Limping After Broken Hock

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Hello all. This is only my third post, so I may be repeating a question that has been asked in the past. I recently was adopted by Jr B's Bartman off of the Dubuque Iowa track. He had a very bad broken hock. That was July 7 of 2007. He received surgery July 11, 2007 in IL. I have spoken with the vet that did the surgery (Dr. Turner - VCA Berwin) and he has released Bart from leash restriction. I am very excited, and so is Bart. I have had Bart for almost 3 months now, and have done extensive exercizing with him to include picking up his front legs and walking him backwards, having him trot (my flat out running as hard as i can ), having him run for toys in the house (down a hall so he cant actually run, but sprints a bit), up/down stairs every day. He limped a bit for the first few weeks we had him, but it all went away after a few weeks. Now my wife and I have found a nice baseball field that is fenced off that we are planning on taking Bart and allowing him off-leash, but the other night, Bart got up to go outside in the evening before bed and he limped for about a minute. That was the first time we have seen him limp in almost 2 months. Now I am a bit apprehensive if I should give him a few more months of no limping before I allow him off-leash. As I have read, it is quite common for greyhounds to have broken legs/hocks etc from racing, so hopefully someone has had similar trepidations as I have. Thanks.

[Burpdog]

Mizzy's broken and unset hock bothers her at times but she runs with no trouble.

 

I would call the vet and ask about the ball field and the fact he may run full out.

[patricia]

Our Pavé Maria fractured her hock New Years Eve. She was casted in hopes that she would heal but it was not to be. We also are in the Chicago area. On Feb 21st they re-set and plated her hock. She can NOT go off leash for a full 6 months from her surgery date. We are doing the at home rehab and she walks well on the grass but limps. In the house I must remind her to touch down on that leg and foot. She can sure stand on 2 hind legs to get into things! She zooms through the house like a nut but on 3 legs. She wants off leash and to RUN so BAD!

Edited May 29, 2008 by patricia

[Guest GreytMuse]

My Atticus came off the track in April '07 with a broken hock, and we adopted him in October, so he is now 1 year post-surgery.

 

Occasionally he will pull up on that back leg (holding it up) and limp a bit when we take him to the dog park for off-leash running, but it doesn't happen every time. We watch him very closely and make sure that when he does start to show any signs of favoring that leg, we can slow him down and know that it's time to go home. My big, goofy guy would keep running around 3-legged, I have no doubt.

[Jiffer]

You don't mention it, but get him on Glucosamine.

 

Atlas is also a recovered broken hock dog. It was bad break and it set poorly so his leg has a bend in it where there shouldn't be a bend and his toes are not very flexible. We had to do some therapy exercises with him to bring some flexibility to his toes and to strengthen the muscles in his leg. It was 3 - 4 months before I was comfortable enough to let him do any major running. As long as he's on glucosamine, he never limps, even when he does full runs and plays hard.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

She wants off leash and to RUN so BAD!

 

 

The other day I was watching a recording of "Its me or the Dog", the episode with the greyhounds, of course. As soon as Bart saw the dogs running on the tv (I have a large screen tv), he was at the screen with his nose touching the tv. He started puffing and you could see his muscles twitching and getting ready. I tried to pull him away and he was transfixed on the tv and started to yelp and bark. WOW he REALLY wants to run. I am REALLY excited to see him run and play, but I am just as anxious because I dont want my little bundle of love to hurt himself and be in any pain.

 

You don't mention it, but get him on Glucosamine.

 

Any specific dose or brand? Should I get the tablets that I see in the pet store? I do feed him some treats every few days that contain Gluco, but that is it.

[Guest GreytMuse]

This is a current thread in "Food and Dietary": http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=201670

but if you search for glucosamine, you'll find many threads on the subject to help you.

 

Good luck!

[RobinM]

Glucosomine in it's purest form through greyhound gang. ALL proceeds go to the hounds. It's a win win!

 

http://www.greyhoundgang.com

[Chicocat]

I am REALLY excited to see him run and play, but I am just as anxious because I dont want my little bundle of love to hurt himself and be in any pain.

 

In trying to give you advise, the one thing none of us know is the severity of Bart's break. I agree with Burpdog - I wouldn't think of doing a ball park without discussing it with the vet.

 

There is a HUGE difference in how a dog will run in a large area with other dogs and how he will run in an average sized back yard. You didn't say whether you have a fenced yard? If you have a fenced area, I'd probably let him off lead because most dogs will limit themselves when they first come out of a cast. It's not unusual for a dog just out of a cast to not use the leg 100% of the time or not limp a bit.

