One Poorly Puppy
This week, we having been nursing our poorly puppy back to health after she broke her elbow on Monday evening.
In one of her crazy moments (which we like to call ‘the zoomies’), Pepper was running around like a mad thing in the living room and crashed into the sofa. After a minute of screaming and limping away, she calmed down enough for us to work out that she wouldn’t put any weight on her front left leg.
She was letting me touch and massage it though, so we didn’t call the emergency vet, knowing that if it was really bad she wouldn’t be letting me near it. However, she still wouldn’t put weight on it in the morning, so we took her straight to the vets.
A couple of x-rays later, and they found she had fractured her elbow (apparently a common injury in young puppies as the bones in their legs haven’t fully developed yet). We had to leave her at the vets to have an operation, and overnight for after-care.
It was horrible leaving her there, as I knew she would be scared, but the vets at Rosemullion took great care of her, and we picked her up on Tuesday afternoon, met with plenty of kisses, a shaved and stitched front leg, and a list of medicines as long as my arm to give her twice a day.
Luckily, we have insurance for her with Morethan, which covers us for any injuries and vet fees (a damn good thing seeing as the total bill was over £1000!). If you have a new puppy or dog, get insurance now! These injuries can happen to anyone at any time, and it sure is costly if you don’t have the cover.
We sort of assumed she would be feeling sorry for herself and want to sleep for the next few days, but she is 5 months old and still wanting to play, even though she has just had a pin put in her leg! This has been a daily struggle, as the vet has said she’s not allowed any exercise at all, and certainly isn’t allowed to jump on and off furniture.
I hope she will make a quick recovery, but it will be difficult for us while she gets frustrated at not being allowed to move. We have banned anyone from visiting us as she gets so excited and we don’t want her to jump up or hurt herself.
If anyone has any tips on how to get through this difficult period please let me know!
Oh no! :( Get well soon Pepper!!!
Thank you! x
Hi our 13 week old french bulldog has the same injury and is 1 week into recovery so very early doors – at what point could you see an improvement please – we are keeping everything crossed for a good recovery x
Oh no, poor Pepper! Hope she recovers soon! One of my springers is on restricted exercise although she doesn’t have to be crated or anything so I have an idea of how hard it must be! What about any games or tricks to tire her mind out, or you can get doggy puzzles – we have a few, but I suppose they all involve some movement as well. x
Oh no poor thing :(
And yeah that’s a good idea; we have bought her a couple of nylabone chews which seem to get some of her energy out while lying down. Visited the vet today as well and they have given us some antihistamine tablets which should make her sleepy when she is being hard work. x
Oh no poor Pepper…and poor you! I can only imagine how hard it must be! Whilst my older dog Elsie was on restricted exercise I was recommended a really good book called ‘No walks, no worries.’ It gives some ideas of things you can do to keep their brains active so they don’t become frustrated – it might be worth a look? Good luck!! x
Ahh that sounds great! I’ll definitely check or out :) thanks so much x
Awww what a poorly pup, I hope she gets better soon x
Thanks so much :) x
Poor Pepper, no tips I’m afraid – sounds like you are doing all the right things! Keep us informed :) sending get well wishes Pepper’s way
Thank you! :) x
Hope Pepper gets better soon! It must be a nightmare to try and stop her running around, she must have such a build up of puppy energy that she wants to get rid of! Get well soon Pepper!
Liv | http://www.maidenincornwall.co.uk
Thank you! She sure does, must be so frustrating for her :( The vet gave us some tablets to make her drowsy but they take like 90 minutes to work, by which time she will usually have settled on her own anyway so they’re fairly useless haha x
Poor thing! I’ve never been through such a thing and cross my fingers never to! The only time my dog had surgery was because the Vets from the doghouse put him two microchips instead of one and it was illegal (why the hell did they do that?). I thus had to book a surgery to remove one, I basically had to wait 2 hours but I was so stressed I cried (eventhough it was the most basic surgery in the world). So I can’t imagine how hard it was for you!
Céline from Larry and Co.
That is so weird that they put two microchips in! Very odd – hope you didn’t have to pay for that surgery yourself, as that’s their fault!
I was very upset when she first hurt herself; I was probably in a bit of shock too. And also when we had to leave her overnight :( I just couldn’t stop worrying that she might think we left her there forever.
I definitely notice that she gets even more excited whenever she sees us in the morning etc. now! Even though they looked after her well at the vets, she is definitely happy to be back! x
Poor pup :) Hope she heals soon! It’s so sad when your baby is sick or injured. Glad she has caring humans to make her feel better!!
Awh thank you. She’s getting better each day; just feel sorry for her not being allowed out in the nice weather :( x
Aww the poor little pup! I do hope she gets better soon. I know I would be so upset if it happened to Leo so I really feel for you! xx
Thank you! She is fine now and is back to her old tricks, but we need to give her strict rest over the next few weeks (proving very difficult with an energetic puppy!!) x
How did you handle the wait. My poor pup is only just 12 weeks and jumped off my knee and has broken her elbow. They have kept her in the vets, tonight will be the second night and she will have surgery tomorrow. I really can’t cope and can’t stop thinking about her and all the possible outcomes 💔
Oh no I’m so sorry to hear that! :( It’s so awful and can be really hard. It really was a very difficult time waiting for it to heal, but all I can say is that things like nylabone chews and kongs that could stimulate her while she rested were real life savers! Best of luck xx
I know this was posted a few years ago. I’m going though this right now and it’s same leg so my Lola is 4 month old and she fell down steps and broke elbow.. the noise she made was awful. Any advise please help.
