Vickkers Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I made a monumental mistake a week ago. Completely my fault and I realize this and am just trying to help others in case they have a mental coffee break like I did. I read the posting where someone asked about how to save space with multiple crates. A few people suggested stacking crates (and mentioned that the flat airport ones are the best to stack). I thought it was a good idea and now that we have 4 dogs the crates to take up a bit of room in our bedroom. Our dog Pepper came with her own crate (metal) but the rest of our crates we bought and we got the plastic kind. I stacked two of the plastic ones on the bottom and then because the wire crate is slightly smaller, it went on top along with the other plastic crate. Pepper is part daschaund and isn't supposed to jump a lot so she got moved to a plastic crate and Zena got the wire one. The first couple of hours introducing the dogs to jumping into their new crate situation was fun. It was cute to see them jumping up and down. Until... Zena caught two of her toes in the front wire when jumping out and fell and started screaming. A trip to the vet later we have a lovely suvineer of one of her xrays...that clearly shows where two of her toes were snapped clean in two. She's on crate rest with only potty breaks on a leash with a bag over the splint/cast for 2-4 weeks. It's been 1.5 weeks so far and the bag idea went out the window (every time it'd rip at the bottom...even on the grass and it would get wet/dirty anyways) and Zena is so restless that she's screaming for attention. I've tried bones, nubbies, toys etc and nothing is calming her down...especially when her brother and sisters are in the room and she SOO wants to play with them. Luckily she and her brother get fixed on Friday and Pepper gets shots so hopefully they won't want to run around a whole bunch after that. So really, I'm not asking for sympathy...I know it was COMPLETELY my fault and the crates are back un-stacked again but I figured I'd warn some other person who might have a deathtrap (erm, I mean wire crate) too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Thank you for posting this to help others. Unfortunately, sometimes it's hard to see how an accident can happen until it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WoobiesMom Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 OMGosh! I'm so sorry! And of course you can't know what might happen until it has. It's just such a good thing you were there when it happened and not in the shower or something that she might have dangled and done more damage. My former dog snapped his back leg very badly just after I got him at 4 months just by jumping up trying to eat my winter gloves and landing with his body weight too far back. It was awful. I feel your pain with all the rest, cast, restlessness, etc. Our incident happened right before Christmas so the tree was a bit bare that year. Hope your honey is feeling better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 That can actually happen anytime your dog is exiting or entering a crate in a hurry. It's why almost the first lesson dogs here learn is not busting in or out of crates. But I say that to lessen your guilt somewhat. I use metal crates in the back of my car sometimes because of the way it's set up, so jumping into a wire crate is sometimes unavoidable. I'm really sorry - I had a dog break her toe and it was pretty traumatic - those darn things never seem to heal. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Vickki, I'm sorry to hear about Zena's accident. Go back to your vet and ask him/her to give you a couple of fluids bags cut off at the top. Have them cut a few slits around the top (or you can do it) and weave some bandage gauze through the holes to make it so you can tie the bag at the top (like a drawstring purse). Then when you go out slip that over her foot and snug it with the gauze tie at the top. It won't stay on through heavy activity, but it will work fine for leash walks. Those fluids bags are basically indestructible, and, trust me, they work great! And it's really important that you keep the splint/cast dry. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickim Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Julie--what a great idea! When Whisper had her cast, they gave me a fluids bag and a rubber band, which did not stay on at all (it was still winter and the snow just sucked that fluids bag right off. Keep her quiet, they said. Yeah, right. After the anesthetic was completely out of her system, she was ready to go). If she ever has a cast again, I will definitely try that out, though I hope I don't need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickkers Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 that is a FANTASTIC idea Julie! Thanks so much I'll probably get scolded on Friday (because of how dirty her splint/cast is) when they go in for their spay and neuter but I'll definitely ask for one of those then. Perfect! Thanks everyone for the tips (Becca, I definitely think that teaching not to bolt out of the crate is going to be the next 'trick' for the puppies... the older girls don't do that but the younger ones do). