AEB

Willie, Mom will protect your parts! But that being said for you. I can scarcely imagine a worse place from which to have something removed. Oh wait, I don't need to send you cookies, your mom is THE cookie baker!!

Poor pretty girl! I feel half that pain- Kevin broke a toe last Wednesday. I keep worrying about another accident now that he is motoring around on 3 legs. But who could see a gash coming? I hope things quiet down! Give her a kiss on the snoot for us!

Yes, we think he is happier. He is easily roaching and is getting silly and air-snapping. Getting too silly, you can tell he wants to run. I gated him into the bedroom and he started crying. I am not sure if he is in pain because he can move the leg more, or if he was just PO'd because he was gated-in. He will miss using that big metal paddle as a shovel to help fling dirt after he potties!

we're back from the ortho. kev is now in a custom fiberglass splint. he seems more comfy. cried when they put it on. the toe is quite swollen. but he seems happier with his new splint. dr said the type of break is not one for surgery. So, 4-8 weeks in a splint. At least he'll be more comfy now. Here's the patient in his new splint: (Edited to add: Look how his eyes match his splint!)

Thanks Lindsay. They did not say anything about his tendons, but if I snapped a toe like that I'm sure other things would be sore too. Please give Chase a kiss for me. Healing thoughts for Kevin, if you can. 6:45pm appointment.

Yes, I read about entertaining the invalid. And we are massaging him and taking him places. We will do some training too. We are allowing him to use his potty trips to get a little exercise. He zips around now and when doing potty breaks he's dragging me. I think he now goes faster on 3 legs than 4. He is acting more himself, which makes me happy. Splint- I don't want that on for any lengthy period for the reasons you mention Lindsay. We see the ortho tomorrow evening. So we'll get that splint off then, I hope, or at least a bandage change. My vet thinks the leg needs to to be immobilized above the wrist till the bones get a "fiberous union". So until tomorrow I can live with it because he's being himself and moving around well and ill have been in it five days. Four days in that bandage. I figure if he pulled tendon in the process it might be good for it to rest for a few days. But I want something to change tomorrow. I don't like this splint. That's one of the major motivations for seeing an ortho, plus to get a prognosis. The vet said the pieces are well-aligned. So I am hoping we can save the toe, but I know we may need to remove it. My priority is his comfort and getting something where he can move that leg more so the muscle doesn't atrophy.

No, no smell. He's pulling at the top of the cotton and vet wrap. Just there. Seems to have a bit more room on top than it did, which is probably good. He's learned to move on 3 legs and wants to go for huge walks but we are doing just enough to keep his energy levels in check. He's learning to put his peg leg down and to skip along. And to rest on it for balance. Tonight he's whining because he wants to lay around outside and we can only lay around so much. He vocalized a little tonight, which I haven't heard since Wednesday. So he's acting like himself. Excited for walks to potty. Excited for food. So, he seems ok. But bored and frustrated with the wrap. Two more days and he'll get a change. I hope to a new splint. No swelling (or at least not a noticeable amount). So I am going to keep my fingers crossed it's just annoyance and everything will hopefully be ok. I'd get a little crazy too if my arm or leg were out straight like that for days. I am feeling very grateful these past few days for the ability to bend my appendages. Emma, what does KWIM stand for?

Well, he has had a splint on since about 6pm on Wednesday. He has had this one on since thursday around noon. It's not swollen.

Thanks, I will bring a picture of that one in with me. I am worried about him this morning. He more whiney and his leg is hot. Is that normal because it is wrapped? Or should I be seeing about a bandage change at our vet today?

Emma, I always enjoyed her Q&A on the site. I'm very sorry for your loss.

Dirty T-shirts helped Kevin. But time and training is what made the biggest difference by far.

Holly, I'm so very sorry.

Thinking of Bree. Please let us know how she's doing when you get the chance.

Feel better Sadie!

Thank you so much for your reply Judy! How many weeks was he in it? No atrophy? It's good to know they can have a splint like this without complications. Did Bullit's splint feel really tight across the top of the splint, like it might cut into his leg?

I have little to offer re: what she should be given and am just going through my first experience with Tramadol. But when Sadie used to pull her shoulder she would get an anti-inflammtory 2x day and a muscle relaxer, if appropriate. Can you call your vet and explain the situation? Ours would take a call like this and give us some advice. I won't be surprised if they tell you to get her to a vet to make sure she didn't break something if she is still not putting weight on her foot. Good luck. I hope she feels better and you can enjoy your vacation. GIve her some kisses.

