Zug Zug Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) I have been looking for a new dog for a little while. I have just made an enquiry about a young 18 month old dog, who sounds lovely but has broken one of her legs a few months back. She had a plate put in apparently. I have been given the details of her vet and will be giving him a call tomorrow to ask some more questions. What do others think about a dog with a pre-existing injury like this as a possible agility prospect? I am a bit concerned about putting her at further risk of reinjuring her leg, but I'm told she's very active and in other respects she sounds great. Wondering what questions I should ask the vet. ETA: medium sized dog approx 15 kg or thereabouts. Edited November 14, 2011 by Zug Zug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I wouldn't take on a dog who had a prior injury like that for agility. There are plenty of medium sized dogs available who don't have an injury & her life would probably be a lot better as a pet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 If this dog is not already yours... then I would suggest you look elsewhere - she may well heal and be wonderful..BUT with plates , things may go wrong under heavy training , and with age... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I agree with Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I agree with Vickie as well. Diesel broke his leg at 6 months, had pins and external fixatur etc. While it doesn't bother him any and he gets around fine, runs and jumps etc, it healed quite well, the movement is a bit looser than the good leg. While it would be alright for obedience, I wouldn't try to do agility with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I would ask the vet if they actually know the requirements of an agility dog. No point having the vet say that the dog is good for agility when they think agility is more along the lines of obedience!! All things being equal if the dog has a chance at a quieter home then I would give it a pass. The dog could possibly be fine, but you will be putting a fair amount of pressure on the leg that wouldn't be placed on it in a pet home. If you do take it then I would be going to a canine physio to strengthen the dogs entire body as it would have compensated while the bone was healing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaseyKay Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 My dog (working border collie girl) broke her front leg aged 2 years, had a plate put in and removed ?? months later (can't remember it was 10 years ago) she went on to do reasonably successfully at agility aged 3 years to 7 years but at 7 years old started limping after her runs and looking uncomfortable jumping so I retired her. She is now nearly 12 and still pretty fit, no limping, she did obedience and tracking for another 2 years after retiring from agility. But since this is a dog that isn't yours already, I would say no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 My dog broke his leg very young and had to retire from agility due to soundness issues - maybe in another 6 months we will have built enough condition to give agility a try again but the first signs of being lame he is pulled. He is only 3 and a half. IF you decide to proceed with this dog you will need lots of acupuncture/Bowen/sports vet visits to maintain a sound dog which does not come cheap!!! Plus the heart sinking feeling when you see him limping, again. My dogs soundness issues are from compensation and lack of muscle mostly. That takes a very long time to build the muscles back up. I would not recommend someone place themselves into this situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 My border collie Fern broke her leg. It seemed to heal ok but within a year or so of breaking her leg she snapped a tendon in the other back leg. Not sure if it was related but injuries can put stress on the other legs. The tendon didn't heal properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 We had a dog break his leg when I was a kid. He got arthritis in his leg at an early age and was really stiff in colder weather and found it hard to jump. He only weighed a few kilos but can't image him ever being ok to do agility. Like others have said, I would look elsewhere if you intend on doing agility with the dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Basically what the others have said. I know two dogs down here who had broken bones as youngsters - one is a manic boy who has heaps of fun competing, but is not the dog he could have been, although he suits his handler. The other one again never developed to what was probably her full potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Agree with jumabaar. Make sure you go to a vet who actually knows what agility is- preferably one who actually trials their dogs (or has previously) or sees a lot of agility dogs. I'd be inclined to say no to a dog with a pre existing injury if you are after a serious agility prospect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Agree with everyone else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 If you want to do agilitydon't take a dog who has had a broken limb - this is just my opinion but it would be a big risk I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 definately not. Plenty of dogs available with no prior injuries if dog sports is what you want them for. I wouldnt even put it on the maybe list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I had ambitions of competing in agility with Pele. The broken foot when she was 9 months old, and the jump height (Pele is a 500mm dog, she's measured at 490mm) means that she's jumping higher than her height, and being a Bull Terrier and her build, I just won't compete with her We go out to training and do 400mm and mock trials, but that's it. We just do agility for fun instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiechick Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 My kelpie broke his front leg at 2 years of age - he had gained his Novice agility titles and was half way through Open (before Excellent came to be) when he did it. Had plate inserted, wires, screws, you name it. Developed complications after 6 or 7 weeks when a wire came loose and he ripped his own leg open biting at it. 3 lots of surgery after it didn't heal properly and after the initial diagnosis that he would most likely never be able to run agility again everything finally came good and he got the go ahead to return after 12 months off. That was more than 6 years ago, he has now had his Masters titles for some time, turned 9 yesterday and is still going strong. There has never been any sign of a limp associated with the leg, the only legacies from the injury are a wrist that doesn't bend which inhibits him turning tightly in one direction (we make time in Masters Jumping if the course has most turns in his good direction but usually just out by a fraction if they all go in the 'bad direction') and a spot in his lower back that occasionally becomes sore which is apparently related to the original injury. He is definitely slower than he was before the injury, but I think I caused a lot of that as I became a helicopter handler (hover, hover, hover) when he came back as I was so scared of something happening to him and I wouldn't let him open up and run for a long time. But he gets round most Masters courses just fine although I only enter him in a couple of classes now as I would like to continue running him for as long as possible. I don't spend a fortune doing Bowen or anything else that was suggested. He has laser therapy occasionally from a massage therapist and a bit of manipulation but not on the actual leg. In fact broken bones often mend with fewer complications that soft tissue injuries that are difficult to diagnose and can become chronic. Having said that, I don't know if I would take on a dog with a pre-existing injury, unless it was the 'love of my life' and I couldn't say no. I would imagine that each case is an individual. We were lucky that there was no actual damage to the joint below the site of the break and he came through everything fine. So not all is doom and gloom from a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clover Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 No there are plenty of other dogs out there without injuries looking for homes. And i would not risk the poor dog doing more damage to itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zug Zug Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 Thanks for your feedback everyone. I think you have raised some important points for me to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zug Zug Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 I have decided I can't take this particular dog. A bit sad about it, because in almost every suspect she sounded wonderful. But in addition to the broken leg it appears she also had a soft tissue injury to her shoulder. I would hate to risk her future health and mobility by doing agility with her. And I really enjoy agility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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