# for those who are familiar with dogs splinted/casted legs.



## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

as you know dodger has been in a cast since the night we brough him home... that was 4 weeks ago on sunday, the vet took the vet wrap and splint off today so thats good, hes got the typical muscle atrophy and a little bit of hairloss, and he spent the first 2 hours itchy (to the point we had to put the e-collar on as the friction has caused soem cast sores.) however hes still limping once in a while now.
he will put weight on it, he doesnt whimper or act like its truly hurting him...and hes done some running and tryed to jump which he was imediatly told not to do yet (very delicate little leg lol) but now every so often when he walk hes actually holding the leg up, not whimpering or anything...just holding it off the ground.
he has no problem with me touching it and moving it...so i cant imagine hes in any pain...hed let me know he did when he did it lol.

but its been a logn time since i was ever in a cast so i cant rember how it feels to finally have the cast off...
is it normal for him to be favouring his lg once in a while...
i can imagine after 4 weeks of a splint that weighs almost as much as you it must feel strange to not have that weight on your leg, and im guessing it feels good to be able to bend his elbow and move his leg properly...

could it just be achey from the atrophy?!

has anyone else whos dogs have spent some time (3 1/2 weeks +) in a cast noticed they limp afterwards, and how long usually till they get it built up again?

thanks.
(a worried chi mamma) i mean i knwo the vet knows what hes doing but i cant help but wonder is it realy healed if hes still limping once in a while...or is he gonna rehurt it overnight in his crate...

im probably just being a paranoid mummy, so anyone who knows anything, id apreciate...


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## Ms_P (Apr 25, 2004)

Koke's casts only stayed on for 2 weeks, she still has one on now.

But from my experience it is normal for them to continue to hop around holding the leg up for several weeks. They will gradually start using it again more and more. If he's only holding it up once in a while, that's great! The vet said that even though the leg doesn't hurt, it's just easier for them to hold it up.

Did your pup have a broken leg or knee surgery?

Koke had knee surgery, and the vet said I could fill up the bath tub and let her swim to help build the muscle back up, but her legs are too long and I can't get the tub full enough so that she can swim LOL

You might want to ask your vet about swimming.
Other wise, it will take several months, but the muscle will come back.


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## LadybugLuv (Sep 21, 2005)

My chi just came out of a cast that she had on for 3 weeks. Like Ms_P's chi Koke, Ladybug also had the knee surgery. After she had her cast removed, it took her about 2-3 days to start using the leg again. I was surprised, but by the third day she was walking around like normal. She is not supposed to be jumping, so I have to keep a close eye on her because she has tried to jump off the couch a few times. I think what your chi is experiencing is normal, and that he will be using the leg again in no time. It does take a while for things to continue to heal, even after the cast comes off. Ladybug had an x-ray the other day to check on her healing process, and you could actually see on the x-ray film where she was still healing. Just give him a little while and try not to worry. If it really concerns you, I would suggest discussing it further with your vet.


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## my3angels (Apr 15, 2004)

Kylie was in and out of casts the first 8 weeks I had her. 

It is normal for them to favor the casted leg because of the muscle atrophy...its just generally weaker then the other leg. 

I would highly reccomend some exercises for her. Swimming would be the best thing for her, but I know how rare it is to find therapy pools for dogs (maybe ask your vet and hopfully there is one)

Other then that start taking him on short leash walks...maybe half a block and back to start...a couple times a day. After a couple days increase the length of the walk a little....you dont want to work him too hard. Frequent short walks are good also. Make sure he walks slow and uses that weak leg. If they walk to fast they tend to bunny hop and not use the weak leg. Forcing them to walk slow makes them have to use that leg.

Man I wish you lived in Chicago IL...I work for a canine rehab center and I would tell u to come over right away. 

Ask your vet if there is any rehab places in the area that work with dogs, otherwise finding a pool would be next. Even if you have to use a harness and float him in ur bath tub and have him kick around like that I woudl do it.

After his walks/swim I would sit down and massage that leg....massage the whole body but consentrate on the leg. The whole body will be affected by this so a good 15 to 30 minute massage will make him feel good.

ALso some Passive Range of Motion. I dont know why he was casted but doing range of motion on his weak leg would be good...it will stretch out those muscles. Again I would ask the vet about this one too.

God I could go on forever...lol. First ask the vet and see what rehab he reccommends. 

Did u give him a bath yet? The first thing I did was trow Kylie in the tub to wash the casted leg off...get all the dry skin and old hair off. It really seemed to help with the itching.

Good luck and please keep us updated!