Our vet won't consider amputation at this point. Yes, It is a crazy splint. We see the ortho on monday.

THinking of Sadie this morning. Good luck to Sadie today. Let us know what they find. Poor girl.

Thank you everyone! Yes, it's a lot of splint and it makes me uneasy. I want to have it changed every couple of days at a minimum. It won't be changed until Monday night. At which point I will ask to be taught by the surgeon. I do worry it's too tight and digging into his leg at the top. I tried to stretch the vet wrap there some. I hope it helps. I know if I cut it it could slide around and cause a sore. This is essentially a cast for all intents and purposes. Tightly applied- which makes me nervous. But how do i know I need to bring him over to the vet today or tomorrow for a change or if he'll be ok until I see the surgeon? I think everyone thinks I am crazy being so worried about this. I get nauseated thinking he's in pain. Tramadol- he was a little weird last night. LIke he didn't want to be touched and his skin was crawling. Very odd for him. I wondered if there were some lingering effects of the anesthesia. His tummy was a mess too. Today we had a full meal and I think he slept a few hours (he's probably not himself because he got little sleep in the last couple days and he usually gets 20 hours or so everyday). I think he feels better than last night. But he is still not dozing- just laying there staring. He is on 50mg tramadol 1-2 pills, 2-3x a day (and rimadyl). He's had one tramadol with his rimadyl today. I am considering giving him another (it's been 4 hours). How do I tell if I need to get him something else? He panted some last night but he's panting excessively. He is not sleeping though and I thought (hoped) it would knock him out. Maybe it's giving him only 50mg instead of 100? I am not sure if we are ok where we are, need to give more tramadol, or need to switch to something else. Will he adjust to the Tramadol if that's what causing his behavior? I am also thinking that if we have to go out we might bring him with us so we can keep an eye on him. PLus it's something a little different. He usually gets at least one interesting adventure a day. And now he's just miserable. But, take him out front to potty and he perks right up and wants to go for a walk down the road. He is learning to zoom along. So he was allowed to go to the next driveway last night. It gets some energy out without him going so far that he gets tired and touches the splint to the ground. Remolacha- check the original thread- there was a pic posted yesterday and I think that splint is like what your pup had. I will need to decide on the tramadol/meds and any bandage changes today. Vet is only open until 12 tomorrow. THis whole thing is exhausting for all of us- partly my own fault for worrying about whether his leg will fall off from tight bandaging. Thank you again everyone for all your input! April & Kevin

Kevin is crying tonight. It seems the top of the splint digs into his leg when he tries to get up (he has a hard time getting up). I stuck my finger in there and could feel the top of the splint digging-in. My only option to relieve that is to cut the vet wrap and loosen everything. I worry the splint will slip down. I also worry if I don't loosen it he will be injured. But he's happy to zip around now, now that he's getting the hang of it. I'm not sure what to do for him. I may call the ortho tomorrow and see if they have an alternative splint we can buy, but I doubt they are willing to sell us one without seeing him first.

Thanks for the info Nancy. And thank you- we tell him all the time how handsome he is (sound familiar?). I will keep this thread updated. We're going to give him his meds soon and I hope he'll be more comfortable. I have never given tramadol but understand it to be quite powerful. So he's going outside to potty in case he zonks-out.

The patient:

Here is the patient: (I hope I upload it properly)

I will say you have had your share- more than your share! Thank you for such a complete post. I have a disk with the xrays and I will see if I can upload and post them. He is getting a little better at moving around. I hope that his mood tonight is from going without food for 24 hours and being under anesthesia today. I would be MORE than crabby. I will say he has only laid on the floor since we got home. Not on any of his beds. I wonder if he feels it's too hard to get comfy. So, what I took away from your post is the amp you did was complication free as far as the surgery but problems later have arisen so keep the toe on if possible. I wonder if there are PT exercises we can do at home when the time is right and if we can move his leg during bandage changes. I don't want him to have limited mobility because of this. I really hope to avoid it as much as possible. Edited to add: that splint looks much more tolerable. And Kevin's break is definitely worse. The bone is jagged points and fragments right where his foot flesh starts.

I'm so sorry. We faced a similar situation with Sadie. Uncontrolled weight loss is so very hard. to you both.