Dixie_Girl Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 History: Brought Jackson home at 7wks. A week later DH stepped on Jackson's rt. hind leg. Rushed the poor pup 50miles to emerg. anim. hosp.. The vet said it was a green break and it only broke half way through. I.e., not a complete break. I told vet I planned to use him for herding and if this would affect him. He said no way. As young as Jackson was and the break not being all the way, he said we won't even know it was broke. Great. He put a splint on and said it would need to be on about 3 wks.. He said to see my reg. vet in a week to check on it. Trip to reg. vet: Took Jackson in and she said it looked fine. Come back in a wk for new x-rays. Took new x-rays. Looks good. Come back in a week. Went back. New x-rays. Coming along. What? I thought he could have the splint off now? No, sometimes bones will regress from each side of the break before they start healing. Sounds screwy but I ain't the doc. I ask to see the x-rays. She shows them and points out what she is talking about. Well, I ain't no x-ray tech. either. All I saw was some fuzzy white where the break was suppose to be. She said splint would stay on another 2-3wks. Okay. NOT comfortable, but am concerned and don't want to do something to jeoperdize Jackson. I thought well, what could it hurt? At 5 wks. with splint, I woke up one morning with Jackson's foot soaking wet and stinking. Enough! I removed the splint, washed his foot in anti-bac soap and dried it. Checked his leg, let him walk. Everything was fine. No pain. But he did walk funny, like the splint was still there. Expected. Gradually it loosened up and he learned to use it again. If you look at your dogs back paw you will notice the two middle toes are the same size and then the two next to them will be shorter and set back. Well, Jackson's outside middle toe is like a 1/4 inch shorter than the other. Okay, it looks funny but didn't seem to have an effect on his running etc. okay. He's off and running. Today: I don't know why after all this time I noticed it today. I am in the bathroom, sitting, and of course there is Jackson lurching the toy he brought for me to throw. Well, he was laying with all four legs under him, back up-right. Front legs directly out in front of him. And I look and I see that his curvy part of his back rt leg is sticking up further than lft. I thought, that's weird. Well, maybe it is how he is laying. No, each time he was in that position the results were the same. In other words. His leg is NOT healed to normal. It can not flex as well as the other. He also kinda lifts that leg when he is loping. At a full run I don't know cuz he moves too fast! Question: Since he has just started his lessons, well, one anyway, what is the probability that when he is really having to work that leg, as in a trial, it will hold up? P.S. I have since switched vets. The one I have now is also a ranch type vet and he is familiar with Border Collies. He said Jackson looked fine but I didn't bring up about the leg cuz I just noticed the leg thing today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurie etc Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Was the break to that middle toe, or to some other part of the leg? If it was just the toe, then it sounds like the growth plate was affected and so the toe developed differently than the other toes. (I had a Golden pup get stepped on by a horse and as she grew, one toe stuck out farther - it stayed like that for life - but it didn't really bother her until she was about 12 years old with some arthritis.) If the break was somewhere else - higher up the leg - you might want the new vet to take a look at the old xrays for reference and have him specifically examine Jackson for any abnormalities. It can be very hard for a non-vet to see subtle problems - especially in a wiggly young dog. BTW, It is perfectly normal for you to request that Jackson's medical records and xrays be transferred to your new vet - your old vet's office should comply with this request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie_Girl Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Lauie, no, the break was at the top of the leg between knee and hock(?). The deformed toe is the result of the binding effect of the splint. Jackson should not have any prob with that really. It is the fact that his flexing of that leg is not right. He was so young and growing 900 miles an hour! I was just uneasy about the length of time it was left on! I mean, his body was already in bone growth mode! Yes, I will take your advice on requesting his x-rays and records from old vet. New vet should have them anyway. He wasn't due to go back til April for his shots but I think he should go in sooner?? Maybe there is exercises he could do to help. