Dog elbow protectors from football sleeves

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♥ DIY ♥
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Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:01 pm

Dog elbow protectors from football sleeves

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illusha
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:40 pm

Re: Paralyzed dog with bladder issues

Post by illusha »

Another update, posting a few days after the fact, as things have been busy. The same day when I went to the vet on lunch to check out the infected elbow – came back from work a few hours later and noticed that the dog’s leg with injured elbow was swollen twice the size of the other one – obviously went back to the vet immediately. He administered IV antibiotics, as well as IM antibiotics, keeping the dog for 24 hours to stabilize the infection. He still has to take another 10 days worth of oral antibiotics. The vet was kind enough to give me a sample of a special “silver” paste that has anti-microbial properties and needed to be applied to the sore callus every few hours after cleaning with Peroxide. I am glad to report that just a couple days later the infection under control, all swelling went away, just finishing up with oral antibiotics now.

So how do we prevent this from happening again? I immediately went out shopping, all pet store clerks just stared at me blindly when I tried to describe what I was looking for, so it was time to take the matter in my own hands. Started with pharmacies, looked at a number of elbow support straps and knee straps. Tried an adjustable elbow pad, it was too small, a knee pad was too large. After going to Walgreens, RiteAid, Freddy’s, and a couple of smaller pharmacies, I switched focus to hardware stores looking for hard knee pads. Home Depot and Lowes had good selections, tried two sets, kinda worked, but were simply too clumsy and uncomfortable for the dog, plus they slipped off too easy.

The final solution was found at a sports supply store. Checked out a few chains like Big5 and SportsAuthority who did not have what I was looking for. Then I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods and found these awesome things called “arm sleeve” or “forearm shiver” that are used in football. There are several different styles, have to pay attention to the padding design and location, but a few options were great. I ended up picking up a pair of UnderArmour Flex Forearm Shivers that are pictured below and have good padding. Work great.

We’ve also looked at the doggie bed. After having been used 24/7 for the last 3 months, it’s not as nice as it once was, time for a new one. Several layers of soft blankets on top. I also used a 2-inch thick poly shipping pad that I got with some electronics previously plus an egg-crate-foam pad. The bed was pretty soft at that point. While I was out shopping for sports sleeves, I also happened to find an extra-thick exercise mat with gel, it’s almost an inch thick and ultra soft. Now the doggie bed is soft like a feather blanket. I also picked up an inflatable exercise ball at the same sports store to help during exercises.

Went for the second electro-acupuncture session yesterday. The dog was extremely relaxed afterwards. Checked his “bad” leg (left) before the acupuncture and immediately after… It might be a placebo effect on my part… but it seems like he has more muscle control after being stuck with the needles stimulated by electricity… guess we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing and see what future brings us…

I’d like to go play with the dog at a lake since it’s summer time and all. Talked to the vet about the idea, they generally support water exercises, but had a long list of cautions when it comes to wild lakes and rivers. Everything from drowning to poisoning to infections. They recommended going to a specialized doggie pool for PT and professional supervision. But those are pretty spendy and it’s the middle of summer. Will need to do some more research on this topic.
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critters
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Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Paralyzed dog with bladder issues

Post by critters »

Brilliant! :smart: And :thankyou: for posting about your long quest and ultimate triumph! That's the kind of creativity and perseverance that it takes sometimes.
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