Oh no I’m so sorry this happened to you! :( The noise Pepper made was horrific as well. It’s such a difficult time. The only advice I can say is to stick with the rest you’re prescribed, because it will help them so much in the long run. Oh and invest in lots of nylabones and Kong chews to help them pass the time!
Hi, again similar to above my french bulldog puppy only 17 weeks fell off the bed last night the noise was heart breaking – we went to the emergency vets and am now waiting to see our normal vet to confirm. I have cried all morning. Thank you for sharing your story if anything it’s gave me a bit of hope x
Oh bless you I’m so sorry to hear that! It totally breaks your heart. Good luck! xx
Hi, my 19 week old puppy has done the same, he’s due for surgery in 2 days time. Trying to keep him still at home is a nightmare, but we can’t have the fracture getting worse before the op. How has your puppy healed up?
Cant believe how common this injury is. My French bulldog Darcy broke her elbow Wednesday PM, surgery yesterday am £2500 😥 and brought her home 2nyt all bandaged up
Oh no I’m so sorry :( Yes it’s nuts how often this happens to Frenchies.
Hello! I just wanted to ask how your Frenchies are doing? Mine is in a similar situation too and is 2 days post op. Im just wondering if anyone who had gone through this can share their experience. Thank you!
Hi Micaela, it’s been a few years but Pepper is fine now. Her leg healed really well! So sorry to hear you’re going through this though, it’s very stressful. My best tip would be to get hold of some of those nylabones for them to chew calmly and entertain them. x
Thank you for replying, Anna! Im happy to know that Pepper recovered well. Hopefully, mine will too. Did Pepper have to go through another surgery to remove the pin? Also, how long was it until she was back to her normal?
No thankfully she didn’t have to have another surgery, but the vet did say that was down to use being really strict with her crate rest and house rest. It’s so hard but worth sticking with it so it doesn’t cause more issues.
I think she was on crate rest for 2 weeks (ie. not supposed to be walking around the house at all, just lying in one spot / in her crate), and then house rest for another 4 weeks. With house rest we were lucky enough to have someone always at home with her to stop her jumping on any furniture etc, but they do require constant monitoring even in the house so that they don’t push it once they start to feel better. So if you’re not able to watch them all the time, I’d recommend keeping them somewhere where they’re literally not able to jump on anything while out of sight.
She also got some swelling around the joint which looked like a huge bruise but it was actually just filled with water. This went down eventually, but overall I think it took about 2 months for her to be allowed on proper walks again. We didn’t let her off the lead for a further month or so.
It’s tough but worth it to make sure they don’t make it worse!
Will keep that in mind. My baby will be having his 2 weeks post op check up and staples removal on Monday. Hopefully, he will recover well like Pepper did. Thank you so much for your input. Your words are very helpful.
Hi Anna,
I have a 15 week old frenchie, we have had her for a 9 days! Two days ago she was playing around outside and I shouted her, she came running through the garden and into the house she hit her side on the door and floor lamp. Her screams are still in my head I can’t get them out. We took her to a out of hours surgery who gave her some pain relief and told me to contact my vet because she will need an X-ray and surgery the next day. As the next day was bank holiday Monday we had to take her to the local PDSA hospital who told me our only options for Bella was to either amputate or put her to sleep! I was devastated with this news and begged for her to let me get a second opinion. In the end she let me and today Bella has gone to a different vets and have given her an X-ray, this confirmed that her elbow was indeed fractured and she is going to be having a operation tomorrow to place plates and bolts in her to support her! Reading these comments have given my husband and I a big peace of mind that she is going to be ok! The last few days have been a nightmare I’ve felt so sick worrying I was going to loose her or for her to loose a leg but these new vets are going to look after her! My biggest challenge next will be putting her on crate rest, she usually sleeps in it at night but she doesn’t like being in there at all. She is such a playful pup and we have notice the last few days she get easily bored and fed up. We put her in her crate for 10 minutes tonight with her nylabone keys and she was bouncing around the crate. We had to take her out because we didn’t want to cause her anymore damage to her leg before her opp tomorrow. We are going to invest in some more nylabone chews, doggy puzzles and Kong chews after reading this blog. I just wish she has a happy healthy life ahead of her because we have so much love to give her! Thank you for giving me a piece of mind!
Hi, amazing post thank you. I am going through this now our 5 month old toy cockapoo Biggie ran over a bridge in the woods and tumbled down literally screaming. It’s so hard to keep him still we have been prescribed a mild sedative from the vet as he is injuring himself getting too distressed in a crate and it’s much better with him just laying by us. Feel terrible about it and so sorry for him – feel like his puppy days are being taken away from him. I’m glad to see those posting who have gone through it and out the other side it gives us hope. Oh, our vet bill was £4,000 as my daughter mistakenly took out pet care which she thought was insurance 🤦🏻♀️ You live and learn I guess!
Hope all your little ones make a speedy recovery ❤️
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