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I've always stacked wire crates and I've never had an issue. I'm sorry this happened to you!! As Rebecca mentioned, teaching the dogs not to storm into and out of crates is a very valuable lesson to teach. Generally if they exit (even if they are jumping down from the 2nd story) in a clam manner, accidents are less likely to happen. I hope your dog heals up quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClickMeBC Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I'm sorry to hear of Zena's accident - incidents like that do tend to happen when you least expect it and they're impossible to predict until they actually do occur. Our prayers that she heals quickly! I, too, have always stacked wire crates, but I always put the small dogs' crates on the top, and despite the fact they're more than capable of leaping in and out I always lift them in and out myself to prevent such unpredictable accidents. I thank you for posting, though...now we know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I hope Zena's toe heals quickly, poor baby. Just about every accident we've had with kids or pets was predictable retrospectively, but did not occur to us prospectively. Thanks for posting and sharing your experience. We can all add it to the list of things to be careful about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie_Girl Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 When Jackson was a wee pup, 8wks. old, and had his broke leg, after trying everything, I found that the new wrap, press and seal, worked great! It clung really well and made it completely water proof. I just put extra on the bottom of his foot and he was fine. Hope the toes heal fine. It's lousy when your dog gets hurt, and worse when you think you caused it. Try not to feel so bad. After all, that is why they call them accidents instead of on purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippin's person Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Sorry to hear about Zena's toes. We have stacked crates in the bedroom. One of them is soft-sided with almost no lip--no dog has trouble getting in that one. The other one is wire and we have a foot stool for its inhabitant to use so as to avoid jumping and toe-snagging. Seems to work reasonably well--though ultimately, the soft-sided crate is the easiest. For that, though, you have to have a dog who won't destroy those lovely soft sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 A couple more suggestions for bagging the splint. I've used the IV bags and they're indestructible, but they still didn't stay on as well as I liked. Then I got one of these: Medipaw What I especially like about it is that its waterproof AND breathable. You can't leave a plastic bag (or IV bag) on the foot very long or it will start to sweat and defeat the whole purpose of the bag. I could leave the Medipaw on all day if I wanted to (e.g. to keep the dog from nibbling at the dressing) with no problem. If the dog does a lot of clomping around outside in the Medipaw, the bottom will eventually wear out, but I was able to repair that with creative use of duct tape and get a bit more life from the thing. The Medipaw was one of my most successful dog-related purchases ever, and when one does wear out I replace it so I'll have one on hand when the next emergency arises. Second, when it's a BC you're trying to keep on crate rest, you can't help but wish there were a way for the dog to get a bit more physical exercise, no matter how much mental stimulation you provide. My vet once mentioned that perhaps I could try rigging up a sling for the splinted limb. I came up with something that involved putting the splinted limb in the Medipaw and then hanging the Medipaw by its velcro straps from the D-ring on the top/back of a regular harness on the dog. The vet okayed it, and henceforth my dog could go on leashed walks on three legs during her convalescence without worrying about stressing the healing bone. I don't have a really good photo of my contraption (the vet does though -- he was delighted by it), but here's a front view: BE SURE TO TALK TO YOUR VET BEFORE TRYING A STUNT LIKE THIS, but you knew that already, right? If you've read this far, you'd probably be interested in bookmarking this excellent webpage: Canine Health and Rehabilitation Links Scroll down the page to "Products". I've done a lot of searching on the web for rehab stuff, and I've never found anything worth knowing about that wasn't linked here, so it's a good one-stop bookmark to keep around. FWIW, most of what I've bought has come from handicappedpets.com, and I've only had excellent service from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickkers Posted July 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 wowsers! those are some excellent suggestions and I'll definitely talk to the vet about rigging up a medipaw or something. Zena ate through her cast/splint last night so we just cut the rest of it off... i have a call in to the vet now to see if they want us to re-wrap it or just bring her in as is tomorrow for her spay. The only thing is, I noticed a couple of nasty looking sores underneath the wrapping I'd kind of like to let that breathe. Zena is of course not acting like she's hurt at all and is using the leg when i've taken her out on leash to potty and whatnot today. *sigh* puppies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Tally broke her leg a little over a year ago and it was casted/splinted every 2 weeks for about three months. She did have some really nasty sores underneath but that's why they resplinted every 2 weeks--so the sores would never get too bad. The next splint would rub in different places so the sores were always in a different spot after each splint change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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