My 10-year-old Lab has a broken shoulder. What can I do for him?

I am so sorry to hear about Brandy but happy that she seems to be doing well. Your options will really depend on the type/severity of the break. Some breaks can heal if bandaged/splinted without surgery if the bones are aligned well enough. If that is the case, you may be able to manage her under supervision of your vet with strict confinement and pain management and regular rechecking. If the leg is shattered into too many fragments for the leg to heal this way, you may have to make the tough decision of going ahead with surgery knowing that there is a risk. Even though she is an older dog, if she is otherwise healthy and has no known kidney/liver/heart disease she may do fine with surgery as long as she has good monitoring during anesthesia and supportive care after. If your vet isn't comfortable with this you may ask for a referral to a hospital that does more surgeries or a veterinary college that handles this type of case.

That looks like a pretty nasty fracture. My first recommendation would be orthopedic surgery. The surgeon may recommend plates or other devices to get the bone back in alignment so that it can heal. If that is not an option in your area, then amputation would be my next recommendation. Due to the location, a cast or splint will not provide enough stabilization to allow the edges of the bone to knit back together. If the bones can be re-aligned, a hobble can be attempted, but the failure rate is quite high.

Hello, and thanks for your question. Yes, senior dogs can heal fractures, though their healing will definitely be slower compared to young dogs. A 15 year old dog will definitely require some extra healing time, and some extra tender loving care! The fracture must be well aligned, and well stabilized (with a cast, splint, or surgical stabilizer such as a plate or external fixator, depending on the type and location of the fracture) until the fracture is healed. Pain control is very important during this process. Hope this helps and Rayna feels better soon!

Since you have no easy access to a vet you can start by seriously restricting activity of your dog. That means strictly leash walking for eliminations, otherwise crate rest. Check for swelling and injuries. bite wounds and other trauma If you find wounds she will likely need antibiotics. If you do find a swelling you can try to ice the area on and off and hope the swelling will go down. Icing will also take the pain.If this does not improve within a week you need to contact the vet nearest you for advice. It may be possible for that vet to do a computer assisted consult (you will need a camera and a mic for that) and get medications to you.

I'm wondering if you mean ischial tuberosity, which is part of the pelvis. The answer to your question depends on the severity of the break and Bryant's health status. Being old is not a disease, and many old dogs are able to undergo surgery safely depending on their health status at the time. Only your vet can make the determination for the best treatment for him, which may require surgery or strict cage rest to heal. If he cannot be treated surgically and cage rest won't work, then letting him go humanely might be the best option. I would have Bryant evaluated by a vet to discuss treatment options for him. Best of luck!

A surgery at 12 can be hard on the body, especially if Charlie has any underlying health issues, but consulting with the surgeon and running some tests such as bloodwork can help you determine if it is still a viable option for him or not. An exam in person with additional testing is best to try and figure out if this is possible. At home, limiting activity to kennel-rest and leashed-only walks may help rest the muscle and joints some to provide some pain relief and limit further injury to the joint, however a complete workup from a vet in person is a good idea to further assess the situation and see if more can be done.

I am having a little trouble determine what is going on in the elbows. It looks like they are both fractured if these are pictures of different legs. The pelvis is also fractured. Treatment options would depend on the current condition of the pet and the cause for the injuries. Pelvic fractures often heal with strict cage rest for 1-2 months. The fracture of the elbow appears to have affected the joint, and it likely needs surgery to fix or amputation of the leg. If it is in both legs, surgery to fix the fractures is the best option.