Hello,
2 weeks ago my 3 yr old race bred whip injured himself in a final at a coursing competition. We did not see it happen, nor did the judge see any accident thru the binocs. He was on a hare w/ 2 other powerful whips in natural terrain and there was a lot of work-it was the course of the day. He returned w/ the other dogs with his left rear leg dangling-unable to put his foot right-it kept curling back on the top.
Got him to the vet within 2 hours on a Sat-and they put a Robert Jones soft cast on his leg-for what looked to be a minor hairline/avulsion fracture near the top of the fibula. They left the end of his toes exposed which caused them to balloon up and weep fluid. I had them look at it Mon and they changed the bandage, exposing more foot and it got worse. What can I say but its a one horse town with 1 vet and no ortho. I left work early Mon and drove him 7hrs to a vet near a GH track who was highly recommended-I was there 1st thing Tues.
This GH vet is less concerned about the fracture(just below the head, and connection to tibia is good) so much but was able to diagnose cruciate ligament damage by manipulating the knee. He also removed the RJ cast feeling it was doing more harm than good. At this point he is confined to crate, potty breaks on leash until I bring him back @ 3 wks from initial visit with track vet. He felt there is an 85% chance he will not need surgery. Am I just better off to do surgery? This track vet will be honest as to his capability to do the surgery or will refer me to an ortho who does the track dogs.
I have been icing 2x a day, supplementing w/ MSM/Glucosamine and Calcium, vitamin D. Week 2 and he puts weight on it with a limp-so it is not a full tear. I have searched my C of the Racing GH, this list, internet etc and cannot find anything about a dog able to return to an athletic career after this type of injury. Per most of what I do find-surgery is the only way the knee will be stable-all the articles are near identical for severe cruciate tears. And this injury seems uncommon in sighthound athletes-so no luck researching it specifically that way.
He is/was a very good race dog and coursing dog. Does anyone have any experience with this? This is only my 2nd race whip-and the first serious injury I have had. Any experience or other book recommendations will be appreciated.
bummed,
Lisa
2 weeks ago my 3 yr old race bred whip injured himself in a final at a coursing competition. We did not see it happen, nor did the judge see any accident thru the binocs. He was on a hare w/ 2 other powerful whips in natural terrain and there was a lot of work-it was the course of the day. He returned w/ the other dogs with his left rear leg dangling-unable to put his foot right-it kept curling back on the top.
Got him to the vet within 2 hours on a Sat-and they put a Robert Jones soft cast on his leg-for what looked to be a minor hairline/avulsion fracture near the top of the fibula. They left the end of his toes exposed which caused them to balloon up and weep fluid. I had them look at it Mon and they changed the bandage, exposing more foot and it got worse. What can I say but its a one horse town with 1 vet and no ortho. I left work early Mon and drove him 7hrs to a vet near a GH track who was highly recommended-I was there 1st thing Tues.
This GH vet is less concerned about the fracture(just below the head, and connection to tibia is good) so much but was able to diagnose cruciate ligament damage by manipulating the knee. He also removed the RJ cast feeling it was doing more harm than good. At this point he is confined to crate, potty breaks on leash until I bring him back @ 3 wks from initial visit with track vet. He felt there is an 85% chance he will not need surgery. Am I just better off to do surgery? This track vet will be honest as to his capability to do the surgery or will refer me to an ortho who does the track dogs.
I have been icing 2x a day, supplementing w/ MSM/Glucosamine and Calcium, vitamin D. Week 2 and he puts weight on it with a limp-so it is not a full tear. I have searched my C of the Racing GH, this list, internet etc and cannot find anything about a dog able to return to an athletic career after this type of injury. Per most of what I do find-surgery is the only way the knee will be stable-all the articles are near identical for severe cruciate tears. And this injury seems uncommon in sighthound athletes-so no luck researching it specifically that way.
He is/was a very good race dog and coursing dog. Does anyone have any experience with this? This is only my 2nd race whip-and the first serious injury I have had. Any experience or other book recommendations will be appreciated.
bummed,
Lisa