Will my senior dog ever walk normally again after breaking a leg?

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.

Neurologic issues can take time. It is great that she is up and bearing weight on her own, dogs are so amazing. Hopefully she had xrays to look for a spinal/pelvic fracture, collapsed disc space, etc. as these would be important to rule out as well. You will need to give her potentially even months to know what her new normal with be. Hopefully she will at some point be deficit free or only have a mild deficit but it is too soon to tell. Keep working with her. Hopefully your vet has recommended a physical therapy/rehab plan for her. If not, you could request referral to a rehab therapist. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello. If you follow all instructions from the surgeon & there are no unforeseen complications, then Sophie should have a complete recovery. She will be uncomfortable for awhile, but she is young & young bones heal very quickly. She will probably need to take things easy for 6-8 weeks, but if the break did not penetrate the skin nor involve any joints or growth plates, she should do great. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

A fractured bone should never cause a fever unless there is systemic infection. Rover may need blood work to see if this is the case. There are many pain medication options available in pets, and it is likely that Rover needs to be on a few different ones at the same time to manage this type of pain. In an older dog without a recent history of trauma, I would be very concerned that the fracture could be due to cancer in the bone (called a pathologic fracture). Sometimes this will show on x-rays. If it is the case, the best way to manage this type of pain is amputation with or without chemotherapy. Amputation is also an option for a simple broken bone as splinting or casting will not help a fracture in the shoulder. As a last resort, euthanasia is preferred over endless suffering.

The dog should be kept as quiet as possible for 6-12 weeks to ensure that the bone sets and heals properly. This means no running, jumping, or playing, and the dog should be taken out to toilet on a lead only. Once x-rays are done to confirm that the bone has fully healed, the dog will be allowed to exercise and activity levels must be built back up slowly. Physical therapy and hydrotherapy may be done to help the dog regain it's muscle mass and activity levels.

That really depends on how the fracture heals. If the splint/bandage falls off then you could take him to an orthopedic surgeon who could pin or plate the fracture internally so he wouldnt need an external splint/bandage.

They can definitely heal on their own and they heal especially well with puppies. However, it may heal at an angle, which can cause a life-long limp and issues with arthritis. This particular fracture involves the growth plate, which can increase the possibility that it won't heal correctly. The advantage of surgery is that the fracture can be aligned appropriately, which will shorten healing time and reduce chances of future complications. This would not be an easy surgery though and would likely require an orthopedic specialist to do it; which can get quite expensive. If you want to pursue surgery, then it's best to ask your veterinarian for a referral to an orthopedic specialist. Otherwise it's possible for it to heal fine with casting/splinting and time. I hope that helps and Ice gets better soon.