# Dog's cast keeps slipping off?



## resplendentlights (Jul 9, 2016)

Hey all!

I have a 2 year old pitbull mix that has a hind leg which is broken in two places. She's in a cast with about 5 weeks left to go, and overall is doing really well and healing up pretty nicely, according to the vet.

However, we're having some trouble with her cast. Her first one lasted about two weeks, until they had to take it off for a night to relieve some soreness she had under the cast. Since then, it seems like we can't get a cast to stay on! I've been to the vet every two days for the past week because it keeps on slipping past her knee. This weekend, I was there on Saturday and Sunday because the cast was so heavy it slipped off almost immediately. 

Our vets say it's totally normal, that it's very hard to bandage her back leg since her thigh is very slender, and that we just have to come back whenever it slips off. Have any of you had this problem? I trust my vets overall, they're really great with her and I'm sure they know more about a broken leg than I do, but I've never really heard of that happening quite so often. Do any of you have experience with this? Any tips or suggestions to keep the cast on? 

Thanks for your help!


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

only one and it was a split pvc genetic molded cast that fit together with a rounded ball shape on the bottom. it was for a fracture in the front leg forearm. He really couldn't walk in that he didn't try except to go potty. very short time period of less then 3 weeks..

the only thing I can think of to help is use a rear end harness idea.. one that wraps around under the good leg side (leg hole) and then across the back, to the broken leg side with a leg hole.. From that you can use adjustable straps to hold the cast up.. glue buckles or the double feed slip free clasp to the cast for the straps? Hope your little one is on the mend soon


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## resplendentlights (Jul 9, 2016)

Less than three weeks! That sounds so nice from my perspective  overall my dog will probably have her cast on for about two months!

Thanks for your advice, I'll definitely bring it up with the vet. The good thing is they say that she's healing very well despite all the cast changes, it just gets complicated having to bring her to the vet so often!


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

What part of the leg did your pup break? 

If your dog has an actual hard sided cast then it should not slip. Since it is slipping and being changed daily ten I would suspect the bandage is actually a splint or maybe just a support bandage, though a splint would make more sense in this stage of healing. A proper splint should only have minimal slippage if any because there it a hard plastic or metal support contained within the bandage. Support bandages can be more tricky because you have to balance support vs. weight; often techs will select lightweight materials that have minimal structure and try bulking it up instead of selecting a stiffer material that can hold up to the added weight. Either way if you're restrict in your pets exercise per the vets instructions and your having to return everyday for it to be redone then they aren't doing it right or they need to modify their technique. Bandaging correctly, especially the kinds of bandages your pet requires, is a fine art. In many states bandaging is strictly reserved for liscensed RVTs and Vets, and unlicensed people placing bandages are considered to be illegally practicing medicine and subject to severe penalties. Unfortunately it's not always economical to have the Vets and RVTs be the only ones placing bandages and being liscensed doesn't automatically make them good at it. If your dog came in for me to change the bandage, based on your previous history I would make sure to incorporate stirrups into the bandage, a step which is often skipped, and I would add a fair amount of elastacon to the top of the bandage to help prevent bunching. Can you post any pics of your dogs bandage?


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## resplendentlights (Jul 9, 2016)

Thanks for the reply! I can't take a picture of the cast anymore because they took it off yesterday! The cast was already slipping when I went to go pick her up, so they decided to just take the cast off and see how it goes?

I'm going to call another local vet and get a second opinion, but for now she's on extreme crate rest. She doesn't seem to be in pain and can put weight on it, but I'm worried about her breaking it again if she gets excited or puts weight on it for too long. As she's a new dog that we rescued off the streets, these vets are new for us but they had excellent reviews and do seem to really care about the animals, but it seems strange that they would take a "leave it off and let's wait and see" approach. At our last x-ray almost two weeks ago, they said it would be another 6 weeks! They did say that she was doing remarkably well and is healing, but I'd hate to have that healing stopped with another break!

Has anyone had experience with a cast on a dog that came off way earlier than expected? It just seems weird to me that this problem is happening so regularly, but I haven't seen anything online or talked to anybody who had this much trouble with the cast.

Thanks all!


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## Banjos Mom (Dec 31, 2020)

My dog has had a cast on his leg for almost a month; it is changed weekly by the vet
Today it was changed and he seems like he is in pain and even yelped when I lightly touched his leg
Why is this? Is it too tight?


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

This post is four years old, and the original poster isn't around anymore. I'm closing this one, but please start a new thread about your dog and you'll get more answers! I do urge you to call your vet and tell them what's happening, however.


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