sandy2233

Poor baby. He looks so pathetic. He'll be eating up the loving that he gets. FYI, ask your vet for an empty "fluids" bag. They are great for putting over the bandage when he has to go outside. They hold up better than a ziplock. Healing Hugs for the baby.

dax0402

How's Richter doing today? Hope a little better!

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Lois and Baron

MeadowCat

Well, better, but that's actually worse...now he wants to run and play! He's figured out that he can walk (and run) on the splint, and he feels good, so it's been a real challenge to keep him reasonably quiet. I hate to crate him all the time, so we've allowed him to be out of the crate as long as he isn't jumping around. But wow...this is going to SUCK!

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GrdnDelite

I'm sorry, MeadowCat! I tremble when the word "rest" comes up with regard to either of our dogs. If there's something more difficult, I don't know what it is.

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It should be good to be Dog.

MeadowCat

Yep and yep. Several new chew toys were purchased today

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Lexi

Maybe your "secret santa" will be mailing a special package to Richter tomorrow! HINT HINT

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Lexi and Jackson

MeadowCat

Lexi, you are unbelievably sweet.

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MeadowCat

Richter had his first recheck at the vet's office last night and a bandage change. About noon yesterday his splint slipped down, so we went with a different type of splint this time, hoping it will last longer. We're aiming for 2 weeks with this one. His toe was a bit swollen and he didn't especially enjoy the bandage change, but he was SO good. The peanut butter he got to eat during the procedure didn't hurt Right after the bandage change he got to see his favorite girl, my vet's Aussie puppy, Nikki. She's a gorgeous show girl, just a little older than Richter. Getting to see Nikki made him forget all about his toe, and he was all wiggles. He thinks Nikki is VERY pretty Sadly, of course, we couldn't play, but he did get to give her some kisses.

Also, he got a new toy for being such a champ, a pink pig that is a Mighty Dog stuffy, so it's pretty tough (Shanoa can still destroy one of those in minutes, but he can't yet). He used to suck stuffed toys before he came to us, but hasn't with us yet. Apparently I just hadn't given him a toy worthy of sucking...the pink pig was sucked for a long time last night as he drifted off to sleep

Of course, photos:

Please do not photograph me right now:



New splint wrap has chickens!



A boy and his pig:

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Whiskey

Whiskey broke his toe around that age... our vet, however, decided not to go for a splint or cast because he said they do more harm then good for a toe, even a weight bearing one, especially for a big active puppy. Couple weeks of limited activity and he was fine. I'll be very interested to see how it goes with Richter as I did wonder if I shouldn't have pushed for some kind of splint so he didn't have to be crated so much. Healing vibes!

MaryAndDobes

Check your puppy photo albums - it's a pink pig that he is sucking in a series of pictures. He's asleep in the pics, but he's still latched on to the pig. It was so cute that I took pics from a few different angles.

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MeadowCat

You're kidding! I will have to look for those when I get home. I guess the boy loves pigs! He was sucking on it again this morning...he really loves it!

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Toby'shuman

Aww, poor Richter, hope he mends real soon.

Hugs and kisses to the brave little man.

dax0402

Speedy recovery sweet Richter!

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Lois and Baron

RedFawnRising

Did you ever get an empty fluids bag, to waterproof his bandage, when he goes out?

Lemme know if you still need one, Whisper says she will gladly donate a couple of her extras and can give him some pointers on walking in the #@$% things

Love the chickie print bandage.

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MeadowCat

Yep, we have several fluids bags. They were sent home that first night. Richter seems to have the hang of walking on this...actually, too much! He isn't doing a good job of taking it easy by himself. I don't think he's too happy with us right now for restricting him! I bet the Whip could teach him some lessons, though!

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GingerGunlock

Oh my goodness, in the skulls fleece sucking on the pig.....he's too cute for words!

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MeadowCat

Crap, crap, crap! Richter ripped into his splint bandage while I was in the shower and he was crated. He's shown zero interest in it so far, so I have no idea why. I've taped it closed for the time being, covered it with a sock, and will have to cone him because I have to go to work. Waiting for a call from the vet. Ugh. At $60 per bandage change this is not good.

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Lori Z

When my GSD puppy Brando was 3 1/2 months old I accidently slammed a door on his front foot. He broke a toe. He had a cast that he ripped up and off several times. I had to pay each and every time. He ended up with the cone of shame. It was an awful couple of months and he never slowed down it was horrible. I wish I had never put the cast on him. I hope your baby is better with it than Brando was but it sounds like he is trying to walk that road.

MaryAndDobes

Is the vet using a wrap with something bitter tasting built into it? I'm pretty sure Shelby's was like that when she broke her toe. Do you have Bitter Apple or Bitter Orange that you can spritz on the wrap?

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bean

Poor little guy! And poor you for having to rest a puppy. Ugh.

I second the bitter apple suggestion.



(By the way, are Mr. Handsome's ears already up and done?

If so - I hate you.)

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Erica

wantsaDobe

Can't believe I missed this before. Totally not your fault in the slightest. Please don't beat yourself up about it.

Richter is such an adorable little patient. I love his vet wrap, but I can't believe they're charging you $60 for a bandage change! Wow. (And I'm in NYC!)

To help combat boredom, Mason would like to recommend hollowed out natural bones, stuffed with cottege cheese and frozen. YUM.

Anyway, hope he gets well soon and keeps that bandage on!

RedFawnRising

Yeah, it was only about 30 bucks for Whip's, which was actually much more complicated, as it was wet-to-dry for a long time, and then required lots of extra padding. Eventually, I just did it myself, but it was definitely a big job, especially in those first weeks.

MC, wish I was close. I am a hot-dam expert on splints/bandages now and would do Richter for you in exchange for getting to hug on him just a bit.

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RedFawnRising

Here's what Mary was talking about, and what I was going to suggest, as well:

Clean Run: PetFlex Vet Wrap & Bandage—No Chew

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MeadowCat

Yes, we've been spraying it with Chew Guard, which is much stronger than the Bitter Apple stuff. If we continue with the splinting we may have to cone him when we aren't watching him.

I think it was $60 because we had to replace the plastic splint, too, not just change the bandage. Generally, when I check my vet's prices for stuff versus the other good vets in our area the cost is pretty close to the same across the board. If we decide to just re-wrap it tonight it should be less.

I'm really on the fence about whether to continue trying to splint or just keep him on crate rest/limited activity without the splint.

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MeadowCat

They've been up for a week, so I think they might be

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