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Dixie Girl, I've no experience with broken bones in dogs, but a little too much with my own bones. What I've experienced after each cast was removed was something like you describe w/Jackson - walking funny and stiffly. The majority of the stiffness and funny walk went away in say, a month or so, but there was some residual stuff, milder, that I only noticed once in a while with the more extreme range of motion movements. That more subtle stuff took up to a year to go away. I also had the dubious advantage of having all injuries to the right leg/foot, so I have my normal left leg/foot to compare it to. I really wish my parents, for the injuries when I was a child, had done something about physical therapy. Isn't Jackson still pretty young? If there's anything like PT for dogs close to you, I'd look into it if you're really wanting Jackson to be a very active dog in any venue. And, if you're looking at an x ray and don't quite get what the vet is talking about, ask if there's a normal x ray you could look at and compare to - lots easier to see when there's a picture of normal next to it. Good luck, I hope Jackson turns out to be just fine! Ruth n the BC3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie_Girl Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Thanks Ruth, Jackson turned a year in Dec. I will speak to vet about PT. See what he can find out on examining him. Actually, right now it has been right a 1yr since Jackson broke his leg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Dixie_Girl, Why not have your new vet do a follow-up X-ray to make sure that the bone has indeed healed properly (like Laurie suggested). Beyond that, I think I'd look into physical therapy. The number of animal sports medicine/rehab places is growing, and even if you end up going to one a bit far away, a good practitioner will work with you to give you exercises/therapies you can do at home between visits. Anyway, if the break healed normally but you can't see any gait changes and only notice a difference when he lies down, I would wonder if it's even worth worrying about. Still for your peace of mind, have your new vet check him and then go from there. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie_Girl Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Julie, I have noticed a difference in his gait. But only when he is loping. Full run, well who could see that? LOL Walking, no prob. But when he is just loping along, sometimes he will like, miss putting that leg down once or twice. I did check him a minute ago and he definetly can NOT bend his leg down as far as the other one. As in scrunch it up close to his body. I know what you mean about worrying about it. Sometimes we can nit pick something to death! IF there is something wrong, I am thinking it would have to be tendons or ligaments, and that is where I think there could be probs.... Making appt. now,,,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Dixie_Girl, Here is a link to the American Canine Sports Medicine Association list of members. I don't know how up-to-date it is since one of the vets in NC is no longer at the practice where she's listed (I know this 'cuz she's working at the hospital I use). But it could be a starting point for you to find a rehab/PT specialist. http://www.acsma.org/gpage2.html It might well be worth the 4 hours driving time to visit the Veterinary School at Auburn University. Dr. Gillette is one of the leaders in the field of canine sports medicine. http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/index.pl/vsm_about J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie_Girl Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Thanks Julie, at least this is a starting point! I have an appt. Mon. with new vet. Gotta go to old vet to pick up x-rays. That otta be fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie_Girl Posted February 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 UPDATE ON JACKSON! I took Jackson in to vet today. I had to leave him so they could do some new x-rays. They do surgery in the morning so I had to leave him as they had to work him in in between the surgeries. Anyway, he x-rayed his leg and hips! He said he is also a hip-certifier! He said all looks good! So it is just going to be excersise to stretch muscle and tendons and that! So all is well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miztiki Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 I don't know anything about the problem you're having but I did have an idea. You could videotape him while he's running and then watch that in slow motion. Maybe you'll pick something up that way. I'm very glad that all is well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie_Girl Posted March 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 Thanks for the tip Miztiki, but I don't have a vid cam at the moment! But the doc watched him walk and tested his limberness(is that a word?)and after the x-rays showed his break healed perfect with no growth plates affected and his legs are the same length he said it was muscle and tendons/ligaments. So he showed me some excercises to do with him. So, the bottom line is, he will be able to continue his training. He has a date with the open nationals in 5yrs.!!! Ha Ha Well, I say, if your gonna dream, don't be a wus about it! Go BIG!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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