Any Veterinarians here?

[smitbret]

I don't want to question my vet but I am going to ask around.

I have a five and a half month old Husky/ Malamute Cross. On Wednesday evening she was in the backyard and my wife heard a yelp and the dog suddenly appeared to have an injured front right shoulder. Took her to the vet for x-rays and they couldn't find any fractures or dislocation. So, the vet decided it would be best to sling the dog's shoulder and keep her shoulder immobile for awhile. So she puts a wrap around the shoulder and torso of the dog so the elbow is along the ribs and the paw is immobilized just under the neck below the chin. Is this correct? The wrap keeps riding up and bunching up around the neck and slides up the forum and bunching above the ankle.

I did some research and everything I have found shows that the shoulder should be immobilized by wrapping the paw towards the abdomen with a bend at the elbow:
https://www.cuteness.com/article/make-splint-dogs-shoulder
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ci-u7eM5Zn4

I took her in and had her rewrapped Friday morning and the vet seemed to do a better job this time but it is early Monday morning and the wrap has gone to hell again and looks incredibly uncomfortable for the dog. I am tempted to rewrap it myself and the vet sent some bandages and wrap home in case they got wet (it's wet and snowy here). The vet really seemed to lack confidence and skill in wrapping it the first two times and I really don't want to pop down another hundred bucks just to get it wrapped (potentially incorrectly) for the third time in five days, especially if the vet is doing it wrong in the first place.

I am tempted to try another vet. Can the x rays just be sent to the new vet from original or should I just call the 2nd vet and ask about the wrap job?

As a new development that may or may not be worth noting, the dog has been vomiting tonight. I don't know how that would necessarily be related but I would hate to leave out something important. The dog hasn't appeared to be in pain since the first night and has not had any pain medication in the last 36 hours.

Anyone have any experience with this.

 

[shortylickens]

My experience tells me theres a lot of good vets in the world and a lot of bad vets.

Dont ever be afraid to ask for a 2nd opinion. You'd be surprised how much difference there is in treatment methods across the country.

 

[Murloc]

there are lots of bad vets out there, find a pet forum local to your location, usually there's slightly crazy people on them who are absolutely nuts about getting the best for their pets and they will have vet whitelists. Some vets can't read x-rays or are total idiots.

Dogs vomit from time to time, it could be nothing, and the dog yelped and was in pain afterwards so it looks like it's an injury.
But you wrote vomiting, do you mean continuous vomiting? That's not very good.
The only way to link vomit in a non-medicated dog to a weird shoulder behaviour would be some crazy neurological stuff.

Maybe it was just a strain since the dog isn't even in pain anymore.

My dog did get a limp too sometime after doing stupid shit, but keeping her at rest would fix that just like in humans if nothing re the tendons is visible in the x-ray.

If the vet sent you bandages it means it's something you can do yourself, no?

 

[cbrunny]

This sounds like its probably nothing. I don't think I'd have even taken my dogs to the vet for that. I have two huskies - great dogs.

How bad was the injury? Swelling/discoloration? Odd angled limbs? Based on what you wrote above, I'd take the bandages off and let the dog take it easy for a few days - limit outside time heavily and don't play with it. Vomiting could be stress-related, which could have something to do with being bandaged and a three-legged dog. But then again, there are about a million reasons why a dog could vomit so who knows. For example if you've been spoiling it since the injury to try to make it feel better with table scraps or sweet treats, that could cause vomiting.

 

[smitbret]

This sounds like its probably nothing. I don't think I'd have even taken my dogs to the vet for that. I have two huskies - great dogs.

How bad was the injury? Swelling/discoloration? Odd angled limbs? Based on what you wrote above, I'd take the bandages off and let the dog take it easy for a few days - limit outside time heavily and don't play with it. Vomiting could be stress-related, which could have something to do with being bandaged and a three-legged dog. But then again, there are about a million reasons why a dog could vomit so who knows. For example if you've been spoiling it since the injury to try to make it feel better with table scraps or sweet treats, that could cause vomiting.

My personal opinion kind of echoes this. We had two labs that would take a gunshot wound without a whimper. This Husky Cross will cry if you blow on its face too hard. As I mess with bandages now, I am moving things around with quite a bit of force and the dog doesn't show any indication of pain even if I pry on the arm/shoulder. It think it was probably just a strain/sprain. We are scheduled to go back in on Friday.

I guess my biggest concern is just the dog's comfort wearing this thing. My gut says it isn't wrapped properly and she basically has this tube of gauze and medical tape bunched up around her neck and other shoulder and her paw is clear across the chest, almost making contact with the top of the other leg.

She doesn't really act like she's in pain and she is a huge baby so maybe I am way over thinking it.

 

[cbrunny]

My personal opinion kind of echoes this. We had two labs that would take a gunshot wound without a whimper. This Husky Cross will cry if you blow on its face too hard. As I mess with bandages now, I am moving things around with quite a bit of force and the dog doesn't show any indication of pain even if I pry on the arm/shoulder. It think it was probably just a strain/sprain. We are scheduled to go back in on Friday.

I guess my biggest concern is just the dog's comfort wearing this thing. My gut says it isn't wrapped properly and she basically has this tube of gauze and medical tape bunched up around her neck and other shoulder and her paw is clear across the chest, almost making contact with the top of the other leg.

She doesn't really act like she's in pain and she is a huge baby so maybe I am way over thinking it.

haha I can relate. Our huskies are WIMPS! One of ours has a small cavity which likely causes a bit of pain from time to time (getting it taken care of...) but you'd think the world was ending. He has also cracked nails - same thing. The world is over.

Yeah take that bandage off & see what happens. That's my advice anyway.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Does the dog walk without pain? If no, limit her exercise for a few days and forget about the wrap. Is this a new vet that you're going to?

 

[gorcorps]

My personal opinion kind of echoes this. We had two labs that would take a gunshot wound without a whimper. This Husky Cross will cry if you blow on its face too hard. As I mess with bandages now, I am moving things around with quite a bit of force and the dog doesn't show any indication of pain even if I pry on the arm/shoulder. It think it was probably just a strain/sprain. We are scheduled to go back in on Friday.

I guess my biggest concern is just the dog's comfort wearing this thing. My gut says it isn't wrapped properly and she basically has this tube of gauze and medical tape bunched up around her neck and other shoulder and her paw is clear across the chest, almost making contact with the top of the other leg.

She doesn't really act like she's in pain and she is a huge baby so maybe I am way over thinking it.

Don't, go to a different vet instead if it continues

 

[smitbret]

Does the dog walk without pain? If no, limit her exercise for a few days and forget about the wrap. Is this a new vet that you're going to?

It's a new doc but not a new clinic. We used them with our Labs for the last couple of years. There are seven doctors there but I had never seen her before.

Not sure if she walks without pain, since she has been in the sling since last Wednesday. I was putting a decent amount of pressure on the shoulder a few times when I was trying to adjust the sling and she didn't flinch or give any indication of pain at all.

The appointment on Friday is at the same clinic but a different Doctor. It won't cost me anything to leave the splint on till Friday. The paw isn't showing any signs of constriction issues and she doesn't act that uncomfortable.... just kinds of walks around with a defeated look on her face and lies around more than normal. I think I'll just call another vet and ask them about the proper application of the sling and go from there.