Splits

[Guest afulton]

Tonight when we got home from dinner my hounds were happy to see me. Bessie, 9, nearly always comes to the door when I come home. Joey, 1½, is learning.

 

Joey is such a clumsy lug. He tramples poor Bessie when he's either frightened or playing or in a hurry. Well, tonight was one of those moments. I'm not exactly sure what happened but I saw a rumble of dog fur and Bessie was screaming like I've never heard before. She was in the splits with her back legs and couldn't get up. It looked so painful. I finally got her up on her feet again.

 

She walks either stiff or sometimes a little limp. She's been very quiet tonight and mostly just stayed in bed for the evening. She was able to go potty, both #1 and #2 (twice). She just got up again and I tried palpating her tummy area. Twice she scrunched up her body and pulled away slightly. I couldn't figure out the exact place.

 

I am so worried that she has damaged herself internally. There is no bruising or swelling.

 

Has anyone else ever dealt with this?

 

[3greytjoys]

Unfortunately, Greyhounds have had serious injuries from those falls. I'd suggest calling your e-vet hospital and ask to speak with a nurse. (I'm not a vet, I'd hesitate to suggest pain medication in case it interferes with the vet's exam/test/treatment program.)

 

Positive healing thoughts for Bessie.

 

(BTW, if you don't have carpet, cheap runner rugs with gripper pads, or rubber-backed area rugs can help hounds keep their legs more controlled than on hard surface floors.)

[XTRAWLD]

Kasey has done that numerous numerous times. For him, he's always taken a few days to get back to "himself" because he has overstretched a region (thankful that's the worst of it for him). The falls that don't bode well are the crashing ones on their rib cages. He has missed a step before, splayed out and has hit his rib cage against the stairs. Thankfully no serious injury, but you can see how it can get bad. If she got trampled when she was in that position, she would have had further pressure on her rib cage against the ground I would guess. Maybe when she's reacting to you it could perhaps be a hairline fracture of a rib? Purely speculation.

 

As they get older, this is something that happens and like the suggestion above, carpet, grippy areas, etc help. Since you are noticing a reaction from her, a trip to the vet might be a good idea. Hopefully she'll spring back with no ill effects.

[HeidisMum]

Betty did that on the ice this winter. My vet called it "doing a Bambi." She was sore/stiff for a few days and then was fine. When in doubt I call the vet and bring her in if they want to see her. My vet was conservative and told us to just keep her calm for a few days and call back if she appeared to get worse. Small walks to get the muscles moving helped get Betty back into action.

 

Sending healing thoughts for Bessie.

[Remolacha]

I've had a couple of dogs that did a lot of excited jumping around and as they got older, this sometimes led to the "Bambi on ice". I am sure it is very painful, but not usually serious. It could lead to a serious fall, though, so I would second getting some rubber backed throw rugs for the door and any other area where your younger boy jumps around and might knock her over.