Dog in cast

[caustin4]

About 8 days ago I rescued a dog from a backyard breeding situation. He's a yorkie, about a year old. I would like to keep him, but we already have 3 dogs and I'm going to college in 2 weeks, so it's a tad complicated. Either way I'm getting him healthy.

The reason I got him is because His front right leg was severely injured and he could not put any weight on it, just lifted it and walked 3 legged. The people (who spoke no English and had their daughter translate) said he fell from a truck and he'd be better in 3-4 days... Yeah right. I took him to the vet for X-rays and it's completely broken, the bottom part of the leg is completely detached. Looks like it had been broken for at least 3 weeks, but no bones had started to fuse together.

The vet set it and cast it while he was being neutered. The only thing is that now he is in a cast and will be for a few months. He's doing great with it, totally adjusted and it's only been 24 hours. The main thing now is figuring out a way to keep it dry. Does anyone have experience with this? Any advice is welcome.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Yikes. No clue. I would think it cant be too hard to keep it dry? Just dont let him out when it rains lol. And no baths!

Sorry, my advice sucks... good job on the rescue!

 

[Snufflez]

A baggie... tie a bag around the cast when the ground is wet. My aunts great dane broke his foot and thats what they where told... it just has to keep the bottom that he walks on dry! Good Luck Little Guy! (speaking to the dog lol)

 

[LakeCondo]

Why will the cast have to be on for a few months?

 

[caustin4]

The cast has to stay on for a while so the bones can completely heal. Since its just a large break it takes longer. So far I've duct taped the bottom which makes it somewhat water proof and provides a layer that won't wear through too easily. I had a bag on it, but it seemed cumbersome to him. Luckily it won't start raining until november (yay Cali weather) so I don't have to worry about major puddles. Thanks for the help! We'll see how this whole cast experience goes.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

So glad to hear you're able to help him~ hope he gets well soon

On a side note, you should post pics of him!!! Sounds liek a cutie!

 

[missyscove]

I've seen vets send some dogs home with a saline or LRS bag with one end cut off to help casts or bandages stay clean and dry when the animals go outside. A plastic baggie is probably your best bet for keeping it dry in this situation but you could dry an old t shirt or something to keep it clean while he's not outside.

 

[caustin4]

The vet sent home a lrs bag, but he's so tiny and the bag is so big!

On a side note, we emptied a fly reusable fly trap today, but spread the contents on a piece of cardboard so the chicken could peck off the maggots(they love them). If you don't have experience with those things, the REEK! After we tossed the piece of cardboard out we let the dogs back out and went about our business. Next thing I know is Mozzie (that's his name) is rolling on the grass where the cardboard was sitting. Some of the nasty juice/remains most have soaked through to the lawn. Well, as you can imagine he smelled like repulsive fly attractent mixed with 2 month old rotting fly carcasses. And of course, the full leg cast can't get wet, not even a smidge. We spent about 30 min dipping wash clothes into water and deodorizes then plain water trying to spot clean his entire body. Then there was the cast... Of course he stepped in the awful stuff too, so I had to cut the outer layer of the cast (vet wrap) and rewrap it. My plan was to wait another week to do that, but oh well. At least he has a shiny new outer layer!

 

[Samara]

My dog shattered his hind leg doing agility a few years ago; the empty saline bags is what they use at the vet's office and sent me home with. If you poke a few holes along the top you can thread some bandage through it and tie it around the ankle when your pooch goes outside.

It's hard keeping everything dry, but it's possible! We used an entire trash bag when it was raining.

Best of luck!