I dropped my 4 year old lab mix Jax off at the vet this morning. We live on a farm and he was struck by someone driving. His front right leg was pulled under the tire. With a terrible limp and scrapes, the vet determined very quickly that he seemed to have nerve damage in his brachial plexus. He had no sensation of pain via the palpations.
I have yet to hear back about the xrays, though from the first, he appeared to have no fractures. I am terrified of some of the stories I have found researching brachial plexus avulsion. Almost all end in the doctor suggesting amputation.
My question is this. What will be our odds of detecting the extent of the nerve damage and how expensive can this testing become? Also, I have found many stories of pets being splinted and though some never recover and spend their life in the brace, some recover because of nerve regeneration. I am aware this is extremely rare. The vet was very vague and did not elude to any of this. Anyone who has been through this, I would greatly appreciate any help.
Thanks
Dog hit by car. Need advise!!!
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Re: Dog hit by car. Need advise!!!
I don't know anything about the condition, but I do know dogs do great with amputations unless they are huge dogs with a lot of weight in the front.
Bobbie Mayer
"Corgis on Wheels: Understanding and Caring for the Special Needs of Corgis with Degenerative Myelopathy or DIsk Disease available now!
http://www.corgiaid.org/cart/corgisonwheels
"Corgis on Wheels: Understanding and Caring for the Special Needs of Corgis with Degenerative Myelopathy or DIsk Disease available now!
http://www.corgiaid.org/cart/corgisonwheels
Re: Dog hit by car. Need advise!!!
Been there, done that, and I don't consider it all that rare for the nerve to recover. Personally, I just splint it and go on; you can always amputate later if you need to.I have a little boy with it now, and people are always wanting to amputate. Since he's doing fine with it and also has cerebellar hypoplasia (cerebral palsy), I'm not anxious to whack it off.
Re: Dog hit by car. Need advise!!!
My cat Raven had brachial plexus nerve damage---got her arm caught in the cage door at the shelter and pulled and pulled until her arm went limp. I took her as they were going to euthanize her. My regular vet took off the bandage that the shelter vet had on and recommended no further tx other than wait and see if she recovers. It took a few months but she eventually recovered full use of the leg. Also have a 3 legged dog who was born missing her left front leg and she does fine. She tires more easily and you have watch their weight but the 3 legs is a non-issue. She is a registered therapy dog and the kids always ask what happened to her leg. Diana
Re: Dog hit by car. Need advise!!!
I know I'm coming in late to the game, but I wanted to share my dog's story because some other concerned pet parent may come across this when searching for help, hope and answer.
My dog had brachial plexus avulsion six years ago when hit by a car. Immediately following the accident, Seamus had no sensory or motor function of the affected limb whatsoever. The ER docs told us to amputate straight away, as the limb was nothing but a "liability" to him. It didn't feel right, so I told them NOT to take the limb, stabilize my dog and then I transported him to Tuft's University. There, two more surgeons advised amputation and assured me that dogs DO adapt very well to the three-legged life.
You must keep in mind that surgeons CUT,. Its WHAT THEY DO. If you ask them to solve a problem, they will automatically try to compute how they can solve that problem SURGICALLY. Therefore, I don't recommend consulting rehabilitation with a SURGEON. Find a vet that specializes in physical therapy. In Providence, RI, I recommend Healing Paws. There are so many options out there.
Yes, pets DO adapt well to the three-legged condition. What the surgeons will NOT tell you is that by not having support on all four corners, your dog will fatigue easier, causing him to get less exercise, shortening his life span. Also, he will be less stable, making him more prone to injury. He will also put significantly more strain on his hips for locomotion. When the hips or knees go, it is time for the needle...
DO NOT amputate as a primary treatment!! My advice, if the limb is not proving a liability to the pet's health, give it six months. You can put the limb in a sling when the pet is not participating in physical therapy if he is tripping on it, as my Seamus did. We put a walking harness on him and used a bandana to the harness to sling the limb up to his chest. We only had to do this for a few weeks, because within a few weeks, we noticed that enough function had returned in order for him to be able to hold the limb up off the ground.
Seamus was badly injured in his accident. He had many many weeks of down-time where he lost a lot of strength and fitness, plus having to adapt to functioning with only three good legs. After about 12 weeks, he was ready to go outside and walk. S L O W L Y. He's always been a puller on leash, a very high-energy dog. We purchased an easy-walk harness to keep him slow so that he could walk without exhausting himself in just a few strides. Even at the slow pace, without any pulling, he only made it to the end of the driveway and needed to rest before trekking the 200 or so feet back to the house. He would carry the limb off the ground but I developed voice commands to remind him to bear weight on the paw, even if it was just to use it as a cane.
