Canine Broken Leg Care - Rehab

Rehab is going well. Angus is still favoring the leg a little but he walks and runs readily on it. Sometimes he runs on it when we'd really rather he didn't but he's a young Lab. What you gonna do?

When we started the rehab process the thing that struck me initially was that the dog's basic adaptability was working against us. You've all seen the videos and stories about the three legged (and occasionally even two) dogs who manage to get by just fine. They don't seem to understand or even remember that they once had four wheel drive. Or care seemingly. We had experienced a bit of that with Angus. He'd been going three legged for long enough that it was natural for him. He adjusted his gait and his life to the tripod system and was perfectly happy with that. No issues here, let's go! One of the things we had to do in the beginning was to remind him, re-teach him really, that he did indeed have four legs and he should be using all of them. We started with slow walks. He continued to do the bunny hop while standing on all fours. When it was time to go again it was hippity hop and off we go. We started having Lu walk just in front of him and slowed the pace way down. That made Angus pull to get even with her and the slow pace made him walk instead of hopping out ahead. It worked and pretty soon he was on four about as often as three. We also put up a small pool. We are space limited in the back yard behind the covered porch which was where we wanted the pool to go. It's an el cheapo 12 foot round above ground pool just over three feet deep. Plenty for canine rehab or lounging on a hot Summer day. It also reinforces the instinctive use of the leg while providing low impact exercise. We swim Angus for 30 minutes every day.

Sometimes I can simply hold onto his ribs and let him swim in place

But usually he requires some motivation

The water is still awful cold so when it's her turn Lu suits up in her triathlon wet suit

Angus has a huge play drive and needs little convincing to jump in and swim around but we have developed a few games to keep his interest up. Teasing works well. "Get the ball Angus!" He'll chase it around and around.

Or his personal favorite, a good game of "I've got it you can't have it" AKA Keepaway.

We figured out that all he needs is the hint of a game of tug-o-war and he'll happily swim circles forever. In a small pool you have to be inventive and keep his interest piqued.

We even found a fun way to start the sessions. Ready?

Go! Trust me, that is a very happy dog. He now runs out and sits by the pool whining whenever he sees one of us getting on the swim gear. When I bend down to get him he runs up and snuggles immediately into my arms eager for the launch. You can almost hear him thinking WHEEEE!!

When I was convinced we'd been able to rewire his brain back to the instinctive use of the leg it was time to progress. First up was back to some trail walking. We're still limiting Angus both to distance and control. He stays on the retractable leash for now. Those leashes are a blessing when doing rehab walks with a young energetic dog like Angus. He gets enough freedom to make him happy and enough distance to get a good workout but we also have the ability to keep him close enough to anticipate trouble and keep him out of it.

Standing tall and proud on four good legs. How wonderful a picture is that?

The idea has been to reintroduce Angus to his old haunts and habits as rehab progresses. It motivates him, normalizes his life and makes him use the leg in controlled conditions. That's important with a dog. You can't just tell him he has to take it easy and follow this strict rehab regimen. You have to guide, show and convince him. That leg still hurts but if you approach it correctly he'll learn to trust what you're telling him. That it's Ok to go ahead and use it. To that end we went to the pond. Not the lake where the accident occurred but a small pond near the house. Angus loves the place. It was also Chrisi's favorite spot and we have since christened it Chrisi's Pond. Did I mention that it has resident ducks living there?

You can see in this picture that in the beginning Angus was still favoring that leg. I think it was still subconscious. He'd learned that the leg was no longer available and had adjusted to that reality. That, as much as anything else, was what we were fighting.

But throw in something that took his mind off the injury, like say, oh I don't know maybe some ducks? Now he's concentrating on exterior influences and not the leg.

The pond also allowed us a place for Angus to have long uninterrupted swims. I teased him with rocks tossed around where he was swimming. He'd chase one and when he didn't find it he'd look back to me and I'd throw another. It' goes against his retriever training where this type of thing is verbotten but we're concentrating on rehab. The rest can wait. Of course the ducks also did their part. You can see the two he was chasing just above his head in this photo.

Again, walking on the bottom in shallow water on all fours. Not a care in the world. "Did I do good daddy?" Yeah pal, you did great.

When I was rehabbing from my Achilles surgery the one and only thing that really gave me pain relief was massages. To this day Lu still massages that leg and foot area and probably will have to the rest of my life. I figured if it worked for me it'd work for Angus and I was right. He loves his massage time.

He'll come immediately and lay down as soon as he figures out what's coming. I rub him from shoulder to paw, being careful not to put too much pressure on the leg repair. That plate is still quite noticeable.

This is also the time for stretching. The ligaments and tendons in that leg have all shortened up and gotten stiff. He needs to have the ankle stretched back every day. He doesn't seem to mind and I'm careful not to make it painful. A little further each day.

A happy dog at the end of another good day. He was incredibly happy when he got his couch back.

