The X-ray was referred to an ortho vet, the dew claw bone is broken, but as it is non-weight bearing, not a huge deal, given the circumstances. The carpus bones are not broken, he is in a splint all the way to the armpit for 3 days. At that time, the vet will evaluate the ligaments and hopefully they are not horribly wrenched. The scary worst case now is that if the carpus ligaments are too badly damaged they could choose to do an arthrodesis, fusing the joint. Yikes, we are crossing our fingers that the ligaments are not too bad, though even that means 6-8 weeks, at least, of splinting
Poor pup. Hope his recovery goes smoothly and there is no need for surgery.
Somemom, hope your pup is doing better today. Does he have to wear the Cone of Shame so he doesn’t go after the splint? Sending good thoughts that you can avoid surgery.
Nope, no cone of shame, the splint is huge, all the way up to his armpit and wrapped in vet wrap and duct tape!
Sorry to hear that your dog got hurt! Hope the broken bones heal quickly without the need for any other invasive procedures.
Speaking of cones of shame, my niece, a vet student, loves to wear these scrubs:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GJ29ZEA
“It is all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone.” So true. The patients’ humans love it.
re the NO to certain drugs. Drugs are species specific in how they work, being poisons, doses used etc. Some that work for humans also work on dogs and/or other creatures (animal testing often precedes human trial after all). But some are poisons for a cat or dog even if they work on humans other other species.
Years ago our dog needed prednisone. The human version of the exact same drug/dose was a cheap $4 from Walmart but the vet version a lot more expensive. No, we couldn’t let Joe Blow dog get a human Rx.
No to Motrin, and no to Tylenol
If ok with vet…
Baby aspirin is ok for dogs (NOT FOR CATS), but you must cut it to break the coating…
5-10 mgs of Baby Aspirin per pound of dog…but again, you must cut to break the coating. Up to twice a day.
Give with food…and maybe a bit of pepto bismal chewable tablet. For my 20lb dog, I give 1/4 of a pepto bismal chewable tablet with the baby aspirin.
Don’t give longer than 5 days.
Hope your doggie gets better soon.
Wis…Yes, actually you could have given Joe Blo dog human predisone. The predisone pills used in veterinary clinics are almost always human drugs. I know this, because it was my responsibility to purchase them for a veterinary hospital for several years. My guess is that your vet was using a slightly different steroid, or was being a jerk and just didn’t want to write you an Rx. Nearly all dispensed medications at veterinary clinics come from human drug companies, with the exception of a handful of products made specifically for pets. (beef flavored thyroid pills, liquid suspensions of antibiotics for cats, etc)
You are correct, however, that drugs are species specific. Tylenol, for instance, is quite safe in humans…has limited safety in dogs…and can be fatal to cats who ingest just one pill that rolled under the dishwasher and became a plaything. Our livers and kidneys metabolize substances differently.
There are also some drugs, such as ivermectin and acepromazine…that are administered with more caution to certain breeds than others due to breed sensitivity. Age and not only weight, but fitness level are also dosing considerations.
Some people pharmacies fill vet prescriptions (Costco and HEB where I live in Texas, and I’ve also had things made up at human compounding pharmacies for my dogs), but the trick is getting your vet to write the prescription. Typically the vet markup is a lot higher than Costco or grocery store pharmacies, and some vets refuse to write a script for you to fill elsewhere.
ETA: when I lived in Canada the vets typically kept the bare minimum of pet meds on hand (strictly stuff that humans couldn’t take), and whenever possible would prescribe human meds that worked for dogs. Any pharmacy in the province would accept vet prescriptions. That was my first experience with taking a pet script to a people pharmacy.
@traveler98 That is still true here in Canada. I’m surprised that it is rare in the U.S.