm, I wouldn't believe it, quite deterred by the hours in A&E .. anyway I left it and by 12 - 15 hours later it was as big as a balloon and the pain was simply exrutiating .... so much that I could'nt NOT just sit there and scream every now and again ....

So what you're basically saying is that if he has broken it - he will not change? ..... simply limp on it?

It's not that I don't want to take him the vet - I can't it's too late, I just want to be able to know what's going on as I am worried. I am being boosted by the fact he seems completely himself .... am I just kidding myself?

I will take him the vet tomorrow .... but I don't want to be conned into paying out £100 'just to be sure' (as they do) for an x-ray if it can be helped?

As I said I would have imagined that had he broke it ... he'd be in some pain & stress??

My vet said a big indication will be his eating and drinking ..... he will not eat/drink if he's got a break, as he'll be sick to the head.

He is eating & drinking....

???

Years ago my friend's cat fell off a second floor balcony - she didn't even know (kids didn't want to get into trouble ) until the next day.  The cat was just quiet and more subdued than normal and didn't even flinch when she picked it up, carried it and travelled to the vet.  His pelvis was broken and one leg more or less shattered :( :( :(

Animals often don't give verbal signals of acute pain.

>I will take him the vet tomorrow .... but I don't want to be conned into paying out £100 'just to be sure' (as they do) for an x-ray if it can be helped?

In the circumstances I find that comment and attitude disgusting  

>I will take him the vet tomorrow .... but I don't want to be conned into paying out £100 'just to be sure' (as they do) for an x-ray if it can be helped?

In the circumstances I find that comment and attitude disgusting   

Well, you haven't been to the Vet's round here have you?? .... I am simply trying to discover what I have right this second, that you simply cannot tell if it is a break or not .... so now I know, that if necessary an x-ray will need to be done, and will find the money from somewhere...... I am going the vet in the morning, I just wanted to see if there was any possiblility that he could be acting completely normal, yet have a break....you tell me there is, that's all I wanted to know.

'The Circumstances' where me trying to learn the above ..... thankyou for your help.

Goodbye.

Yes, he can act perfectly normal and have a break, dogs are much more resiliant than most of us humans and just tend to get on with things. One sign is constant licking as a dog will always try to 'fix' itself, and he may become a little distant.  Use your instincts and see how he is walking in the morning.

If he is still limping I would definitely take him to the vets, a break healing wrongly can cause more expense in the long wrong and years of pain for your dog.

I hope that it is nothing more than a sprain, but even so, it may need bandaging and plenty of rest.

Thanks Lyssa

The thing about animals is that they will often avoid showing signs of injury or weakenss, simply as to do so makes you more vulnerable to predators or attack by those seaking to get the better of you, so it is not in ther interest to make a show of pain.

I had a cat who as a kitten broke her shoulder. We thought she'd just had a bump as she showed no pain at all. Yes she limped a bit but that was it. I've kicked myself many a time for this. It wasn't until she was adult that it was discovered her shoulder had actually been broken, as eventually it became obvious it had healed incorrectly (it got worse with age) and she now has a useless leg. Nothing can be done about it. Never again will I NOT go to the vet just because the animal is moving about and eating....... Rather safe than sorry.

Akita,

In a few of your posts money is mentioned as a concern. Ie you can't afford for one of the dogs to go in kennels whist one is in season.

I would honestly suggest to you if money is tight and I can understand it being , get yourself a insurance policy for the dog. A decent one can be as cheap as £9.99

Can only tell it as it happened. My girl wasn't offered food or water until she had been X-Rayed in case she needed surgery as she did. But afer a loud yelp when she actually slipped she wasn't much put out by her quite severe injury either, she allowed the foot to be handled with no more protest than pushing at the examining hand with a nose and she seemd in good enough form otherwise. Personally I'd rather pay for an X-Ray than risk missing three toes that needed wired.

