Erica1 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Hi I'm new to this forum. I have a 4 month old GSD puppy. We paid for an agency in Canberra to take her on dog walks. On her first dog walk, the dog walker had an accident with her - our dog apparently got between her legs and one of her hind legs was broken at the growth plate. I just find it incredible that you can break a dog's leg like that! We were extremely upset. Our poor little dog had to have an operation. It will probably cost around $3,000 for the vet treatment, not that we care about the expense, we just want our puppy to recover. I'd like to know if any other dog owners have had a similar fracture in their dogs and if you would recommend anything to help in our dog's recovery. It will take 6 - 8 weeks for her to fully recover and we won't know about the long term effects until later (ie leg deformity, limp, growth problems). Thanks Erica Edited August 23, 2012 by Erica1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) How far did they walk her? Most breeders of pups would recommend no onlead walking for quite some months yet. ETA: All you'd need to do to break a pup's leg is tread on it. Edited July 19, 2012 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 ouch. poor pup .. Hope the surgery goes well, and that hse heals quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Poor little baby. Young puppies do break legs fairly easily and heal well but growth plates can be tricky. I too am a bit confused why a you would be walking a puppy that age for any longer than it takes to lead train. Does the dog walker carry insurance to cover your vet bills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica1 Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 It was only a short, leisurely walk, to get her to experience new things and to socialize her. I've read that you can take dogs on walks for 5 minutes for every month of their age which would mean she could be taken on a 20 minute walk. I just didn't think there would be any risks. It wasn't the walk that broke her leg, it was when she went between the legs of the dog walker. We can't get the agency to pay for the vet bills as they refuse to take any responsibility for any injuries. She's had her op, which went well. Now we have to hope there's no long term damage. Thanks for your good wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 It was only a short, leisurely walk, to get her to experience new things and to socialize her. I've read that you can take dogs on walks for 5 minutes for every month of their age which would mean she could be taken on a 20 minute walk. I just didn't think there would be any risks. It wasn't the walk that broke her leg, it was when she went between the legs of the dog walker.<br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); "><br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); ">We can't get the agency to pay for the vet bills as they refuse to take any responsibility for any injuries.<br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); "><br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); ">She's had her op, which went well. Now we have to hope there's no long term damage. <br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); ">Glad the op. went well . Good luck with keeping her quiet now ,as she recovers ! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Your poor baby My dog, now 17 months old, fracture her elbow in 3 places with 1 of the fractures through her growth plate when she was 11 weeks old. She had surgery and a screw and pin. The pin was removed as this was through the growth plate but the screw will sways stay. Today, you would never know this happened As you vet would have told you with a fracture throught the growth plate there is a change it could affect growth. Chances are though this wont happen. My recommendation is to get a crate for your puppy as the recovery from surgery is very important and therefore you need to keep your pup as quiet as you can. We crated our pup at night and when we were not home. Unfortunately this meant her spending a lot of time in her crate, but we decided her recovery was the most important thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Sorry to hear about your puppy My GSD broke his leg when he was 6 months old (running around the yard and collided with my other dog). It wasn't through the growth plate so can't help you there but was a spiral fracture and required an external fixatur, there is a screw still in there. I agree with buddy1 that a crate or other way to confine your pup is very important to be able to keep them quiet while they heal. Luckily Diesel was already crate trained when this happened but even so he did chew up his bedding, it is a stressful time keeping them quiet. He is now 8 1/2 years old. He walks and runs fine on the leg, it is not quite as good as the other one, does wobble a little bit/not as stable but doesn't seem to bother him. Good luck and keep us updated :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica1 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) Thanks for the suggestions. We've decided to keep her at the vet for another week so that her leg can have a good chance to heal. We've got a crate, which we use when she sleeps at night. We also bought a play pen on the advice of the vet. I still can't believe it! Our poor little puppy is going to have to spend a lot of time in the play pen and crate. The vet said they're happy with her progress. She's been bright and happy. We're not going to visit her too often, as it worries me when she starts to move around because she's so happy to see us. Edited July 21, 2012 by Erica1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atanquin Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hope your little darling recovers well, just wanted to say that to sounds a bit odd that the agency won't pay. There insurance would cover stuff like that they should be paying to cover bills as your pup was in their care at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pockets Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hope