EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

My 15mth male broke his back leg above the knee today. Has any1 else had this happen n what was the end result ie: mobility, performance n so forth? Its a clean brake n the vet said its fixable with a pin n screw, minor surgery but still a lil costly. For those of yaw who had this happen, is the repair worth the cost? He shows potential, but not enough hunting time under him to acurately know his potential.

Just my 2cents.  Unless they are a burning ball of fire that has already been proved up.

Mark it down as bad luck and being in the stock dog biz. Take the money it will cost to fix him and buy or raise five more to replace him.

Good luck either way brotha.   :)

i'd say it's hit or miss - but he probly won't ever be 100% sound . the vet will tell you what you want to hear , then make excuses later . just my experiance . if i liked the dog enough i'd spend the money and hope for the best .

I had a bird dog get hit by a car. Other than the scar you could not tell. If the dog has the drive they will recover. Dogs don't give excuses people do. If the dog is from good genes I would get the dog fixed up. I would ask for a discount. If you act like you will just put the dog down the vet will lower the cost. I had another dog lay up in the woods after getting hit by a car and did not get to the vet for about a week. The leg was jacked up but that could still get out and hunt and would not be left behind. Ran funny but still found the birds all day long.

"dogs don't give excuses, people do"     Catchy, I like it!

If you like the dog and have the money then why not go for it...?

Dogs dont make excuses people do best thing Ive heard on here wise words Dub

If vita a clean break get the vet to splint it and kennel him to limit his mobility for a few weeks then start letting him move around more and more to you feel he is comfortable.   A buddy of mines cow dog gype get stepped on by a bull broke her back leg above the knee.  Never even went to the vet just let her recover on her own. You would have never known anything ever happened.

I talked to the vet by phone n i person n he said close to 1000 n i said a bullet is cheaper n he did recomend a vet who is good n reasonable on price. Im gonna go c the othr vet tomorrow n c how much its gonna cost, but i got 1500 in purchase price already n the vet said he would give 75-80% aftr healing but will nvr b what he woulda been bfore the brake

Its a slite jagged brake, but it needs to b set back in place. Its an ovr lapping fracture n looks like its about 2" offset n overlapping, so it needs to b pulled back in place bfore it can start to heal properly

After being set can't that be done with a cast and cone?

thats what i ask, and he says possibly, but the vet i talked to said he would rather have a sec opinion before making any assumptions. im all for the bullet, but if it can be set and splinted/casted then i will spend the little bit compaired to all out surgery. 

I'm thinking you must have had some confidence in her to begin with to throw 1500 dollars down to get her. Have her leg fixed correctly and set a standing price of 2500.00. The way I look at this for me is that whatever I spent on the dog to buy it is all but lost on the first day. They could be kicked in the head, or cut down by a hog at any time. The vet bills are the only real investment to me. IMHO

I had a pitbull that was the first gift I bought my wife and when she turned 3 she was hit by a car and broke her hip and vet said pins and rods and screws for 1800 and I said put her down and wife wrote a check for the surgery needless to say but after 10 weeks of rest the leg was never the same but she is 5 now and still runs with the best of them

I cant believe you would ask such a question.  You mean to tell me that you are going to own a animal and take posession of it and when it gets hurt you are not going to take care of it or ask about the results of somone else.  Bullnumber 2!! take care of that dog and pay the money to his leg fixed properly.  Sounds like another wanna be hog hunter that is not in it for the long run.  I leanred a vaulable lesson when I was a kid.  If you are going to have animals you have to take care of them.  Having an injured dog is part of hog hunting.  Wether it is a clean break or a fracture  you take care of the animal.  Why does mobility and performance have anything to do with it?  If you are going to own an animal take care of it!

Easy hot shot....it's his dog to do what he wants, I have put a young dog down with two legs broke the same way. 1500 bucks and up with no guarantee that it will ever function 100%  ...nope, not me...old good, solid dog yea maybe and most likely yes but a young dog not even really going yet I would just start over.

Charles, I think I would just leave it alone and see how it does. I've had a few dogs with broken legs and most of them heal up pretty good. Even if the leg is not 100%, I have seen several three legged hog dogs that are hell on wheels. I've even got one right now that I would still put up against most dogs. If it's got the drive then that leg will not slow it down much.

hell they shoot horses don't they  ?? iust kidding  that is a ruff one charles . you just never know the out come . had a buddy run over his wifes lab and he spent a bunch to get it fixed . long story short the leg got infected and had to be removed . wich he did to make his wife happy . this was an old dog that couldn't hardly get around to begin with . she's still with them but she is one expensive lab now . and then like was said there are alot of three legged dogs runnin thru the woods . bottom line do what YOU  are comforatable with , and sorry for your trouble i know what ya going thru brotha . it sucks but crap happens .

