Retrievers broken paw :-(

Question
My 6 month old golden retriever fell down the patio steps yesterday and landed wrong.  He limped not putting any pressure on it so after a couple of hours my husband took him to the vet.  After sedating him and x-raying his front paws it turns out he has fractures all four bones in the front left paw - just between the nails and the wrist.  Three of the 4 bones look to be lined up but the pinky bone is at a 45 degre angle and we're not sure if it lined up when they splinted it.  They have him tentitively booked in for surgery for Monday morning but we are not sure of the best way to treat this.  What would you recommend - we don't want to put him through surgeries (one now and one is 6 - 8 weeks to remove the metal brackets from each of the bones)  Would splinting and casting be as helpful as surgery in repairing the paw so there are as few problems later on?

Help!!

Answer

Hi Michelle,

You have questions regarding the proper treatment your dog requires, you and your dog would be much better served if you were to get a second opinion form a veterinarian, rather than asking a layperson.

Short of that, you should have confidence in the veterinarian you've selected, and not second guess him or her.


Best of luck,
Patti