Seamus is 11 years old now. His use of the affected limb is consistent. He runs and plays like a dog half his age. He goes on short trail rides with my horse and I. His hips and knees are better than most large breed dogs of his age. Heck, many large breed dogs do not SEE the age of 11. He never regained normal sensation in the limb. For years, we have struggled to keep him from destroying the limb by licking and chewing it. This involved training, the cone of shame and wrapping the limb, as there is an old wound where his dewclaw needed to be amputated. Now, we can leave the limb unwrapped, but if he is left unattended for long periods of time, like all day at work, we do wrap it.
He still has one muscle group, his "pulling" muscle group that is paralyzed and completely atrophied. So he can't pull with it and he has a little hitch to his giddy-up, but he gets around just fine, better than most dogs his age and certainly better than an 11 year old dog with a missing foreleg. Aside from times in past years when he has licked open his wound, there have been no detrimental effects of keeping the limb. he does not have infections or weird pains.
An important piece of advice is to get your dog on a GOOD joint supplement and to balance his diet so his nutrition is good and he does not get overweight.
Not every dog will heal. But you'll never know if you don't try. I think the vets are far too willing to amputate without trying.
My dog had brachial plexus avulsion six years ago when hit by a car. Immediately following the accident, Seamus had no sensory or motor function of the affected limb whatsoever. The ER docs told us to amputate straight away, as the limb was nothing but a "liability" to him. It didn't feel right, so I told them NOT to take the limb, stabilize my dog and then I transported him to Tuft's University. There, two more surgeons advised amputation and assured me that dogs DO adapt very well to the three-legged life.
You must keep in mind that surgeons CUT,. Its WHAT THEY DO. If you ask them to solve a problem, they will automatically try to compute how they can solve that problem SURGICALLY. Therefore, I don't recommend consulting rehabilitation with a SURGEON. Find a vet that specializes in physical therapy. In Providence, RI, I recommend Healing Paws. There are so many options out there.
Yes, pets DO adapt well to the three-legged condition. What the surgeons will NOT tell you is that by not having support on all four corners, your dog will fatigue easier, causing him to get less exercise, shortening his life span. Also, he will be less stable, making him more prone to injury. He will also put significantly more strain on his hips for locomotion. When the hips or knees go, it is time for the needle...
DO NOT amputate as a primary treatment!! My advice, if the limb is not proving a liability to the pet's health, give it six months. You can put the limb in a sling when the pet is not participating in physical therapy if he is tripping on it, as my Seamus did. We put a walking harness on him and used a bandana to the harness to sling the limb up to his chest. We only had to do this for a few weeks, because within a few weeks, we noticed that enough function had returned in order for him to be able to hold the limb up off the ground.
Seamus was badly injured in his accident. He had many many weeks of down-time where he lost a lot of strength and fitness, plus having to adapt to functioning with only three good legs. After about 12 weeks, he was ready to go outside and walk. S L O W L Y. He's always been a puller on leash, a very high-energy dog. We purchased an easy-walk harness to keep him slow so that he could walk without exhausting himself in just a few strides. Even at the slow pace, without any pulling, he only made it to the end of the driveway and needed to rest before trekking the 200 or so feet back to the house. He would carry the limb off the ground but I developed voice commands to remind him to bear weight on the paw, even if it was just to use it as a cane.
Seamus is 11 years old now. His use of the affected limb is consistent. He runs and plays like a dog half his age. He goes on short trail rides with my horse and I. His hips and knees are better than most large breed dogs of his age. Heck, many large breed dogs do not SEE the age of 11. He never regained normal sensation in the limb. For years, we have struggled to keep him from destroying the limb by licking and chewing it. This involved training, the cone of shame and wrapping the limb, as there is an old wound where his dewclaw needed to be amputated. Now, we can leave the limb unwrapped, but if he is left unattended for long periods of time, like all day at work, we do wrap it.
He still has one muscle group, his "pulling" muscle group that is paralyzed and completely atrophied. So he can't pull with it and he has a little hitch to his giddy-up, but he gets around just fine, better than most dogs his age and certainly better than an 11 year old dog with a missing foreleg. Aside from times in past years when he has licked open his wound, there have been no detrimental effects of keeping the limb. he does not have infections or weird pains.
An important piece of advice is to get your dog on a GOOD joint supplement and to balance his diet so his nutrition is good and he does not get overweight.
Not every dog will heal. But you'll never know if you don't try. I think the vets are far too willing to amputate without trying.
Re: Dog hit by car. Need advise!!!
ladyboz! SO true about surgeons!! I've seen such injuries heal, too, with perfect results, although it took time.