Angus is doing very well, so well that I'm even starting to be confident of a total recovery. He gets stronger literally every day. Between the walks, swims and massages his rehab is taking him back to the dog he once was and that we despaired of ever getting back. Lu and I are indebted to both of his doctors for the fine work they did and to God for giving him back to us. Seeing him curled up on his couch after another day doing his work and generally having fun has been a balm to my soul. I figure his rehab will take anywhere from 6 months to a year before I can call him 100 percent recovered but I am now convinced that, barring the unforeseen, that day is coming. We're still barely 12 weeks into this process. We have a lot of work yet to do but the heavy lifting is done and that makes me unbelievably happy. I'll do updates as the months go by but for now the Canine Broken Leg Care posts have come to an end and a wonderful end it is.

Thank you again for all your prayers, support and treats. The journey would have been so much harder without all of you. Lu and I are grateful. If you happened to stumble upon this post and would like to talk or ask questions about your own dog's recovery I invite you to drop me a line. Lu and I are always happy to do what we can to help, even if it's just to provide a sympathetic ear and a encouraging voice.

For now I'm going to say my prayers of thanks and go love my dog. We'll see you all down the trail.

Six

Canine Broken Leg Care - Daddy I'm BORED!

When your dog is hobbled with a cast and orders to limit activity boredom will set in. Especially if he's young. Double that if he's a Lab. Triple that if he's a young Lab. Yes, Angus is a young Lab.

Angus was limited to no more than 3 gentle walks of 5 minutes maximum duration. That only leaves 1425 minutes in the day to fill. The first week that wasn't a huge problem. He was still in some pain and on lots of medications that tended to make him sleepy and a bit lethargic. After that first week he started feeling better, adjusted to the cast and gradually started getting some of his old energy back. Don't get me wrong here, it was gratifying and a relief to see but it did add a degree of difficulty to his care. Notably, how to entertain a 1 1/2 year old Lab with a broken leg and no good way to burn off his natural psychotic energy levels. There are a few things we did that helped.

Toys are a must and Angus has a conveniently placed toy box jammed to the brim. Care must be taken though, lest play times get out of hand. Lu and I ended up spending a lot of time on the floor engaged in gentle toy related play. That way we could keep him close and exercise maximum control of the situation.

Soft plushy toys are an Angus Achilles heel. He can't resist them. So the Gorilla was sacrificed to the cause because he'd lay down and tear at it trying to get all the stuffy goodness out. Weird dog but never look a gift horse in the mouth. Or a stuffed gorilla. How cute is that face?

One of his duck trainers was also sacrificed. He spent a lot of time chewing on it. To the point that it is now sans feet, butt and the head has been chewed into a rough plastic mess. We monitored to make sure he didn't swallow anything but frankly his system is so robust he could have eaten the thing in it's entirety and passed it back out without missing a beat. Still, something to watch. Hey, at this point it was anything to keep him occupied.

There are of course better chewing materials if you can interest him. Angus is a good chewer but for some inexplicable reason (I suspect Murphy's fine hand was at work here) he pretty much stopped chewing his rawhides during is convalescence. We made sure to keep at least one available at all times and he did chew occasionally.

Treats and rewarding desired behavior worked well for us. Care had to be taken lest his weight got out of hand but we doled them out as judiciously as we could. Oh, and Angus says thanks again to Alemaster for the Bonz. He loves them!

We had a good talk with our Vet. he recommended Benadryl. Apparently it has much the same effect on dogs as it does on us. Notably it takes the edge off and allows for more sleeping. We normally eschew purposely drugging a dog simply to keep them more calm but healing such a serious injury and the attendant surgery requires rest and sleep in abundance so we held our noses and kept the end goal in mind. .

Leash walks of no more than 5 minutes was the requirement but there's a lot of variety possible within those strictures. We changed the walk locations often and let him dither and check all the p-mail spots along the way. We took him to his favorite trails and walkie places. We encouraged human contact so he could make new friends. A funny thing happened along the way. Angus has become the neighborhood celebrity. People saw us walking him in his cast and couldn't resist asking about him. They'd drive by and honk and wave. They'd walk by or see us walking and stop to greet him and ask about his progress. It's been fun and helped Angus to while away his time and keep his walks interesting enough to be satisfying. Hey, he's cute, upbeat, friendly and walking happily on a bum leg with a cast. How irresistibly attractive can a dog be?

I'm of two minds about his future at this point. The Doc says full recovery with all that entails but I'm still a bit queasy about where to take his training after recovery. I may continue his hunt and field trial training where we left off but I may also decide to bag it and just go with basic obedience and chase the ball type stuff. Frankly, the main hang up may well be mine. I'm uncertain I am capable of sending him out into the field where holes, rocks, ditches and pitfalls will abound. At least not without gut wrenching fear. We're just going to have to see.

After 8 weeks we're finally out of the cast phase and on to rehab. I'll be posting about how we're handling that and a few thoughts on mind sets later but to hold you over here's an Angus picture and a large hint.

