So my dog broke her pelvis

[TopSecret]

Has anyone had any experience with this?

It happened last monday. She is a little Jack Russell who was running after a pick up truck, driven by the guy who lives in the trailer on the property (we live in the house). Jess and him are best friends and go for walks every afternoon. That was also the reason she was running after his truck (he was driving dead slow as usual... we are actually all grateful that out of all the people going in and out, he hit her). Anyway, we don't know exactly what happened but we think that she tried the shortcut under the truck and basically got a good kick in the bum. We went to the vet right away where she stayed for 2 days. 3 doctors had a look at her and the X-rays. She has 4 fractures on the left side and 1 on the right. All three agreed on cage rest and peace and quiet as treatment. She also received pain killers, stool softener and sedatives for the night.

So now she's got a little pen in the living room and sometimes she sits in a little fort on the couch. She sometimes gets caught up in her blankets or moves funny when we pick her up, so she yelps (my heart stops every fricken time and I'm a nervous wreck for the following hour cos I usually expect the worst to follow those yelps... *sigh*, it's no fun). She eats and drinks and goes to the bathroom by herself, so she is doing really well considering.

I'm just mostly messed up... never had any animals with broken bones so I dunno how to handle it emotionally or any other way except what the vet said and says.
Then every time she makes noise, like I said, I expect the worst and get all nervous and worked up. Even worse when I cause her to make noise for one reason or another... thank god, that doesn't happen too often or I might suffer from a heart attack.

Anyway, I'm mostly curious if any one has experience/ advice/ thoughts. How long did it take for your dog? What did you do? Are dogs alot harder and tougher than I think? Etc.

Thanks.

 

[Mk3runner]

I been there with injured pets... First off step back and breath. for a dog that got into it with a truck she's doing pretty well I'd say.. I can't offer much help. Just take things as they come and help her out when she needs it.

 

[CyFi6]

Dogs are strong, they can handle it. Its good to help her out if she needs something but i think shes got it all under control on her own.

 

[WetBoostedDreams]

Sorry to hear about your pup's injuries. Dogs (especially JRTs) are pretty tenacious critters, and it sounds like she's handling it just fine. They adapt to injuries and disabilities much better than we do. Trying to keep yourself calm and not get her worked up or worried is the best thing you can do for both of you. The fact that she can go to the bathroom by herself is great - I have a paraplegic cat whose bladder I have to express (empty by squeezing) because she can't urinate on her own. Just hang in there with her. Oh, and while you're not around, a radio left on at a low volume is nice company. I wish you guys the best.

 

[Mk3runner]

Whoa kitty has it far worse..

 

[Clueless]

funny thing is I have a jack russel that had a broken pelves that was hit by a car

 

[TopSecret]

Sorry to hear about your pup's injuries. Dogs (especially JRTs) are pretty tenacious critters, and it sounds like she's handling it just fine. They adapt to injuries and disabilities much better than we do. Trying to keep yourself calm and not get her worked up or worried is the best thing you can do for both of you. The fact that she can go to the bathroom by herself is great - I have a paraplegic cat whose bladder I have to express (empty by squeezing) because she can't urinate on her own. Just hang in there with her. Oh, and while you're not around, a radio left on at a low volume is nice company. I wish you guys the best.

Thanks

I know she is doing alright. She wouldn't eat or drink or clean herself if she was feeling really bad. She also starts moving around a lot more (she's a Jack alright) tho she likes to complain when picked up.
I think my problem is mostly that she can't communicate with me like if she was a human being. But we can handle it... one step at a time.

funny thing is I have a jack russel that had a broken pelves that was hit by a car

So how did s/he handle it? How long did it take? I'd love to hear about it.

 

[DreamerTheresa]

Or, if you have cable, leave the TV on Animal Planet.


She's going to want to move long before it's really okay for her to do so, so be vigilant about her crate/bed rest.

 

[Clueless]

So how did s/he handle it? How long did it take? I'd love to hear about it.

He didn't like taking the medications so we have to find ways to administer them without him knowing(crushing the pills). first couple of weeks, he laid down almost the whole time minus us carrying him outside to use the bathroom. Eventually he'll get to the point where your dog will become active before he/she needs to so a crate helps, but I wouldn't do any walking until 6 weeks or so after. After that we just gradually built up the walking from to the next house and back to around the block. As with my human injuries, physical therapy applies to dogs. One thing you'll notice is the lost of muscle throughout the body and especially around the ass, so you're gonna have to help him/her build that back up to where he/she was before the accident.

 

[BlackSS]

I'm sorry that your dog got hit by the truck. But, I'd just like to point out that this is the reason many dog owners/trainers live by a couple rules. One of those rules are that the dog is ALWAYS on a leash unless inside an enclosed/fenced in yard. My babies are always on a leash when they aren't in the backyard or at the dog park. Again, nothing against the way you deal with your dog, just some advice to use from now on. :icon_bigg

 

[Clueless]

I'm sorry that your dog got hit by the truck. But, I'd just like to point out that this is the reason many dog owners/trainers live by a couple rules. One of those rules are that the dog is ALWAYS on a leash unless inside an enclosed/fenced in yard. My babies are always on a leash when they aren't in the backyard or at the dog park. Again, nothing against the way you deal with your dog, just some advice to use from now on. :icon_bigg

This way of thinking follows the "better safe then sorry" approach, but I'd like to differ...with my jack russels, you cannot have them off-leash(they will run away) but my other mix can be off leash.

