Oh, I’m sorry that Bruno is limping. How old is Bruno? Is he still a puppy?

Three weeks does sound pretty short. Here are a few things you can think about:

I limped after my splint was taken off but this is because I had gone for 10 weeks without using those muscles and I had to recondition my leg. My dad is fond of saying “muscle atrophy”. Big words he uses. Also, I had to get used to the plate and screws in my leg and learn how to walk again.

And then again: Did the doctors take x-rays at the point where the splint came off? Has the doctor taken x-rays in the three weeks since then? If so, did you see the x-rays? The doctor would be able to tell from the x-rays- and then to show you – if the leg has started to heal properly – and how properly. Puppies heal more quickly than adolescents or older dogs like me. Luca had his splint taken off four weeks after surgery, which was also early, and that was because Luca had developed a serious infection.

Bruno broke his front leg and I broke my back leg, so the splints would be different. Still, I would like to tell you a little about my splints: The first one was very big. It went from my toes to my hip. The next one was much smaller: It went from my toes to below my knee. This made it cooler for me and easier to move around. It looks from the picture on your blog that the original splint was pretty large; was the sore near the top, where it cut into Bruno’s front leg? If so, maybe there was an option to just make a smaller splint that does not cut into his leg, where he was getting a sore. Of course I do not know where the broken bone was. Maybe you do and this was part of the decision to use no splint at all.

Second, each time I had a bandage change my leg was washed with antiseptic and allowed to just feel the air for a while.

Next, when my splint was removed after week 7 after my surgery, the bandages were not. The bandages remained for a while to maintain stability while giving my leg a chance to strengthen and to get more air circulating. Rebandaging Bruno’s leg to just add some stability might be something you can put on your list to talk to Bruno’s doctors about. The bandages won’t cut into Bruno’s leg and will provide more stability.

I think that looking at the x-rays is the key and seeing how healed Bruno’s leg is – is the key.

Well, like I said, I’m not a doctor, but I know it’s very important for our parents to be more informed about, knowledgeable of, and involved in the medical options and decisions made for us injured dogs.

I look forward to receiving your photo!

Joey