 

Survey had a Type IV break which was cast without surgery. When she came out of the cast her leg looked pretty bad and she limped some. Over time the limp is gone and the leg looks much better now. She runs in the back yard now, when she's in the mood. A back yard run is "self limiting". I will never put her in the position of running full out in a large area.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

 

Survey had a Type IV break which was cast without surgery. When she came out of the cast her leg looked pretty bad and she limped some. Over time the limp is gone and the leg looks much better now. She runs in the back yard now, when she's in the mood. A back yard run is "self limiting". I will never put her in the position of running full out in a large area.

 

 

I apologize for not giving enough information. I am not sure of the "type" of break, but I do know that in July he had 2 rods and 8 pins set in his leg to fix the hock. The hardware was subsequently removed in November of last year (reaction to the hardware I was told). My yard is not fenced in 100% yet (I am trying to get quotes as we speak). As far as the running, I would like to get my fence installed before I let him have a larger area to see if he comes up lame, do you and others think that a little-league baseball field is too large of an area to let him run alone? Thanks for all the imput.

[Burpdog]

If the hardware was removed in November, I would not let him run in a ball field yet. One little hole.....

 

I'd build him up with a backyard Any friends with a yeard you can visit? (with padlocked gates....)

 

 

[Chicocat]

With all that hardware, his break must have been pretty bad.

 

Personally, I would not let him run a baseball field. I realize my view is pretty conservative, but I don't want to put a dog in a position to overextend to the point of lameness. In your back yard you will know there aren't any holes or bad spots too.

 

Until you get your yard fenced, try taking him for walks to give him exercise (mental and physical). :-)

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

With all that hardware, his break must have been pretty bad.

 

Personally, I would not let him run a baseball field. I realize my view is pretty conservative, but I don't want to put a dog in a position to overextend to the point of lameness. In your back yard you will know there aren't any holes or bad spots too.

 

Until you get your yard fenced, try taking him for walks to give him exercise (mental and physical). :-)

 

 

Bart gets daily walks. My wife gives him a walk in the morning (1 mile) and when I get home after work he gets another mile or so walk after dinner (45 minutes after finishing eating). He also gets to chase me around the house, and his little stuffies when he is in the mood. We also do the wheelbarrow exercize (I am really a bad speller). Like I said, I have only seen him limp once in the last 2 months. I think he may have slept on his leg wrong and made it a bit stiff.

[Chicocat]

Sounds perfect!

 

It's been almost 3 years since Survey broke her hock and once in a while she will give a little yelp when she twists her leg wrong when she has been laying down. She had some tendon damage too, which probably accounts for that.

[Guest LynnM]

It sounds like he overdid it a little. At 6 months post-hardware-removal, the bone is solid. For all we know, he could have pulled a muscle and it's totally unrelated to the break. Only your vet can tell you with any certainty, and depending on what he did, the vet may not even know.

 

One thing that does happen as you step the dog's exercise level up during a rehab is that some scar tissue gets broken up. This often happens during that first hard run. If you see it happen, you'll generally see the dog's head come up... it's more of a "What just happened?" than an "Ow, that hurt". Does that make any sense? Once you see it happen a few times, it's recognizable.

 

Lynn

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

It sounds like he overdid it a little. At 6 months post-hardware-removal, the bone is solid. For all we know, he could have pulled a muscle and it's totally unrelated to the break. Only your vet can tell you with any certainty, and depending on what he did, the vet may not even know.

 

One thing that does happen as you step the dog's exercise level up during a rehab is that some scar tissue gets broken up. This often happens during that first hard run. If you see it happen, you'll generally see the dog's head come up... it's more of a "What just happened?" than an "Ow, that hurt". Does that make any sense? Once you see it happen a few times, it's recognizable.

 

Lynn

 

Thanks Lynn for the "heads up". On an unrelated note, I used to go to Tallahassee on a regular basis. I was in the USAF and stationed at Panama City Beach for 7 years. I had a lot of friends in your area. Beautiful place to live, if you can handle all the college kids.

[Guest greyloverx2]

Our 3 year old boy Fire broke his left front leg in May 2007 while racing and required 2 surgeries to repair it. breaking the front leg is unusual and it was a bad break.

 

He came to us in August as a foster but never left; he's too good! Even though he's been able to be off leash for awhile, he will occasionally still show a slight limp and hold up that leg even when he's not been doing much running. He's a stoic guy and never complains but it's probably always going to bother him a bit. Even when he's jumping into the back of the car, he does not use that leg; he relies on the other. Regardless, he runs and plays without reservation.

 

best of luck.

 

Lisa, Fire with brother Jimmy & kitty Sunday