broken pelvis

[prideysgal]

my 7 yr old german shepard broke her pelvis a week ago when hit by a car (her 4 yr old rotty best friend took full force, he didnt survive)have bought her home today from vets where she has had pelvis plated in 3 places,seems to be suffering from no feeling or nerve movment in left leg, vet says time will tell if she will regain feeling,she looks so misrable ive spent all evening in tears wondering if i done the right thing letting her have op,can anyone tell me if experienced similar? has pet got over it? is there any supplements or herble treatments i could try? many thanks

[leelapops]

prideysgal I am so sorry your girl is suffering. Sorry I can't help with the question, but I really feel for her and you. Was Rottie yours or a friend's? What a sad loss :(
x

[kita1]

So sorry to hear about your dog.

Firstly, your vet would not have done the operation if he did not think there was a very good chance of recovery, so don't beat yourself up over letting her have the op.

A week is a very short time to see any improvement, the bruising etc. needs to go down first and that will take a while.

She has had a massive shock to her system and needs time to recover in peace and quiet in her own home. Give her lots of cuddles and make her feel safe and secure (which I am sure you are doing!).

Be careful about giving her any supplements or herbal medicine (don't forget herbal stuff can have side effects and is as powerful as most medicines) I would check with your vet before giving her anything as it may counteract things he is prescribing.

Is she on any medication?

A good site to post your question (it is a rescue site for GSD's but there will be people on there that have more experience of this sort of thing) is:

http://s10.invisionfree.com/biggsd/index.php?a ct=idx

[Noweia]

So sorry that you lost your rottie :(

I carried out a study on pelvic fractures in dogs and found that, long term, there was no difference in outcome between dogs that had surgery and dogs that were left to heal by themselves. However, dogs that had surgery improved a lot quicker than dogs without. the study also found that large dogs (such as your GSD) benefitted more from surgery than smaller dogs.

I think you and your vet made the right choice in going for surgery. It may be at least 8 weeks before your girl is moving about again, so don't be worried that she is still sore after a week. Because major nerves to the legs run past the pelvis, some damage can occur to these in an accident, and its hard to predict when these will heal.

I hope this helped you, and I hope doggy is up and about again soon!

[prideysgal]

thanks to all who answered, feel much better now ive read ur replys, have to say today, she took herself outside for a wee,saw her from the window,i was horror stuck she was going to hurt herself, but she seemed completely unfased by the whole thing and obviously coundnt understand why i was making such a fuss!shes so brave, im such a numpty! both mitsy and radar the rotty were mine, both rescue dogs,mitsy was going to be shot as didnt bark,no good as a yard dog(still never has barked!)radar just misunderstood! with luv both loyal family pets

[lankeela]

I imagine the vet has give her painkillers and anti inflammatory tablets, so she will not be feeling too much pain, and will gradually start to regain the use.

I am sure you have done the right thing, you have to give them a chance, and these days surgery is so more advanced. Your vet would have known whether or not there was a good chance of success.

Sorry about the Rott, hope the Shepherd makes a good recovery.