not a good day.... kinda long

JPiantedosi · #1 08/02/12, 09:42 PM

Ok folks..... As I have posted before, I have 2 young LGDs that are fence jumpers.

Yesterday morning I went out to check on my sheep and found that one of my pups had gone to jump the fence and when he did his foot must have slipped. It got cought in the corner where 2 perpendicular wires on the fence came together, and I found him hanging from the fence ( still standing on 3 legs) looking pretty pitiful. I got him out of the fence with little trouble. I poked prodded and squeezed his leg foot with no reaction. I let him go and once he limbered up he was running around a little sore. his foot swole up a little and then went down. the swelling was still there this morning, but not too bad so I fed him and went to town.

When I got home his foot was swollen up to nearly the size of my fist and his toes were spread out as far as they could be due to the swelling. At this point I tossed him in the truck and we went to the vet. Xrays showed that there was a minor break, but now we are waiting to make sure blood flow to the area was not cut off for so long that it killed the tissue. If that is the case we are either looking at intensive cleaning and care to regrow the skin and tissue or a possible amputation. Hopefully it doesnt come to that.

In the mean time it is cold soak 3 times a day, pain killers and antibiotics.

I Just wanted to pass this story along to you guys/gals because this kind of thing is not uncommon, and I would prefer that none of ya'll have to go through this.....

Jim

Grazer · #2 08/03/12, 12:38 PM

I'm so sorry to hear that. I just hope the blood flow to that area wasn't cut off.
What an unfortunate thing to happen to a puppy.

Now I don't know if this is a good idea, but I know there is a special fence in that can prevent cats from escaping backyards etc, so I thought to myself maybe something like that can prevent dogs from jumping too.
Anyway here's a picture:

Maybe someone with more experience can chime in and say if this could work on dogs as well.

Batt · #3 08/03/12, 03:07 PM

Dogs have absolutely amazing powers of recovery. Wishing you all the best!

Dogs, especially while still in the puppy stage, will get into everything. It is just part of discovering their world. Welcome to world of having livestock.

JPiantedosi · #4 08/03/12, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batt

Dogs have absolutely amazing powers of recovery. Wishing you all the best!

Dogs, especially while still in the puppy stage, will get into everything. It is just part of discovering their world. Welcome to world of having livestock.

I agree that dogs are pretty resiliant and am hoping that things go my boys way.

Its not really an Issue of being new to dogs or livestock Ive raised and trained in the area of 30-40 bird dogs and countless hounds. As well as having been around livestock my whole life.....

I guess I was just relaying my experience so that others might be able to prevent or at least understand what happened is possible.

Zilli · #5 08/03/12, 07:18 PM

I'm very sorry about your pup but I just want to let you know, that worse case scenario, amputation doesn't have to be the end of the world.

I have a three-legged Border collie who gets around great (although he has a slight problem with balance when he lifts his leg). I honestly think the whole ordeal of his having to have his leg amputated was harder on me than it was on him.

Hopefully it doesn't come to that with your pup, but if it does, I just wanted to reassure you that they do adapt very well.

wolffeathers · #6 08/03/12, 09:17 PM

We had an amputee pup in our neighborhood growing up. He would race the cars along the fenceline and outrun the rest of his pack doing in.

Squeaky McMurdo · #7 08/06/12, 04:42 PM

We had a yellow lab that got run over as a pup and needed his leg amputated. He could run, jump, and face down coyotes with the rest of the pack. It was his back leg and he could balance on his front ones to scratch himself or pee.

JPiantedosi · #8 08/06/12, 04:56 PM

well after 5 days of treatment I am hopeful that we may be getting better. the skin around the wound will go from red and inflamed to less inflamation as a reaction to treatment. while I have no medical training I am optimistic that the skin reacting to treatment......

Jim

Minelson · #9 08/07/12, 03:10 PM

I would say you are out of the woods...the tissue would be sloughing off by now and it would be very stinky.

JPiantedosi · #10 08/09/12, 09:28 AM

Well he has about a 1/2in wide section above the ankle where there is a pretty good gash, Im assuming where the wire ultimately was, that looks pretty ugly, but the swelling has come down significantly and there is no stink. Also he scuffed the knucle across the ground yesterday and there was some bleeding, and my wife could feel a pulse in the foot. Im am getting more optimistic for a full recovery by the day.

Jim

pygmybabies · #11 08/09/12, 11:20 AM

hope he fully recovers! thanks for the letting us know things to watch for! praying for you and your puppy

Grazer · #12 08/11/12, 04:05 PM

I'm happy to hear that things are looking good for your pup, I really hope he'll be able to fully recovers.
This thread is a good reminder of just how important it is to have a fence these dogs can't jump over..

TedH71 · #13 08/15/12, 03:07 PM

Where did you get that pic of the fence? I'm kind of thinking of doing that due to a dog that likes to jump fences. Chain link fences in particular but we moved to a house that has wooden fences..he's still trying to figure out how! Was thinking a hot wire but wife and her family think it's illegal to have a hot wire. I don't think so but am researching alternatives.

Grazer · #14 08/15/12, 07:09 PM

I got the picture from this site here: Cat Fence Project
The story they posted on their website is very long, but worth reading as the guy explains step by step how they made that fence.

I was interested in that fence and in this fence-in here: CAT FENCE-IN™ | Cat Containment System because I was worried that our cat might try to escape our backyard when we moved in to our new place last year.
(luckily though our cat, just like in our previous home, never tries to escape).

So when I saw this thread, I figured if it works for cats, it should work for dogs too. Being that these fences appear to be quite sturdy.

I have no experience with hot wires, but I've heard that in some places it's not allowed to have a hot wire within city limits.
So I guess it all depends on where you live. If I were you, I'd check with my city/municipality and also ask if any warning signs are required.

susanneb · #15 08/16/12, 04:36 PM

You might consider a coyote roller to stop your dog from jumping the fence. Here's a video from a commercial version:
Video Demonstration of Coyote Roller
You could make your own DIY version.

JPiantedosi · #16 09/27/12, 09:15 PM

Well just for an update.... My boy made a full recovery managed to keep his foot and went bact to work about 2weeks ago.

Jim

Batt · #17 09/28/12, 08:14 AM

That's great!!!

Grazer · #18 09/28/12, 02:52 PM

That's so good to hear! Hopefully he won't injure himself like that ever again