 

[TopSecret]

He didn't like taking the medications so we have to find ways to administer them without him knowing(crushing the pills). first couple of weeks, he laid down almost the whole time minus us carrying him outside to use the bathroom. Eventually he'll get to the point where your dog will become active before he/she needs to so a crate helps, but I wouldn't do any walking until 6 weeks or so after. After that we just gradually built up the walking from to the next house and back to around the block. As with my human injuries, physical therapy applies to dogs. One thing you'll notice is the lost of muscle throughout the body and especially around the ass, so you're gonna have to help him/her build that back up to where he/she was before the accident.

Hmmm, interesting. Our pup loves the stool softener and she takes the pills with treats, no problem. I got lucky there.
She is actually damn fricken active already. She was walking the day after the accident when we went to visit her at the vet and the nurses told us, she had been outside as well when they took her to the bathroom. It's actually really insane how well she walks, the first 2 days was a little wiggly like she was drunk but after that she was just careful. Obviously we didn't let her do much but damn.

I had to bring her to the vet today, cos she chewed the tip of her tail off last night (bored? pain? stress? I dunno). She's gonna stay there for a couple of days cos I don't think she should be home right now. She seems to think that she should be allowed to walk around and do her usual stuff when she is inside the house (in her pen) but she can't and isn't allowed to and it seems to stress her out. So I'm or we I should say, after all she has a daddy too... we are thinking that being in a foreign environment will curb her enthusiasm so to speak. Nevermind that her tail needed to be fixed up.

It was quite funny, the doc opened her crate and encouraged her to come out of it... she did and then she just started sniffing and checking every corner and I told him, look she's obviously doing fine when it comes to her pelvis but she is just way too excited and agile. He looks at her... and looks at her, then looks at me and says: "For a week, that is quite impressive". Speaking about her walking.

So I'm pretty confident with that part. It's mostly her energy that worries me. And I'm not too happy about that tail thing either.

I'm sorry that your dog got hit by the truck. But, I'd just like to point out that this is the reason many dog owners/trainers live by a couple rules. One of those rules are that the dog is ALWAYS on a leash unless inside an enclosed/fenced in yard. My babies are always on a leash when they aren't in the backyard or at the dog park. Again, nothing against the way you deal with your dog, just some advice to use from now on. :icon_bigg

Yeeaaah, that wouldn't work with her. We don't walk our dogs. They do know the leash for when it's doctor time or visiting someone or what have you but mostly they are inside/ outside dogs (12 acres of 'territory'). Basically when we get up, they go outside and come inside whenever they feel the need to. We are building a fence to prevent them from going onto the road atm (not that they do).
Our mistake was not to train her well enough when it comes to cars and trucks and the fact that one needs to stay away from them. We failed, she paid the price. Lesson learned. I don't wanna sound like an asshole or whatever, that's just how I look at it but I totally understand where you are coming from and I agree fences are good to have, nevermind the good old leash.
It's not that we don't have rules, we do but we also believe in training more than leashes and fences.
I mean, you don't put kids on a leash or fenced area for all their life (well, I guess some people do)... you teach them. And we failed there. The big dog understands the concept, our little one might now... it's a pretty good learning experience as messed up as it is.

 

[Clueless]

Hmmm, interesting. Our pup loves the stool softener and she takes the pills with treats, no problem. I got lucky there.
She is actually damn fricken active already. She was walking the day after the accident when we went to visit her at the vet and the nurses told us, she had been outside as well when they took her to the bathroom. It's actually really insane how well she walks, the first 2 days was a little wiggly like she was drunk but after that she was just careful. Obviously we didn't let her do much but damn..

I have to say it sounds like your dog got off lucky with a "not so bad" injury, ours was less fortunate. Our dog got hit pretty hard, even the vet was surprised he lived but he's doing much better now. :icon_bigg

 

[Clueless]

The big dog understands the concept, our little one might now... it's a pretty good learning experience as messed up as it is.

Yea, our dog doesn't cross that street any more after that accident... :biglaugh:

 

[Jack]

Good to see a good ending....our dogs are our children so I know the pain. Jack's are tough little terrors, and they will do the same the next time if they want...We have 52acres and still worry every time we walk outside with ours. Ours are a bit bigger, rotts, pit-lab mix and aussie but I can appreciate seeing them in pain and then acting like nothing has happened....little expensive monsters

best of luck, live for the dog and supra!

 

[TopSecret]

Thank you!

I have to say it sounds like your dog got off lucky with a "not so bad" injury, ours was less fortunate. Our dog got hit pretty hard, even the vet was surprised he lived but he's doing much better now. :icon_bigg

Yeah I dunno what to make out of it. We saw the x-ray and boy, she broke that pelvis alright but she was lucky that she had no other injuries. Did your dog have other injuries besides the fracture(s)?
I was expecting her to take it slow for at least 2 weeks but as soon as she was home for 2 days, she just turned into a terroriser. Way too agile for the amount of time that has passed (and frustrated cos of it), hence why she has to stay with the vet for a while to curb that enthusiasm.

Thank god that the guy who hit her was crawling up the driveway, we all agree on that. I'm curious to see eventually if she did learn something...

We still can't believe that she chewed the tip of her tail off tho *shakes head*.