Treatment for fractured bone in a Labrador pup ?

Question

The pup is a 2 months old Labrador male, he got fractured in the femur, we don't really know how, we just heard him crying and ran down to get him. The vet has already seen him, we x-rayed him, you can see the x-rays here: http://es.geocities.com/macrovivero/Duvel/xray1.JPG and here http://es.geocities.com/macrovivero/Duvel/xray2.JPG.

One of the vets says he will operate the dog to put a couple of pins in cross for the bone to heal properly, the second says the dog should be fine with a bandage, splint or cast.

My grandfather, an orthopedist doctor, has the same opinion of the second vet, but I want the dog to heal as fast as possible and with the least pain as possible. Currently the dog sometimes hurts himself when getting up, or pooping.

Please advice with expert opinions.

Answer 1

We had a golden retriever pup in our clinic last year. He had fractured his femur and the doctor put him in a case. He did very well with it. He had it on for I believe 6 weeks, he just had to be kept more quiet than usual and his owner said he did keep himself a bit quieter than usual, I guess because he knew he wasn't 100%. They also have no idea how he fractured his femur.

2 months later the same pup was in with the other femur fractured.....6 more weeks in a cast. But he healed well.

IMHO, I would believe a cast would case him the least amount of pain. It might be a bit of a pain in the butt for him for a while, but they're resilient and will learn to get around in the case quickly.

Lots of luck to you both.

Answer 2

I would go ahead and do the surgery to place the pins in the femur. The main reason that I say that is if the splint and cast causes the bone not to heal properly, your pup will have to have surgery anyway. This way the dog only has to go threw the pain of the broken leg once. Plus, the surgical option done first will probably get the bone to heal better than any other option. good Luck!

Answer 3

Well I'm no expert but hopefully my experience will help. My welsh corgi fell off the couch when he was a youngster playing with the cat and broke his little leg. Now our vet gave us two choices and the verdict was the same as yours. Pin or splint...we opted for the splint and let me tell you he looked cute as a button with it on.
Back to my point....for the longest time he didn't walk with a limp and now he does....cold weather affects him as he stiffens up and limps. He's six years old now and he doesn't let his leg bother him, still runs after the cat to play.
The most important thing is to pick one or the other and do it QUICKLY....your poor dog is in quite a bit of pain and the longer you wait the worse it can get.

Answer 4

i do not study about shops or shelters the position you're yet I under no circumstances recommend that you purchase a domestic dog from a puppy save. basically about all pups there are from domestic dog turbines. a respected breeder would under no circumstances favor to promote to a save. EVER! also they are heavily overpriced. you need to get one from a breeder for 0.5 of what you'll pay at a save. Rescues or shelters are besides the indisputable fact that an excellent position to seem. try the internet and word in case you'll come across a Labrador rescue on your section.

Answer 5

I think I like your Grandfather's opinion. We had a puppy many years ago and Vet used a cast, the dog could still use the leg. We just kept it's activity to a minimum. But, it about 6 weeks to heal.
It was the same for me when I broke my leg.

Answer 6

I need to first say this I am not a vet. I would think you might want to have the pins put in it. I know pups. And I think you would have fun trying to keep the bandage one your puppy. Just make sure NO JUMPING of any sort now it can make it worse. Also so stairs!

Answer 7

Didn't you get TWO opinions from experts????? Did you see a VETERINARY ORTHODEPIC SPECIALIST???? Maybe you should!!!!!!