-Jessica


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

thanks guys, i think i was just having a mummy moment lol. hes actually either broke or otherwise damaged his carples (toes) and was splint nd casted for 3 1/2 weeks, its kind of funny you can see the difference in size from one leg to another, hes definatly put on muscle mas since we got him nyway so that leg lookedeven tinier.
hes using it almost fully functional, hes not putting full weight on it yet, but its down on the floor 90% of the time hes even bouncing and running round on it sometimes...
i half wonder if he hold it up whne he knows im watching so he gets the sympathy vote lol. and hes still so young at only 5 1/2 months that there isnt any reason why it wouldnt hav ehealed properly and his leg should pretty quickly join the rest of him in his muscle production (he was and still is a very skinny mite, but now hes starting to fill out and look like a dog. i think he was the litter runt, as now hes protective of=ver treats with vixie or our spaniel and eats like a piggy, so he probably got pushed way form the dish by the others while at the breeders. she said he never realy ate much, here hes got a good apitiete...(even so hes only 2.10) lol
thank you for calming my irrational worries...
ill just let him get it all built back up and kepe an eye on him


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## LadybugLuv (Sep 21, 2005)

Angel: great tips. There are no animal rehab facilities in my area so I really appreciate this advice. I will try the massage thing with Ladybug, and also the bathtub. I have been walking her for 10 - 15 minutes every day since the cast came off, but am worried that I am not doing enough. Thanks again!


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

sry i actualy missed your post angel we must have posted at the same time. thanks for the advice. after the cast came off i sat there for about 3 hours scritching the area for him, (by that i mean running my fingers in the oposite direction of the fur) as all his fur was stuck down and he was trying to agressivly scratch the area, so i figured id do it for him, i dont have fingernails so i wont break the skin. the amount of dead skin and hair that i removed form such a little tiny leg lol.
i was going to give him a bath and try and get him to paddle in the water (hes not a big fan of the water) but it was late lastnight and very chilly, so i decided to wait till this afternoon for bathtime. and after scritching for him i have a spray called allercane which i use for canines im rehabbing (wildlife rehabber) its an anti-itch and antiseptic spray with a bitter (but safe) substance added. he did have a few tiny open abrsions along the top edge where friction has caused some sore spots...
see with rehabbing wild canines your not aloud to have too much huan contact because they bond and then are not wary of humans in the wild so if they have a bad leg it gets casted, they get looked after, the casts removed and they do the rest on their own, once there putting a good amount of wiehgt on it there released again) so the allercain helps discourage biting the area and making it worse without us having to realy pysically touch the animal much. it seems to have helped him. today hes not realy itching at all.
i massage the leg time hes sat in my lap, he seems to enjoy it as he usually falls asleep, but i focus on his toes (which is where the damage was done those itty bity tiny bones of his fingers) putting some preassure on them to spread the toes slightly and i have been gently moving his other joints aroun in the leg, wrist elbow and shoulder all of which were immobalized (the shoulder was almost immobalized because of the weight of the thing) and again he falls asleep on me so i gues that means im not huriting him lol.

we dunt have anything in the ways or hydrotherapy unless we go closer to the city (and being a student...) he also doesnt like the water much anywayz...

this morning hes wandering round the house putting some weight on it he only favour it once in a while mabe the area gets achey form atrophy... but he managed to climb the bed ramp this morning all on his own...(i let him out of the crate because as soon as he sees im awake he starts screaming whent to the bathrom leaving him in my room since he hasnt yet manged to puch his weight off the top of the ramp and up onto the bed...come back in to see him with his head under my pillow and his little tail waggin. so obviously hes feeling much better. lol

im just happy the casts off so we can start some real training with him. were working on sit and pretty (beg) right now but because of the weight of the cast pretty was difficult, he seems to have sit though so long as theres incentive...but i havent realy been able to do any leash work with him, because the vet hasnt wanted him walking outside on the cast as it was oly vet wrap and wears through easily (luckily we use vetwrap for most our wildlife cases too so i know how to change dressings and rewrap saves a fortune since my vet charges an office visit everytime you go in (yeah even to change the bandages was 48 for the visit and 15 for the "materials") and hes still getting used to the house (his access has been restricted while the cast been on because we have a cat who hates the small dogs, and we live in a raised ranch so thers stairs he could fall down.) but now he can actually move hes becomming a little more inquisitive.
we can also start working on things like down (he couldnt lay down normally wiht this thing on, he alwasy had to lay on his side as it was uncomfortable to bend his arm in the normal down position with the cast.) and once hes back to full stranght id love to do some low hurdles with him, mabe agility, i think he has a little jackrabbit in him. lastnight in his new found freedom he comes bonding down the hallway, my mums lay in the middle of the room watching tv, and my sister is lay next to her side by side and both are big people, there isnt a person in this house under 200 lbs so suffixe to say it was no narrow obstacle (infct it was an obstacle about 3 1/2 ft wide...next thing all i see his him leap into the air and he cleared both of them...landing daintily on the other side...i couldnt belive it! then i started freeking out cause he could have hurt his leg doign that...i think hes a coyote crossed with a jackrabbit....
i tell people i have a mini fox and a mini coyote. because thats what they look like. dad thought id bought a coyote pup when i opend the crate that first day.
but id love to see how he does at some low agility.


again thanks for your help


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