Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Sometime in Oct. my sister's little Yorkie broke her front leg. The vet put a pin in it and all looked good until 10 days later the pin broke and shattered the leg bone. Amputation was an option but my sis wanted to try and have the leg saved. So they have had the poor dog in a cage and kept at the vet since then with some sort of Halo device on the leg (after another surgery to try and get the tiny pieces together. Last week they finally took the thing off and put a brace on. A recent xry showed the break is not healing. They did another surgery and found there was no real mending. All the calcium was soft and did nothing to help. Now they are worried about infection. This poor dog has had 3 surgeries, been in a cage since Oct. and my sister cannot see the dog because every time they visited the dog would get so upset when they left, throwing herself against the doo,r that they had to sedate her. So my question is....how bad is amputating a leg on a dog? Wouldn't they still be able to get around? At what point is this being cruel to the dog? I might be seeing this differently, but I feel this poor dog has been through too much to try and save a leg. What do others think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Ok, I've seen this happen. (Certified Vet Tech). Sometimes it just doesn't heal. Amputation is a GREAT option for such a small dog. It doesn't weight much so it will easily be able to get around on 3 legs. I would do it now, and be amazed at how quickly the dog adjusts. front legs are harder to adjust to than rear legs, but they figure it out. A good glucosamine supplement to prevent arthritis in the other front leg would be advisable as well, as it will be carrying the weight for the whole front part of the dog. But sure, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 My brother/sister in law have a cat with 3 legs and it apparently gets around just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Libby still has her fourth leg but doesn't use it. She's a bigger dog but still gets around just fine on three legs - including up and down stairs. We've started to call her "Floppy" because of the way she bounces. There was a learning curve for her and we slowly increased the radius that she was allowed to go by using an exercise pen indoors to limit her at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 Ok, I've seen this happen. (Certified Vet Tech). Sometimes it just doesn't heal. Amputation is a GREAT option for such a small dog. It doesn't weight much so it will easily be able to get around on 3 legs. I would do it now, and be amazed at how quickly the dog adjusts. front legs are harder to adjust to than rear legs, but they figure it out. A good glucosamine supplement to prevent arthritis in the other front leg would be advisable as well, as it will be carrying the weight for the whole front part of the dog. But sure, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Thank you...this helps. I have to tread carefully with my sister. Her dog is her baby....extremely spoiled baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Thank you...this helps.I have to tread carefully with my sister. Her dog is her baby....extremely spoiled baby. I would emphasise how detrimental being caged away from her "mom" probably is for the dog's mental state in your discussions with your sister. Depression is a very real potential problem for injured dogs and it is harder to treat than many physical complications. Dogs can literally "pine" themselves to death if they lose the will to live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I've seen several dogs with three legs and they all got around just fine - even running. Tell her to go for it and get that poor dog back with his family. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Ok, I've seen this happen. (Certified Vet Tech). Sometimes it just doesn't heal. Amputation is a GREAT option for such a small dog. It doesn't weight much so it will easily be able to get around on 3 legs. I would do it now, and be amazed at how quickly the dog adjusts. front legs are harder to adjust to than rear legs, but they figure it out. A good glucosamine supplement to prevent arthritis in the other front leg would be advisable as well, as it will be carrying the weight for the whole front part of the dog. But sure, I'd do it in a heartbeat. :iagree: previously uncertified vet assistant. You would be surprised how well pets will adjust. I've seen amputations on large breed dogs that did surprisingly well. Yorkies have such tiny bones, and the pins they use would have to be very small. It wouldn't be unusual to have issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Amputating a leg is not particularly traumatic to the dog. A front leg is easiest to live without. A small dog has an easier time without a leg. A front leg on a tiny dog . . . no problem. In all cases, I would get the dog to an orthopedic surgeon (board certified, either at a "specialty hopsital" or a vet school) ASAP and either have them continue to try to save the leg (unlikely) or, better yet, do the amputation. 3 mos of cage rest away from family is the limit. She should get this done, and the dog home. She should ask her vet about referring to an orthopedist. If the vet is worth his salt, he will be delighted to hand off a case that has not gone smoothly and can benefit from specialist attention. If the vet is resistant to referral, that is a very bad sign, and she should simply pay her current bill (while getting COMPLETE copies of all records - NOT JUST INVOICES -), take her dog out of the hospital, and drive the dog directly to a specialist the same day. FWIW, ordinarily, amputation of a front limb on a small dog is not a particularly specialized surgery and can be capably done by many/most general pracitioners. If the dog's owner is very concerned about cost and is sure they want to go with amputation (which would be cheaper than further attempts to save the leg aside from cage rest), this surgery could certainly be done by a regular vet that she has confidence in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 It really would end the dog's pain and suffering. Perhaps you can send her some youtube videos of 3 legged dogs? Honestly, everyone who meets the dog would totally fawn over it, everyone LOVES a 3 legged dog! A friend and fellow vet tech has a dog that had to have his front leg amputated. He's a big dog, a pit bull, and he does great. He even was able to go up and down the stairs when she lived in a walk up apartment. He loves to play at the dog park, wrestle with her other dog, etc. He does great! (but hi fives are kind of out as a trick, lol.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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