Yea I appreciate the advice I just got the impression that the last poster thought that I didn't want to go the vets. I know people who've been 99% sure that 'it's not that' and paid through the teeth to be that extra 1%

Nothing wrong with em

Can vets determine a break without x-ray? they said they may be able to when I phoned them up .... so I thought I'd come here and ask if anybody knew in what way they would determine this?

I am not trying to dodge the vet :D

Just any needless extras as I am going to struggle as it is ..... I don't want to be given a 200 pound bill, without the money .... how embarasing

>Can vets determine a break without x-ray?

Some breaks, yes. But others, especially non-displaced fractures and cracks, can't be, I'm afraid.

Signs of stress would include your dog licking its lips a lot, panting ... and of course any behaviour 'out of the ordinary'. You know him best and will be able to recognise if he's acting differently to normal. Dogs are very stoical, and their natural behaviour following injury is not to draw attention to themselves - injured wild canids are likely to be killed, so they instinctively don't 'let on' that there's something wrong. It makes finding injuries very difficult sometimes!

See things like this JeanGenie, I did not know ....

Thank you very much. (Clever little things!)

I know what you mean Akita - of course you would pay the money if necessary, but a lot of the vets round here are also very keen to take your money whether or not the dog needs assistance. Perhaps Teri lives in a better part of the country! :-) Hope your boy is better soon - probably has just bruised it, I hope it's no worse. :-(

Yea Teri probably lives in a nicer place :) ..... I mean I'm not accusing the vets of taking unnecessary money - but I 'm just thinking if I was a vet , what would I do *hangs head in shame* :D

I'm not being off with anyone .... I promise ... and I do really appreciate Teri taking the time to advise me ....

>Perhaps Teri lives in a better part of the country!

Well that's as may be :rolleyes: but certainly out of the numerous vet practices within reasonable travelling distance all have an evening surgery as standard so my dog would have been for a vet exam and pain relief plus anything else necessary.   I can't think of one vet who would recommend feeding a dog which potentially may need a GA in the morning

I hope the dog is just bruised too.  

A puppy i had broke her leg, and the vet didn't need to x-ray to see

She wasn't screaming in pain either

I hear what you're saying Lou .. now that I have learned the above.

I just immediately thought of my mums dog when he broke his leg ... he yelped yelped and yelped .... and did not stop .....

Mind you, he was only a puppy (and a chihuahua ?)

Cheers

Depends where the injury is. My vets have recommended a 'wait and see' policy for some injuries. Others like my IW's foot need an X-ray straight away. The point is though, that no one can diagnose fractures over the internet and, as with my girl, the dog may not make much of a fuss. The vet has to actually see the dog in order to decide if an immediate X-ray is appropriate.

Can I ask why you don't insure your dogs if a meduim sized vet bill is a problem? What happens if you get landed awith a bill in the thousands, as can happen quite easily with a dog that has major injuries or needs extensive investigation / treatment?

I am one of those people who thinks 'it'll never happen to me' Jas

If this is a break, I'll be able to pay for it, but I will then struggle 'til payday, which I do not care about what so ever .... but this will serve as a wake up call ... I am seriously going to consider insurance now! especially having 2 of em .....! :D

The cost of a problems during whelping can run into hundreds too perhaps something to consider as regards your breeding plans.

Oooooh yea I have been warned Isabel ! :D

HOPEFULLY I can do everything 'to plan' hey.... if I'd planned a litter - I would make sure that there was some way of paying for this ....

Cheers...

I don't even know if it available now, but the cost of insurance to cover whelping used to be prohibitive and even so you had to be a reasonably experienced breeder to get itat all. The total vet bill for the CS litter I hand reared came to £1057 but admittedly that included full vaccination and PSS testing.

We learned our lesson the WRONG way......£2000 later after our girl broke her front leg.  My family have had dogs most of my life and never had insurance and they have never needed it either.  When she broke her leg she was 8 months old and she screamed the field the street and the house down.  To be honest since her first op more things and treatment was added and god only knows how many xrays I really did think the vet was taking advantage of our situation, but we paid whatever was necessary to get her right.  I do suggest you get insurance for your dogs.  I will keep my fingers crossed that all is well and there is no broken bones.

