The Thank God He Still Has 4 Legs Thread

[gazehund]

O.K. here we are. Bones has made it through surgery, he has four legs and he is coming home!

 

I know he will not be able to move around much.

My plan is to x-pen him in the kitchen. Future still needs to get out the back door (he will NOT use the doggie door). Pearl can use either / or.

Bones cannot use either. He will have to get down two small steps out the front door to get outside. I have a firewood sling rigged up to support him if he needs it.

During the day when we are not there he will have his x - pen area in the kitchen with his bed, water and puppy pee pee pads. He can see out the door and it is warm in that room.

We will have to close off the upstairs when he is out of the x-pen. He hangs out up there and I don't want him to try that.

 

So............what else do I need to do or prepare?

 

Please discuss and thank you!

Edited August 8, 2008 by gazehund

[LakeshoreGreys]

No advice here to offer, just want to say congratulations that everything went so well with the surgery!

[GreytHoundPoet]

So glad that he's made it through and coming home!

 

You sound pretty prepared. Are you going to leave him toys/bone/kong/something to occupy time and keep him down and busy?

[Bevd]

As has been said, I think you may need to think of things to occupy him during his recovery. I've not had this sort of situation with a Greyhound but both Ella (Westie) and Radar (crossbreed) have had big orthopedic surgeries and both needed to be crated for a period of time and then both needed very limited exercise. Sprout (crossbreed) has a lesser orthopedic surgery and didn't need to be crated but did need to stay still for a few weeks So..um....things to occupy him which are not just food related (because ideally, you don't want him to be gaining too much weight). I created a little collection of 'special' things which I would rotate so that the patient wouldn't be bored by my 'activity' offering.

 

And you'll need a camera so you can keep us photographically updated, obviously.

[Guest MZH]

I'm kinda wondering if he might get around like a three-legged dog for a while. It may not be so bad.

 

Depending on how he does, you can always rig up a doggie litter box if the pee pads don't work. Yes, it's with kitty litter.

 

Marcia

[Guest trevdog]

He's probably going to have a cast on, you will need to find a way to keep it dry for outdoor potty trips and such. I would imagine he will be quiet on his own for a bit but once he starts feeling better, he's going to need to occupy his time until his leg heals.

[rycezmom]

I am greatly relieved that he has done so well and still has four wheels even though one is flat at the moment. No advice, just hugs to you both and some extra lovin for bones!

 

L.

[gazehund]

So glad that he's made it through and coming home!

 

You sound pretty prepared. Are you going to leave him toys/bone/kong/something to occupy time and keep him down and busy?

 

I will see how that goes. Bones is naturally a very quiet boy. He loves his dollies (stuffies) so I will leave him with a couple of his favorites. I imagine at first he will have some pretty heavy duty drugs to help him with what I hope is not a lot of pain.

 

 

[Guest TippyTy]

No advice here. Just glad to hear that your boy is home and that they didn't have to amputate!

 

[Guest GiJenn51]

Every broken leg dog I've gotten has needed pain/some sedation for the first couple of days. What we're dong rightnow for our surgery dog is crate unless pee/poop, and for this particular dog-- he need more sedation because its a muscle injury.

 

One thing to remember is that these babies will go back to the routine they were brought up on. I bet he'll be good in his X-pen with a couple of toys and pee pads.

 

I'm sure leash walks are needed when you're home so no need to worry there. Ask you vet about using laser therapy to help heal the skin.

[Madeara]

So happy he has all 4!! picture please. hope he gave you plenty of pain meds like tramadol! Is your kitchen good to gate him in there?

Edited August 8, 2008 by Madeara

[gazehund]

Ohhhhhhhh, yes laser therapy. Thanks Jenn, that is what I need. Things I don't know and won't think of on my own.

[packmom]

He's coming back with all his legs! Sounds like you have it pretty well figured out. Unles he's the type to hate being confined! Do you think he'll chew his cast? Edited August 8, 2008 by packmom

[4greyhounds]

It sounds like you are prepared for his homecoming, I am so Happy and I am sure you are too that he did so well and came through the surgery. Now, it is just time to spoil him and I am sure you will!

 

Bones, we are sending prayers for a quick recovery.

