Ollie's Ears And Leg Questions

[RobinM]

ears:

 

Ollie shakes his head/body and scratches at his ears for an hour at a time. Literally. I've checked his ears, they do not smell, they are clean.

When we sit with him and rub his ears there is relief and as soon as we stop he starts again.

 

 

Ollie's leg was broken at the ankle his last race, Aug. 29. '09. When he was nuetered, I had the vet do an x-ray to see what was going on. She said it was healing and wait another six months to see how it heals before we do anything.

She said walks should be fine but no off leash craziness.

 

We have a lot of steps and after a few trip ups, he's actually doing well on them.

 

However, he is limping and using 3 legs much of the time. Would a soft cast help to relieve some of the discomfort that he must be feeling? I am giving deramaxx but I don't want to keep him on that forever

[Guest tricolorhounds]

Check this out... Dr Stack on Hock Fractures

 

Both Bonks and Savannah broke their hocks racing. Bonks required a splint only, Savannah was in a cast for 6 months, was on antibiotics the whole time, she had surgery to put hardware in and again to take it out. Bonks has an odd gait, he puts his right leg down a little further out to the right... Savannah often hops, skips and holds her right leg up. Sometimes I think she does it out of habit because she doesn't do it when she's chasing her brothers trying to get them to play.

[Batmom]

He could have dirt etc. down in his ears where you can't see. If there's no evident redness or discharge, my first go would be a gentle ear cleaning solution.

 

Can you minimize steps for him? That would be best.

[RobinM]

This is Robin's dh. Just talked to vet tech (Dr. is in surgery) about leg. She says because this is an old break (Aug 29) there is nothing to be done right no except wait. That casting or wrapping it will only cause it to be worse and that eventually the joint will fuse and he will be fine, and when he is bad add in tramadol.

 

He could have dirt etc. down in his ears where you can't see. If there's no evident redness or discharge, my first go would be a gentle ear cleaning solution.

 

Can you minimize steps for him? That would be best.

 

I really tried the cleaning but it's still happening and unfortunately, there is no way to minimize the steps.

 

We have a ramp outside that he is using, but there are still flights of 5 steps (carpeted) that he has to do.

[Batmom]

If he's still messing with his ears, probably best get him to the vet for a serious cleaning/meds. Not an emergency, but if he keeps scratching at them he will cause some irritation.

[Guest Energy11]

RE: the leg. Is there anyway you could make a TEMPORARY ramp over those other steps, just until the leg heals? Until we literally built a handicapped-type ramp here, my DH made one with plywood and small wooden horizontal slats, about six inches apart, then, carpeted the top with indoor/outdoor carpeting, and out this over the steep steps. It worked well for a year, but I wanted something a little safer for the dogs.

 

RE: the ears. I would get them looked at, just to be on the safe side. If they dig at them a lot and shake their heads, it could lead to a hematoma, and that is a surgical repair.

 

Good Luck!

[RobinM]

RE: the leg. Is there anyway you could make a TEMPORARY ramp over those other steps, just until the leg heals? Until we literally built a handicapped-type ramp here, my DH made one with plywood and small wooden horizontal slats, about six inches apart, then, carpeted the top with indoor/outdoor carpeting, and out this over the steep steps. It worked well for a year, but I wanted something a little safer for the dogs.

 

 

Good Luck!

 

Not at all possible. If it were, we would not have had to lift our Polli after her amp 47x a day up and down the stairs for 5 months. OY did that do a number on my back!!!!

[Guest Greensleeves]

Ears might just be winter itch, allergies, and habit. Jade just had a deep cleaning (under sedation) of her ears, and she's *still* scratching (she scratches all the hair off them every winter, no matter what we do). My vets said, "Sometimes dogs with allergies, their ears just *itch,* and there's not a lot you can do about it."

 

They CAN hurt themselves scratching, though (aural hematoma, and believe me: you don't want that), so if you can do anything to minimize it, it's definitely worth it. We're on allergy meds (hydroxizine) and fish oil; we've also found that lotion rubbed into the ears can help (we use Eucerin Calming Cream, which is supposed to be anti-itch).

 

Good luck!

[Tallgreydogmom]

Maybe Ollie needs a round of antibiotics with his ears!!!!!

[Guest Energy11]

RE: the leg. Is there anyway you could make a TEMPORARY ramp over those other steps, just until the leg heals? Until we literally built a handicapped-type ramp here, my DH made one with plywood and small wooden horizontal slats, about six inches apart, then, carpeted the top with indoor/outdoor carpeting, and out this over the steep steps. It worked well for a year, but I wanted something a little safer for the dogs.

 

 

Good Luck!

 

Not at all possible. If it were, we would not have had to lift our Polli after her amp 47x a day up and down the stairs for 5 months. OY did that do a number on my back!!!!

Wow, I bet (your back)! My DH is on disability for his back. That is one of the many reasons we built the handicapped-type ramp. Just in case we have to get one of the dogs out on a stretcher (*yes, I have/old paramedic mentality). Wishing you luck on all of this!

Edited November 27, 2009 by Energy11

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

I started fostering Demon when he was retired with a broken hock. He had surgery and hardware inserted. After his cast came off, the surgeon told us easy use of the leg would help the bone fuse. His activity level could be gradually increased as it healed. So I would limit off-leash running but not other activity.

[Scooby172]

I have two dogs here with significant orthopedic issues. Keeva brok her pelvis as a pup, has a plate and wire installed to hold it together. I got her after the surgery at 14 weeks old.

She will be 8 next year, she uses her back leg when she has to, holds it up a lot. The muscle has atrophied over the years due to her favoring the other leg. I use Deramaxx when she overdoes it, overall she has done well. I also have had her on glucosamine since I got her. She does stairs with no problem, frequently just uses her 3 good legs.

 

Bella has a deformed leg and had surgery when she was 12 weeks old, was in a cast for a long time. The leg is not 100% but much better. Bella limps as the deformed leg is a bit shorter than the others, I have her on glucosamine also. She is young and does well with the bad leg, again uses three a lot. I have not had to give her any pain meds but would PRN if she needed it. It took a long time for my dogs to heal and use their bad legs, I bet in time Ollie will use the leg more and more. Best of luck.

Linda, Valor, Keeva and BElla

[Jiffer]

Aww, hugs to dear Ollie.

 

Atlas can sympathize with his leg pain. When we first brought Atlas home, he tripod-ed quite often. He had broken his hock less than a year before he came home. In fact, he could barely walk the length of himself without being very tired and needing a break.

His leg still causes him some discomfort but we found that giving him at least 1500mg of Glucosamine a day (even better while he's healing add in the Chondroitin/MSM) and a fair amount of walking helped to build muscles, where he had lost them while casted, and helped strengthen him overall.

 

Basically, it will take time for his leg to completely heal and for him to build up the muscles to support it. Gentle massage helps, as does some physio exercises (once you get the all clear from the vet). Take it easy for the first while and don't give him more exercise than he can handle. Regarding the stairs, I wouldn't worry too much about them. In most cases, they take much of their weight on the front end anyway when doing them.

[Guest NHgreys]

Red broke a back hock almost 4 years ago, she'll be 8 in a few weeks. Even though it is well-healed, going down stairs she often holds that leg up. We're now having some hardware issues, but that doesn't seem to have made it any worse for her.

[Guest Greytluv]

Maybe you could rub a little oil in his ears. That might bring some relief from the itching.