New hound broken right hock, dry tail

[mrsmcd7]

We have a new hound that broke his right hock at the track. It is unknown what treatment was performed but I would say at most it was casted/splinted. It happened the week of May 8. He still does limp mildly and occasionally holds it up but doesn’t seem to have much pain. There is a lump where it healed. Calcification? Just wondering what others have done as far as activity restrictions etc? And for how long? He will see our vet this week. We just got him yesterday !! Also he has a dry tail with dry dead looking skin on the tip.....

Edited July 20, 2020 by mrsmcd7

[greysmom]

A broken hock is a really common career-ending injury, but most recover just fine.  He may have some increased risk for arthritis in that leg as he ages, or pain at the site of the break.  I would urge you to get an xray of the leg at your appointment, just to check that everything's healing well, and to have a baseline to compare as he gets older.  He would probably benefit from some ongoing PT, if you have a canine rehab clinic available to rebuild his muscle and help him walk easily again.  He also may need to be on a light nsaid dose for a while longer for residual pain.

The tail issue is probably healing happy tail injury.  Have your vet take a look to make sure it doesn't need to be protected for a while longer yet.  The one thing you don't want is to re-open that wound.  The scabbing should fall off eventually though the hair may or may not regrow.  Gradually adding in a food grade oil high in Omega 3s will also help a dry coat - most of us use salmon oil, but any kind will do (kelp, pollack, olive oil, flax, sunflower).

[KF_in_Georgia]

I'd leash-walk him until your vet says he's safe to run. 
Video him from the back as he walks and save that to have a record of how he moves now if you think his gait has changed in the future.
Ask the vet for x-rays for comparison. My broken-hock boy arrived here with a CD of xrays showing the pin in his hock. (I uploaded those xrays to a photo storage site so I can access them any time to show them to an emergency vet or something.)

CRT QUADEER0004

Edited July 20, 2020 by KF_in_Georgia
Closing parenthesis.

[mrsmcd7]

1 hour ago, greysmom said:

A broken hock is a really common career-ending injury, but most recover just fine.  He may have some increased risk for arthritis in that leg as he ages, or pain at the site of the break.  I would urge you to get an xray of the leg at your appointment, just to check that everything's healing well, and to have a baseline to compare as he gets older.  He would probably benefit from some ongoing PT, if you have a canine rehab clinic available to rebuild his muscle and help him walk easily again.  He also may need to be on a light nsaid dose for a while longer for residual pain.

The tail issue is probably healing happy tail injury.  Have your vet take a look to make sure it doesn't need to be protected for a while longer yet.  The one thing you don't want is to re-open that wound.  The scabbing should fall off eventually though the hair may or may not regrow.  Gradually adding in a food grade oil high in Omega 3s will also help a dry coat - most of us use salmon oil, but any kind will do (kelp, pollack, olive oil, flax, sunflower).

Thank you so much! Will get an X-ray when we see our vet Aug 1. Our vet is popular that’s the earliest I could get. I am only leash walking as we haven’t put the fence in yet. Should we avoid our big flight of stairs? I did buy glucosamine-chondroitin treats also. 

[mrsmcd7]

21 minutes ago, KF_in_Georgia said:

I'd leash-walk him until your vet says he's safe to run. 
Video him from the back as he walks and save that to have a record of how he moves now if you think his gait has changed in the future.
Ask the vet for x-rays for comparison. My broken-hock boy arrived here with a CD of xrays showing the pin in his hock. (I uploaded those xrays to a photo storage site so I can access them any time to show them to an emergency vet or something.)

CRT QUADEER0004

Yes only leash walking as fence not installed yet. Will get X-ray August 1st at new dog checkup appointment. Thank you!!! I don’t think he had surgery there’s no scar. It looks like a bone growth around area I think from fracture calcifying. He does limp off and on but doesn’t seem at all in pain. 

Edited July 20, 2020 by mrsmcd7

[mrsmcd7]

I found this to be reassuring. I think I’ve heard Dr. Stack is an excellent vet. 
http://www.greyhound-data.com/dir/394/Hock_Fractures.pdf

its also here

http://www.greythealth.com/hock.html

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by mrsmcd7