# Our puppy fractured his leg! Any advice welcome!



## ElvistheBT (Apr 8, 2012)

Hello,
We have had the pleasure of raising the most beautiful and crazy Bull Terrier (Elvis) for the last 4 months. I remember reading threads about mouthing/biting/socializing etc and thought that would be the biggest issues we'd face with him. But this past weekend changed everything. I was home with the dog alone and though he had plenty of exercise earlier he was getting a bit restless in his kennel. We can't give him open access to the house, they are just way to wild lol. Anyways, we went out on the deck and were playing with his favorite ball. As he fetched it for me, I held it just out of reach for him to jump up and get...oh wow I thought he's getting so strong, look how far he can jump for it now (famous last words!). He jumped straight up and STRAIGHT down, all his densely packed 30 lbs landing on his back end. It happened so quickly I can't even say what his leg did on impact. But I knew instantly he was very much in pain. He was screaming and crying and then started to try and run away. I swooped him up and quickly placed him in his kennel and called my husband. When I exclaimed that I thought he broke his leg, I was hoping I was overreacting...
Off to the vet we went. Elvis was as good as gold. Just fussing a bit on the drive. She examined him and commented how good he was with everything. She manipulated his joints so she could try and see what was hurting him. She went off with him for x-rays. My hopes were slightly boosted and we hoped for the best. Bull Terriers are known to be stoic dogs and we are full witness to it now. The X-rays came back---he had completely fractured both his tibia and fibula. I was a mess. The guilt was intense. 
The good news (if there was any), was that the fracture was a long oblique spiral fracture. Picture cutting a carrot lengthwise and on a long diagonal. Therefore, the surface area between the broken pieces was large and amenable to being splinted. He may not require surgery! $600 later and we were back home. 

He's on Tramadol for pain 2-3 times daily and also a NSAID once daily. He seems to be tolerating the meds well and not in any pain, but we know how good they can hide it. So, now being 4 days in I have some questions:

- He can't obviously put any weight/pressure on the leg. We are "walking" him around by looping a towel under his belly. The vet claims he will learn to lift up his leg to walk??? It's getting tough to carry him around everywhere, do you think I will have to do this for 6 weeks?! 

-He is holding his pee and poop. Obviously the whole awkwardness of the splint, the fact that I have to follow behind him with a towel are making him feel uncomfortable. More mentally than physically I think. He held his pee for 17hrs and poop for 24hrs! Poor little guy piddled for 2 minutes once he finally caved in. While waiting for the poop to arrive he was panting and getting restless. We thought he needed more meds, so we doubled up (as per vet). Come to find out it was just the "poop sweats" lol. He finally gave way and you would have thought it was impossible for a puppy to hold that much in. He is going a bit more frequent now but any tips on that area. He can't "squat" to pee per say and he can't "arch" to poop. Okay I'm making him blush. Too much info he says!

- The vet would like to retake his x-rays every week. Does this seem acceptable or a bit over kill? I don't want him to be exposed to more radiation than required and also don't want to have to pay $185 a pop if something like every 2 weeks is more than enough. He is growing fast so maybe thats necessary... 

Any other tips and advice would be appreciated. Like I said we are only in day 4 of 6 weeks. Finding ways to keep him mentally and somewhat physically challenged are a struggle at this point so offer up the advice!









Somehow Elvis is even cuter with his cast! Look at that face!


----------



## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

When Sydney was about 6 months old she got her leash all tangled up around my dad's leg and tripped him. Unfortunately he handed on her back leg and broke it. Anyway, she did learn to walk with the cast on, but she was really wobbly. We tried to get her to rest as much as possible. She got a lot of Kongs and other toys that she could lay down and chew to keep her occupied. Although it sucks that this happened to your little guy, our vet said that puppies are bone growing machines and fractures that happen while the dog is still growing tend to have less lasting effects (if any). So try not to feel too bad!










Unfortunately I can't remember if she had any potty issues or how often we went to have her xrayed. I would be inclined to go with what the vet suggests though...I'm sure they just want to make sure it's healing correctly so they can catch it early if there are any issues.


----------



## ElvistheBT (Apr 8, 2012)

Thanks for the reply kafkabeetle! It's good to know that they are " bone growing machines"! Your guy had to wear the Elizabethan collar eh....Elvis has been excellent so far with regards to biting it. But the collar is on stand by lol. 

I think we will do the initial few weeks of 1-week check ups like you said. Better safe then sorry right. I work in a hospital environment so I'll ask the radiologists if I should be worried about the radiation...

He's been really restless today and kind of clutz'in around and I grimace when his splint goes in a weird direction....I'm sure the worrying will subside lol but he's my baby!!!! 

If anyone has any other tips for walking with him I'm all ears!!


----------



## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I am so sorry the little guy broke his leg! I have no advice ... I just had to post and say how beautiful your pup is!  Good luck with everything!

kafkabeetle- Baby Sydney is adorable too!


----------



## ElvistheBT (Apr 8, 2012)

Abbylynn said:


> I am so sorry the little guy broke his leg! I have no advice ... I just had to post and say how beautiful your pup is!  Good luck with everything!


Isn't he adorable! 

Thanks!


----------



## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

I don't think I would worry too much about the splint going in weird directions, although I understand why you would! The cast is there to keep the leg straight so I think it would be difficult for him to do an damage to it. When Sydney walked it looked silly because it was like her casted leg was longer than the others. ;p


----------