Our big Aussie, Thor, got out of the garden one day, when he was 15 months old - and was over the hills & far away before we could get him:rolleyes: .    He took himself up to "play" in the local sand excavation pits - and was hit by one of the lorries there.   He came running to me (I was almost up there) - and one of the guys told me that he had been hit by one of the trucks.  Nothing seemed wrong from the way he was running & jumping around me, but the guy was so insistend that he had been hit, that we took him for a quick check at the vets.   The result?   He had a fractured pelvis/had to have his hip pinned - so bang went his chances of being hip scored.!

But, unless I had been told that he had been hit by a truck, from the way that he was charging around, I would never, ever have known, and I shudder to think what the result might have been.   After all, a broken bone does mean that there is an internal bleed.

I won't take a chance now.

Margot

I know what you mean about wasted journey, stress for the dog and the cost. How many times have we paid out hundreds of pounds quite litrally and twice to be told theres nothing else we can do and we loose the animal anyway. Both times my instinct was right and I should of followed my heart and listened to my dogs. I'd say, whatever the good advice you get here tonight, follow your feelings. You know him better than anyone and he will tell you in his own way what you must do. As for the vet bill, tell them your situation and they'll wait till the end of the month.
Hope things improve soon for you and that your luck changes. Who knows, you may win the lottery this weekend!

Hello, I've not posted before, but thought I may be able to give some help here. My horse (16.2 hunter type) trod on my GSP's foot whist out riding, she screamed her head off for about 30 seconds, and wouldn't put her foot on the floor. Stupidly, I hadn't taken my mobile out with me, so had no choice but to ride back to the stables to get her some help. I thought about picking her up and carrying her across the front of the saddle to get her home, but understandably, she wasn't too keen on getting near the horse again! She wouldn't stay either, so she acompanied us back to the stable, trotting along side, and although limping (to start with on 3 legs), she managed to keep up just fine, and the nearer we got to home the less she was limping.
By the time I had put the horse away, and was intending to take her straight to the vets, she seemed much better, still limping, but not in any distress, and asking others on the yard to play, bringing them toys!
Decided to leave the vets until the morning, as thought by this time that she was probably going to be OK. I hadn't actually seen what had happened, and thought maybe, rather than being trodden on, maybe she had just had a glancing blow, that had frightened her, rather than caused her any serious harm.
Next morning her foot was very swollen, but she was still putting weight on it, took her straight to vets, and he confirmed that she had broken at least one bone in her foot (he could fell the bone moving as he manipulated the foot, and to be honest, I could see it too). He asked if I wanted the foot X-rayed, but said it would only comfirm what we already knew! He put a really big dressing on the foot- the equivalent of a plaster cast, which had to stay on for six weeks (being changed regularly of course), and she was restricted to lead walks for that time. He gave her check ups every other day for the first two weeks, to make sure that all was going well, after that I only needed to take her in for the dressing changes.
Once she had the dressing on to support the foot, you wouldn't have known there was anything wrong with her, she stopped limping almost immediately. She recovered fully, and has been fine on that foot ever since.
I really thank my lucky stars that I have a practical vet who doesn't insist on making a mountain out of a mole hill. I know other vets who would have given her a GA, X-rays and the works, which was not neccessay, on that occassion.
But just goes to show, dogs will cope with all sorts of pain, and not neccessarily show the extent of their injuries, in the same way we would.
Hope everything is OK with your boy. Let us know what the vet says. Good luck.
K.

Thanks for all your help EVERYBODY. He seems fine this morning ... stress-wise. But he will still not put weight on his leg.

I think I can determine myself that it is not a leg break, he will let me touch his leg and is using it as he does to scratch his big head against.

The problem lies at the tip of his paw - he will not touch anything with this.

I've got an apptmnt between 2 & 3 .....

I'll be back later to tell all ..... :)

I've had a dog that was able to scratch etc. and they HAD broken their foot.

Hope all's OK at the vets.