X's 2, if it were a top notch find a hog everytime type dog then yea, spend the money but for a young unproven dog I wouldn't fork out 1500$, i'd tell the vet to cast it and maybe some pain meds and that would be that. Like stated above, there are plenty 3legged dogs burnin the woods up, hell on of my very good buddies has a gyp that suffered a bad bad rear leg injury......she still has the leg......... doesn't use it but she runs step for step with the other dogs and finds hogs quite often at that!!!

I spent 600$ on a registered silver lab, had her for a month and she got hung up and broke her front leg in 3 places at 5mths old......vet said 2400$-4500$ depending because they would have to set it then go in a redo it multiple times due to her bein a pup and  growing.........i can imagine you know where the story ends.....


"the sun is shining somewhere in texas" -Jason Boland

charles, I'm no vet but I think the younger the dog is when they brake a leg the better it is as for as recovering . I would find a vet who
has confidence in setting it and casting it and press on.  What ever you decide to do, just do it and don't look back.

I had a lacy back in school break her leg and the vet casted it and when she got over the shock of no cast she was 100 percent.  I don't see why if done properly a cast and time won't get him back to the point you will never know it happened except for a knot on the bone.  Idk if they can make a cast that high up that will hold my dog was below the knee.

I would splint it up , if they got the hunt in them they will hunt on 3 legs or 4 , my buddy had a hound that had a bad leg when it started bothering him he would pick that leg up an out hunt most dogs on 3 legs , 1500 to get it fixed is alot on a young dog , but if you can afford it go for it , but alot anit got that

I spent 1500 to buy him, not the cost of repair. If the cost is that much bc they insist on surgery, then i may try n set it myself n do the cast myself. I hav good to high hopes for him, he has speed n the willingness to get ahead n try to find somethng, even if its a rabbit

Charles, IMO, if you spent 1500 on the dog to begin with then I would probably put in a little more effort in getting the dog fixed than had it been just a run of the mill pup. Figured if it were worth that much before the injury, then its worth a little bit more thrown at it to fix. But if you've got 1500+ to just put a bullet in, then by all means, your dog, beat em how you want to...  ;) Sorry either way bud, sucks that you gotta deal with that.

When i was making $11,000 a month i could afford it, but at $1,200 a month, its tough to shell out a month of pay. Im goin to the vet surgen today with the dog and his er paper work n x-rays from last night to see what can b done. Hopefully he wont keep insisting on surgery just make an extra buck. I will post pics of the xray n let yaw see the brake, which will hopefully help in repair. Im thinkn the same as dub n most of yaw replys to just set it n make it rigid for a month n keep him caged.

x2...at 15 months old it is a maybe if he turns out from what you have said (Charles)...A good dog will show enough potential at 15 months old to know for sure if it is worth while to spend the money...

Rueben, i hav enuff confidence in him that if givin the chances to hunt, he would be real good, but with all private land already hobbled up n no public dog friendly land near by, its hard to work them. The times i took n was able to actually hunt him, he showed more potential than the other 2 i had with me. He would give it 100% effort

take a cordless drill and some 1/4 drive 1 3/4 in. wood grip screws with rubber washers,step 1:  feel around on leg until you have a good idea where the bone needs to be.step 2:clean and prime skin around area with surgical iodine wash. also prime and clean screw with same.step 3: (you may need help for this part) push bones into place and hold tightly together whille driving screw through skin into separated bone ends. (apply additional screws as needed until bones feels secure).step 4: apply wound spray to screw heads. NOTE: Make sure to use wood grip screws with neoprene washers so as to create a seal between skin and washer. leave in for six weeks and remove while petting dog and saying good boy. ;D

 even as disgusted with myself for aiding in the brake, i find this very amussing. thank you for the laughter.

Very amusing but I get the feeling you've given this a lot of thought. Maybe even tried it?  ;D

Here I was thinking I was the only one who's done this. We ought to get together and start charging people to perform these procedures on their animals.

Way too complicated. A 2x4 and duct tape (duck tape for some of you) ;D

I'm pretty sure it would work if you found some stainless steel screws. I saw the thing they put in my wife's back it wasn't too complicated the screws were wood grips. I garuntee the vet will do the same thing basically. Get a scalpel and open him up if needed. Has anyone else looked at those  things they put on for a broken wrist ? Same thing ,you need some number . I would come over and do it for gas and a hunt. They have black market doctors I don't see why their shouldn't be vets as well. Think about it and let me know. I think I could do it for you. Heck you already have the x- rays . Just ask him where the main arterys are real non shalonte and then just Ask if you can make payments for his recent services and tell him you'lle get back with him on the surgery. Then call me and we will do it I already have a field surgery kit and drill we could use. I bet fastenall has the stainless screws we need.

Jimco, let's just say I haven't ever paid more than 150.00 to a vet for any dog of mine and I've had some tore up dogs. I assited in a real surgery on a dog by a surgical assistant for people.

East Tex91 let's get together we can assist Charles with his dog and then go hunting.

