Injured Hock - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

lestat1978 · 11-07-2012, 09:31 AM

Ivan somehow injured his hock and has been hobbling around on three legs. I took him to the vet and there's nothing broken, but inflammation was seen in the x-ray. He was put on restricted activity, Previcox, and warm compresses.

Restricting his activity is proving to be fun. Even on three legs he wants to leap down the two porch steps, fly around the house, etc. I'm really worried about him injuring his other leg.

Last night he managed to get up on the counter and steal a bag of pill pockets which he raced to his kennel with - I could hear him banging around while I was downstairs. LOL! Little sh*t.

He's getting his Previcox at night. That and a night's rest is enough for him to be using his leg in the AM, but by the time I get home in the evening he's back to holding it up.

Even prior to hurting himself, I really think he mostly sleeps while I'm at work, but I'm wondering if I should go ahead and crate him just to make sure he's not doing anything to aggravate his injury?

Rosemary · 11-07-2012, 10:04 AM

I'd crate him, myself. Or at the very least, confine him to a smaller area that doesn't give him the opportunity to get too active.

Hooligan · 11-07-2012, 10:04 AM

Yes, I would be tempted to crate him during the day and walk him only on lead. I would even put on the lead and go outside with him on potty breaks — to ensure that he doesn't get the zoomies and start running around like a crazy dog.

And even when his leg seems to be completely back to normal, I would continue doing this for at least another week. Injuries like his can be really stubborn about clearing up, and the meds can trick you — and him — into thinking that he's fine. But if you start him back on normal exercise too early, he can end up right back where he started.

I suggest all this as someone who thought our guy was back to normal after a similar injury — only to find him back at square 1 because we resumed normal activities too early.

Good luck. Trying to explain to an active dog that he must be calm and quiet is tough.

AgileDobe · 11-07-2012, 10:28 AM

I went through a hock injury with Draco once. He slipped on wet concrete steps trying to run into the house in a hurry. He then re-injured it about a week later. Basically it was equivalent of a bad sprain, and it took a long time to heal.

After the initial x-rays showed much the same as Ivan's did and chiro consult, it pretty much came down to just rest and time to heal. I think what saved him and helped with his recovery was a brace recommended to us by his chiropractor (it also requires a perscription). We ordered a Dog Leggs Tarsal Support : http://www.dogleggs.com/tarsal/

It was absolutely wonderful for him. He wore it the majority of the time for about 3-4 months, it really helped to stabilize the joint and prevent him from re-injuring it. It wasn't a fast recovery, although the goal was to get him 100% for agility. How long it takes I am sure depends on the severity of the sprain or injury.

lestat1978 · 11-07-2012, 11:04 AM

Ivan's on a tie out for potty breaks and isn't in an area were he's likely to zoomie. Even on leash - when I was taking him to the vet - he lunged trying to jump down the two porch steps.

I have wood floors throughout most of my house and I'm worried about him slipping and falling and injuring something further. I do have some area rugs, but not enough.

The vet did emphasize restricting his activity and this being an injury that won't heal quickly. I'll definitely start crating him while I'm at work - if nothing else that keeps him from jumping on and off the couch or potentially slipping on the wood floor.

I already told the SAR team we won't be at training on Sunday, so I'll most likely restrict his activity for two weeks - especially after reading others' experiences - otherwise I probably would have let him "go" sooner and he would have likely reinjured himself.

lestat1978 · 11-11-2012, 07:06 PM

It took a week, but the swelling is finally going down in Ivan's hock. Of course now he's really impatient to get out and have fun. We'll stick with restricted activity for one more week and see where we are.

eegreen · 11-11-2012, 07:56 PM

Glad Ivan is feeling better!

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lestat1978 · 11-15-2012, 08:33 AM

Although the swelling hasn't gone away completely, Ivan still isn't using the leg like I would expect.

We had his follow-up vet appt. last night and the vet noticed his hock was very stiff. We tested for Lyme, which came back negative. I got a round of Doxy regardless. He's also referring me to a specialty center.

I don't know if this is something that just requires more time or if I really should be spending the money to continue investigating. Ivan's activity has remained restricted, but anytime he thinks he hear's someone at the door or, frequently, when one of the cats is up and about, Ivan feels the need to jump up and investigate. So although he's nowhere near his normal level of kamikaze activity, I don't know if maybe he's aggravating the injury some. I do have insurance on Ivan, so it's not like I'll have to cover the whole bill, but I'm not exactly bucks up either at this point.

**dax0402** · 11-15-2012, 09:36 AM

Just saw this and hoping for a speedy recovery for Ivan.

lestat1978 · 11-18-2012, 09:20 AM

Within 24 hrs. of being on Doxy Ivan was consistently using all four legs, although slightly gimpy on the one. Within 36 hours he was back to normal and hasn't been limping since. Coincidence? Or did he have a false negative Lyme test and the Doxy really is fixing the problem??