Thanks again for all the help, knowledge and support. Angus is getting better each and every day. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and from here it looks glorious.

Six

Angus Update - Cast Is Gone - Pictures (Warning, Kinda Graphic)

We took the boy into see the surgeon in Las Vegas this morning at 0915 local time. As usual they took him back for removal of the soft cast and new X-Rays. A few minutes later the nurse came back being dragged by a black dog sans one soft cast.

It was good to see him without it. We've only seen his leg once in the last 8 weeks and that was two weeks ago when the our Vet changed the cast. It looks....kinda bad but in a good way. The leg is pale and covered with red areas. Some are from the incision but some are from being in a leg cast for 8 weeks. The good news is the surgeon was happy with his progress. His words "I'm pleased." That took a huge load off our minds since we're naturally a little pessimistic and generally expect the worst. Neither of us slept much last night. No more cast but we do still have to deal with an incision that needs final healing without any canine licking therapy. The ankle is stiff though his elbow is moving nicely. He still limps around and tends to carry the leg whenever he's moving faster than a dead slow walk. He stands well and the leg looks straight. Rehab begins immediately. Slow walks and as much swimming as we can fit into our schedules. We do have to go back to intense supervision to keep the running and licking down. We're trying to make a go of it without the collar of shame but it's nearby if (when?) we figure out can't get by without using it. In the meantime it's topical antibiotics and bitter apple for the wounds and lots of supervised activity. Doc says two weeks but we can easily lengthen that out depending on what we're seeing. More on this later. In the meantime  do have photos. I warn you that some are dang hard to look at. Some of them make my heart hurt.

Here's Angus in the parking lot with Lu just after we left the surgeon's office.We hadn't yet had a chance to get his leg cleaned up. He was past ready for everyone to stop touching his leg and just let him go home!

Ok. I got some shots of the X-Rays from the surgeon's computer. Again, they are a little graphic. You can see the breaks and how bad they were. They also show the plate and screws he used to put everything back together again.

By my count he used 10 screws. 8 to attach the plate and 2 more transversely to pull the split bone back together. Poor Angus. I get a sick stomach just thinking about how bad that had to hurt and all the misery he's gone through these last 8 weeks.

A couple of closer looks at that incision site. I was frankly surprised at how jagged and uneven it is. My own incision scars are invariably straight and relatively neat. Still, it's the end results that count.

In spite of everything we have been blessed and we know it. When he got hurt the only thing Lu and I prayed for (as well as a lot of you, my friends) was for him to recover no matter the cost or effort required. We got that miracle. Today was a large step in the recovery process. We couldn't start rehab and physical therapy in earnest until the cast came off for the final time. Whatever challenges come up please know we are both capable and determined to escort him through them.

Thank you all for your prayers. They are gifts that we can never adequately repay. That little man up there with the healing leg is proof of the power of prayer and we are eternally grateful.

I'll update as the rehab and physical therapy progressThank you again my friends.

Six, Lu and Angus.

Angus Update

Sorry I'm so late posting this. We've been busy as little beavers with drywall. It should be done today and if so I'll post some finished pictures later.

We took Angus to our Vet on Monday with the understanding from out Surgeon that the cast was coming off. Here's Angus Monday morning wearing cast number three.

If you look closely you'll see that the area of the soft cast around his wrist is wrinkled. That's where it has given as he's walked and allowed him to have a little more flexibility to put his paw on the ground better. I thought that was the whole point of the soft cast. To allow him to slowly have more movement in his wrist to prevent it from freezing and get him walking more normally. Apparently I was mistaken.

When we got to the Vet he informed us that the Surgeon had called him and told him to go ahead and put on yet another soft cast for another two weeks. Here's Angus wearing cast number four.

Everyone, especially Angus is unhappy. The skin over the tendon that runs down the front of his leg is inflamed a little and is obviously causing him some distress. I've been treating that area with Bag Balm. I was also informed that such wasn't a great idea and I should cease and desist. Yeah, not gonna happen. Rubbing that area with a salve gives him relief and does no harm that I can tell so I'm going to go right on treating his skin as I deem best.When they took off the old cast he was happy but when they started putting on the new one he suddenly decided he had somewhere better to be. It wasn't exactly a fight but he was one displeased dog.

Honestly neither Lu nor I can really see the benefit of this last cast. I know the docs are being careful but it seems excessive at this point. We understand the need to keep his activity limited and controlled and would do that regardless. The cast just seems to cause more discomfort than anything else. But we are nothing if not cooperative so if the doctors say two more weeks of a soft cast then two more weeks it will have to be. But I am going to treat his skin and any rashes he develops and if the doc doesn't like it he can kiss my fat ass.

We have an appointment with the Surgeon in Vegas on the 15th. He'll take another set of X-Rays and we hope will finally remove the cast completely. Angus is moving well. It's amazing how quickly they adapt. We're moving forward but the process is agonizingly slow.

Six