4Pack-hows the leg doing? - Page 1

Thanks for asking Fly. Tricks leg is doing ok. He has been without a splint now for 8 days. I removed it the day before his last vet visit. I was checking the fit of the splint and removing the tape used on the bottom, to keep his foot dry and protected from the dragging. I noticed blood had seeped through the wrapping and while studying his leg it smelled horrible. My dog really wanted to lick his toes while I was down there messing around. I had to cut the splint off so I could see what was going on inside. Gag is all I can say. The smell was horrible. I immediatly relocated him outside on the grass and let his leg air while he licked his wounds clean. The vet said the sores were pressure wounds from the splint. Maybe but it seemed more like friction burns. Anyway his pinkie toe nail was growing into the next toe and that is what was causing him the most discomfort. I left him free to "air" and clean himself up for about 3 hours. After that I bandaged him up and let him back in for the night. The Vet said I did just fine. My boyfriend thought I should have put something on the wound but I knew he would just lick it off anyway. Vet didn't apply anything either after the last exam. It was a week early to remove the splint but the Vet said it was calloused pretty well and my dog showed no sign of pain when his leg was handled. He still doesn't use his leg to walk but he does touch it down to help balance when he goes potty and to jump up in the window to check out whats going on inside the house. In conclusion I think the bone healed just fine, it's the sores that are bothering him now. I havn't done any physical therapy on the leg yet since the splint was removed early. I've been just letting him take it easy and he is much happier without that poor leg dragging behind. I did give him a bath to help remove the stink after the vets and he stood fine for that, showed no pain when the leg was touched. 2 of the bigger sores are dried up and scabbed over and healing nicely. He is still licking at the toe that was growing into the next toe nail. I'm going to apply some antibiotics to that and maybe something so he wont lick it. Anybody have any suggestions? I'm going to lay him out and move the leg, working the range of motion a bit for him. I'll see how he takes to that. My vet didn't suggest any exersizes or stretches. Just to keep him from running on it. He does run but he keeps that leg tucked up. I can see him bring it up and also stretch it out, so looks like all is working fine. Just giving it time to heal up and get some muscle back. No regular runs for him this winter. Maybe by sping, he will be back to normal. He thinks he's as good as new already. Trying to jump in the truck by himself. Not sure how he can do that but not use it to walk on???

Hi there! I guess I don't know and follow the forum enough but still I hope your guy gets better fast. If you have access to a swimming facility or have a pool waterexercises are a great way to condition and work out all the kinks. Range of motion without weightbearing.

Now is the tough time we were talking about. They THINK they're ok, but still need to heal. The therapy is a great idea - that does help them regain range of motion a bit quicker. As for the boo-boos, well, outside of aloe, they'll probably do better with nothing on them(especially since he'll be licking the stuff off anyway). The swim suggestion is great, if you can. Here in Florida it's possible but in most everywhere else, it's getting too cold.You can see if there's a rehab vet that has an underwater treadmill. Keep his running and jumping to a minimum. Like you said, he tries to jump in the truck but not walk on it...You want to keep the stress down on the other three legs as well, so he doesn't stress them into getting hurt.

The only thing that I would add is for the sores on the leg. If they stay damp, a bit of Neo Predef powder can be dusted on as an excellent antibiotic that will help dry the wounds and help them heal3. This is the same powder that is used for hot spots, and is available from the veterinarian. But if the sores have a dry scap, then they should be fine. Bob-O

Thnaks Bob-O, actually the vet used that the last time, before we put the splint back on. So far like I said, the 2 bigger wounds are scabbed over. The vet wants me to keep it unwrapped so it can get air. It's between the toes that the dog keeps licking at. I think it's also the reason he doesnt't use his foot.

Guys I just took him for a short walk, to observe whats going on and I laid him down to check his leg over. Looks like the toe thing finally healed up. It's all dry and the scab actually flaked off when I touched it. It seems the muscle up in the hip/thigh area is what the issue is. I stretched the leg in all different positions and no pain showed at all. However the muscle did quiver when I applied a sqeezing motion to it. I gave it a little rub/massage and he seemed pretty happy with that. On our walk he did also use his foot for 4 steps in a row. More than I have seen him use it so far. He seems to use it as a crutch when he is sniffing around and just walking very slowly. I think he is being over cautious about using it, which is good as he will unlikely push himself too hard and re hurt it. He would rather 3 leg it at a faster pace then be the slow poke of the pack on all 4's. Typical male. =)

4-pack, Just a thought, but some epsom salts soak followed up with Betadine, (to dry it back out) Might help stop that licking between the toes thing. I had a female get a cheat grass between toes, and she kept on it, finally I soaked it in epsom per vet advisory and follow up with Betadine to dry it back out and 2 days it was all good again. Might be worth a try.

More time watching... and I see whats going on. He and I both walk at a pretty good clip, so I slowed things down, to baby steps and he puts the foot down and uses the leg. He can bare his weight on it when he wants to. He is just in too big a hurry to deal with baby steps, hikes the leg and runs with it up. When I walk him it will be on leash, slow, around the block a couple times a day. He is back outside in his kennel and it's hard for me to see if he is walking on it in there. If I go out to look, he only stares at me like I'm going to take him somewhere fun. "Doy, Doy whatcha doin'?" Took him to the park so he could sniff around and pee on everything, while his sister played ball. Finally he laid down, he was done doing his thing and we left. I think he'll be ok. I just need to slow him down and make sure he uses that leg, so it can build back up.

Sounds like he's doin' great! Keep up your good work and let us know how he's doing from time to time