I'd recommend a pilot hole in the leg bone so it doesn't split.  >:D

 uhhhh, i dont think so guys.
i went to the vet yesterday and i walked in carrying my dog. im stsnding there and  woman says, wow he looks heavy, i said yea just a little. she then ask is he hurt? i told her, naw i just like to hold all my dogs. she looks at like i cant believe u just said. i told her, ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. her, nor the yuppie pencil pushing desk clerk thought my comment was amussing. the clerk said they already have the paperwork set up for my dog, and i ask do i need to get the stuff from my tck, she says no. i ask again to ensure they had the x-rays and med report from my vet, she says no, we can just take new pics. after that, i ask are the pics free, and of course she said no. i said well i'll get the pic from my tck and she said well u dont have to if you dont want to, we can take some more. i told her i dont have a wart on my a$$ that drips gold. these yuppie townies dont have a sence of humor or common sence of money, well the lack of money.
YOU CANT FIX STUPID!!!

Man charles I don't know why I didn't think of oit there is a good older vet in meridian aint too far from you. Man I'm sorry.

yeah the vet here would only charge about three hundred for something like this.why not post the exrays and let some people do some checking. i'm sure youre at least eight hours from me but heck you could drive quite a ways before it cost 1500.00 there might be some guys on here that are real friendly with their vet that could  take your xrays in and get some competitive pricing for you. My offer still stands; to do the procedure for you if I am needed. It may be better than putting him down.  ;D

charles my cousin had a dog get kicked by a horse one day while out hunting.the break was high up on the leg,took her to the vet in idabel okla and he put a pin and screw in it and kept her for a week for 475.she was 14 months old and when he hunted her after thet u could not tell n e thing.shes 4 now and fine.goodluck.

My vet is here in town and does the lap dogs etc for all the soccer moms and bored housewives. Anytime he gives me a price that is out of line I always ask " is it still only 40 dollars to put it down"? Eventually he just told me that he could make his money on the housewives and would be more reasonable with me.

Man I drive over an hour to Coldspring. The vet she don't ask dumb questions and she will even go out to my truck if a bring a bunch of dogs. She also understands people not having thousands of dollars to fix a dog. Now you being a smart "donkey" they might just charge you extra ;D

 well dub, if a person ask a stupid question and would look before speaking, then a stupid answer wouldnt be givin. if the desk clerk aint any smarter and the shoe fits, i guess she should wear it. the price didnt change from thur night till yesterday. now if the price changes from mon morning to that afternoon, then i guess im gonna have to make a jail break n ge my dog out.

I ran onetime of my pups last grain season and broke the femur head off in the hip socket. Spent 1400 and still the "vet" talked meninto putting him down. If I could go back in time I'd spit in her eye and walk out with my pup. I shoulda let him be three legged but that's the decision I made and I'll live with it.

Charles, it's been a long time, but when i worked for a vet through the 70's and 80's, a vet did everything, there werent no specialists. All they have to do is reduce the fracture, basicly, put the dog to sleep, pull the leg like all get out, then xray it. Then put the leg in a metal fram and tape the dog #2 out of it to keep it immoble. Then 6 wks heal time. Now a days, a vet dont hardly do nuttin but dispense pills and give booster shots, and send u to "specialists" that charge 1k$ no matter wat the issue may be.  Good luck buddy, hope you can find a good ol country vet that'll do u right.

Now I am not saying that other vet did not have it coming. I did say the other vet don't ask dumb questions. You being a smart "donkey" has nothing to do with the questions rolleyes I am also not saying that I am not just as smart sometimes. Sometimes you just have to answer the question asked ;D

 dub, it was NOT either vet. it was some old stupid hag and the receptionist that ask the stupid questions.

Maybe you should have smacked her ;D I am with you on the stupid questions. My favorites from the ER are "how do feel?" Really I feel great and that is why I came in here. "Does it hurt?" Naw it feels great the broken bones and blood are just for effect. Some times you just want to smack some people upside the head.

I sure hope your dog gets better.

He is actually movin around better and laying on it. My wife found some kind thing for animal medical billing, so it wont cost so much up front. He is goin tomorrow to get his leg fixed. Hopefully he will b good to go by late sep.

 well he got 2 pins in his leg and has a cut from hip to knee. hopefully he dont scar bad. he was cranky yesterday, but doing a lot better today.

I assumed thats how it would happen. I could have done it for gas and a hunt >:(

Cut my leg open and put pins in and I am cranky too ;) Scars are cool even on dogs ;D

well i woulda let you do it for double the gas, a keg of your favorite beer, but when you said to use roofing screws to put him together. that was the turn off.  ;D

               well if he scares it will give him caracter it will make him look like hes been cut by a hog  ;D

3 grand later you got you a cur dog lol I hope it works out for you that's a lot of dedication to a dog

 the dog has alway been a cur dog. the price didnt make him a cur, he is just an expensive cur now.

Expensive is relative if he's worth it to you and you have it then it ain't so bad.