your little one recovers Quickly :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Glad she is staying in hospital for a while :) you have a crate - that's good .. BUT .. make sure there is plenty of room for the recovering leg to be stretched out fully and comfortably without touching the sides..and that there is plenty of turning around room/getting up on feet room without having to need to swivel that leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica1 Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 I'll check her crate when she comes home to make sure she has enough room to move around. I did check with the vet about the cage she's in at the clinic, and the vet didn't have any concerns about the room for her to move about. Thanks for the suggestion. Pups4fun didn't even offer to pay for any of the costs. Once you sign the waiver, you can't hold them responsible for any damage or injuries to your dog, other dogs etc. She's begun to use the leg again, which is good. I've found an animal physiotherapist who may do some work on her to help with her recovery. We miss her and hope there's no permanent damage to her leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I'll check her crate when she comes home to make sure she has enough room to move around. I did check with the vet about the cage she's in at the clinic, and the vet didn't have any concerns about the room for her to move about. Thanks for the suggestion. Pups4fun didn't even offer to pay for any of the costs. Once you sign the waiver, you can't hold them responsible for any damage or injuries to your dog, other dogs etc. She's begun to use the leg again, which is good. I've found an animal physiotherapist who may do some work on her to help with her recovery. We miss her and hope there's no permanent damage to her leg. You might want to see a lawyer about that. A disclaimer signed by a customer will not necessarily mean a company cannot be sued for breaching its duty of care. Waivers are not a "get out of jail free" card a company can pull out of their pocket when things go wrong. If they screwed up and this wasn't simply an accident then they might be liable. What I'd be very interested to know is how many other dogs the walker had on lead at the time. It ain't usually one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I don't know the company in question but there ARE many businesses who do only walk one dog or two dogs with owner's permission. While i do think their insurance would cover it, they may be reluctant to claim as their premium would go up significantly. While waivers can be challenged, i believe you would need to prove that there was negligence. Accidents can happen- it wouldn't take much to accidentally step on a pup and cause injury. I hope your pup heals well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica1 Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) I suppose we could try to sue them, but I think we would have to prove the dog walker was reckless or negligent. I think it would be difficult to prove. I agree that they should be held responsible if an injury occurs while they have your pet in their care. I understand that the dog walker only had my puppy with her. It happened near a children's day care centre, so I went to question the staff about it. The woman said the staff didn't see the incident, but they heard it. She said the dog walker only had my dog with her. But, I still can't understand that her leg could have been broken that easily! I wonder if she fell on her leg. Edited August 23, 2012 by Erica1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Accidents can happen- it wouldn't take much to accidentally step on a pup and cause injury. it only takes a bit of a tangle and a person shoving a foot down hard to try & balance themselves ... ermmm ..I have squashed pups' toes before today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 But, I still can't understand that her leg could have been broken that easily! Surprisingly it can happen very easily. When my pup fractured her elbow is 3 places she did this in the yard and we have no idea how! I have heard a story of a puppy breaking their leg while running in the yard because there was a small pot hole in the lawn. Like persephone said - puppies can get very tangled in the lead and also run back and forward behind and in front of the person walking. I think it would be extremely difficult to provide negligence. Therefore I think it is best to focus your energy on the pups recovery. From personal experience I found the worry of keeping my puppy quiet more stressful than the actual accident It is very likely it was just a very unfortunate accident:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I'm more curious why you're not out walking your own puppy, instead this is now an issue with the dog walker. Socialisation is also about bonding with your dog. Go visit that pup as much as you can in hospital so it can bond with you, not sit in a cage bored for another week. Liability insurance for businesses like this can sometimes include accidents but mostly they are for true negligence on behalf of the employee. Saying that you accepted their conditions of no responsibility taken when you sent the pup off with a stranger so really suing them will probably come end up with you forking out more then you get if anything at all considering you really have no proof of their wrong doing. This is a reason I dont let other people take my dogs out of my sight, even my family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I don't think its fair to judge the OP for using a dog walker. People use them for a variety of reasons (me included) and its not instead of me walking my dog, its to break up her day because she's home while I'm at work. I walk her each night, but she loves going out to the park twice a week with a few other dogs during the day. Accidents happen, and something like this could happen when you're walking your own dog, so leave the judgements at the door (hard to do on a place like DOL, I know ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now