[Guest Vinnie]

WooHoo - so Dr. lametard did good and Bones is home and on the road to recovery what good news this is. Definitely something to keep him occupied and something to cover the cast from getting wet/dirty and/or being chewed on. Hope he has a peaceful day. Sending hugs and scritches.

[Guest Heep]

Stock up on copious amounts of cheese omlets & vanilla milkshakes. They both have magical healing properties.

 

Missed the scary part, but glad to hear Bones' bones are on the mend!

[Guest Pipi5]

Dear broke his leg, he came home with pain meds & a cast. He stayed quiet & I tried to crate him at first, but walking on 3 legs, he didn't like the flooring, so I crated everyone but him & Snowy. Which Dear loved because that meant the couch for him. It was his front right leg.

Make sure he doesn't have to walk on a slick floors like vinyl/hardwood. And the fire wood carrier is great as a sling.

I am so so so glad that our prayers were answered & that he still has all 4 legs. New people on here will probably think we're crazy...he he he

 

 

Ice cream...you need ice cream.

[Houndtime]

The good news is that he still has four legs. You will work it out. Take it day by day.

 

 

[Saffron]

Yay! He is home and it sounds as though you are well prepared already. The only things I'd add would be covering for the cast in rainy weather (trash bag and vet wrap) and perhaps leash him to you for serious quality time and cuddles in the evenings. Also be prepared for it to be much harder to keep him quiet when he is off the major drugs and beginning to feel better.

 

Pilgrim had to spend approx 6 weeks on crate rest and another month on restricted excercise when she had a nerve sheath sarcoma removed from her back (radical scar revision to get clean margins). She came home with 24+ staples in a foot long incision and 4 button stents. She lost a lot of muscle and the tops of 2 vertebrae so: no climbing, jumping, stairs etc. I slept downstairs with her and made sure she had plenty of undisturbed gentle cuddle time. We had to separate the two greys because she wanted to play for almost all that time, but she was an active 4 year old.

 

 

 

[snowjay]

With the dogs I've rehabbed, they are crated whenever I'm not home, short leash walks for potty and potty only. Depending on the personality of the dog it may be in the crate even when I am home unless they can just lay there quietly. Usually after a few weeks the doctors had me to some physical therapy just to get the hound to start putting weight on it and then slightly increase the walking.

 

It was 3 months until Cody could walk w/o a limp... and then he had to back for surgery to get the plate removed as it started to poke through is skin. Then it was another few weeks before he was walking normal, and about another 3 months before I felt comfortable letting him run all out, but we did so some long walks.

[Guest PhillyPups]

My experience (vicariously through a dear friend) is crate when not out for potty time, which is done on leash walk. Is there hardware in his leg (thank DoG he still has his leg). Stepper, who had a full leg bandage, sometimes stands and pees on his front legs (he is lazy) so to save the bandage/cast, I encased his leg in a kitchen trash bag so he just peed on the bag. Isn't it wonderful you have all these things to think of?? I am so very happy.

 

Pain management is very important. If he has hardware, watch for skin infections/non-healing

 

I pm'd you so call if you need more advice.

 

I know you are relieved

 

 

[greysandmollie]

I am so happy for you Nancy!! AND Bones too!!

 

Sorry no useful advise...I am all about dogs with incontinence and bowel issues and cancer.....sadly my area of knowledge

Edited August 8, 2008 by greysandmollie

[gazehund]

See you guys have all have had experience with this. Bones is 10.5 years old but he has always been quiet. He quite often sits out our daily walks unless we go in the car. He very rarely runs flat out anymore or even really runs at all. He also is the first one to take very good care of himself.

 

I am thinking plastic bread wraps would be good to cover the cast. I will get some more vet wrap, thank you for that. I have some, I will need more.

 

We can do this.

 

Pat, yes he does have hardware. Infection and pain control is the most crucial thing to manage.

I know he will be so happy to get home. That in itself will be a huge help to him. Us too!

[Guest whatahound]

Happy tears, so glad things went well. Heal quickly baby boy.

[Batmom]

It's good that you're thinking about these things.

 

Depending on circumstances, I like plain old cellophane or masking tape -- the cheap stuff, so it isn't too sticky -- to keep the bag on. However, if you don't get it wet, you can reuse vetwrap several times before it loses its stickability. 3M vetwrap is better for reuse than the Coflex stuff (which is fine for everything else, I just never have much luck reusing it).