Thursday, July 20, 2017

Special Care for Dogs with a Leg Injury

Dogs can communicate emotions such as happy, nervous or excited quite well. However, dogs aren’t able to let their owners know their pain level. In fact, they may try to go about their normal activity even when they have injured themselves and are in pain. They depend on their owner for help them in times of illness or injury.
Extra Support

Dogs can injure a leg simply by running and playing. An injury can occur when they jump off a bed or sofa or other elevated places. Sometimes, the vet will recommend rest and stabilization of the injured leg. In more serious situations, a dog may require surgery. In either circumstance, a dog leg brace is going to play a large role in keeping your pet comfortable during the healing process. A high-quality brace that provides support can play a significant role in expediting your pet’s recovery.
Extra Attention

When the activity level of an active dog is reduced to protect an injured leg, you may need to monitor your dog’s diet more carefully. It’s important that it does not put on extra pounds during the healing process. A reduction of food or a change in the type of food you feed them may be necessary. Instead of letting your dog out in the yard where it can run and possibly do further damage to the injured leg, you may need to walk it outdoors on a leash. If you have more than one dog, you may need to separate the injured dog from the other dogs while you are away from home. Even with an injury, your dog might try engaging in playtime with the other dogs. 
Special Accommodations

While your dog is wearing a brace, you need to be sure that they have a bed they can easily get on and off of.  Teaching a small dog to use a ramp to get on and off the sofa or your bed will enable it to continue its routine habits and can help prevent future injuries. If the vet instructs you to limit the amount of walking your dog does while recovering from a leg injury, you will need to place its food and water close to its sleeping area. 

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