Mystiqview Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 It is a great reminder to secure your favourite pooch in a moving car. My partner was driving home from Landcruiser Mountain Park last Sunday afternoon from a weekend of four wheel driving. On the way out of the park, Faith decided to jump out the window. He was travelling about 50km/hr. The person following him is a fairly good knowledgeable dog breeder and felt for obvious injuries. Nothing broken. When my partner got home, I felt for the same and could not feel anything obvious. I had some pain medication and anti-inflammatory medication I had. Monday morning, he took her to the Vet. After doing X-rays, they found she had dislocated her hip in a bad way. Most dogs will dislocate up and forward. Faith had dislocated back and down and by doing this caused further damage to the bottom of the hip socket cup. They tried to put the hip back in once, but common with this injury, it does not stay there. The only options available to us were: Put in a toggle and tie ( we went for this option as a preference but advised if the damage to the socket, too great to go with next option) Remove the head of the femur then build up the muscle to support a false joint. An operation commonly used to correct dogs with hip dysplacia. Amputation (not discussed or considered at this point) Put faith to sleep ( again not considered or discussed) She had the femoral head removed and stayed in hospital for 5 days. She came home yesterday. We now have a very long road ahead of recouperation, and physio. She can never jump, and we have to always keep her lean and the muscles in peak condition right into old age. On my way down to the vets yesterday to pick her up, I was following a little Hyundai i20 and sitting in the lap of the passenger was a small white fluffy who was not restrained and hanging half out the window. In 20 years of me owning dogs, I have never had a dog jump out the window of a moving car. I have always had mine restrained or windows up to prevent this. My partner is normally the same. He said he cannot remember winding the window down all the way, and normally faith is strapped in with a harness. Timely reminder of what can happen if you don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckandsteve Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Im so sorry must be so stressful for you Healing thoughts for faith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Best wishes for a speedy recovery Faith... gentle hugs from me... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 so sorry to hear about Faith, but you would be amazed at how well they can still manage. I dont intentionally drive with the windows down although with modern windows the dogs can open them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crickets Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I hope your dog recovers well. A very unfortunate accident. I have had 1 client lose their dog after it jumped off the front passengers lap at 100kph. The passenger was holding the dog while letting it put it's feet on the window ledge with it's head out. Another had their 4 dogs bouncing around the car like a pack of loons with all the windows dangerously low when one dog bailed at low speed in my driveway. It lived but was quite broken & never the same again. Every day I see clients with dogs bouncing around their cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I was once being followed by a car, kids in it, SWF hanging out the window. Not restrained, young girl holding the dog. Luckily we stopped at a red light. I got out of the car and told them off. Described what would happen if she dropped the dog. Told them to put the dog in the back seat and buy a dog harness. Got a squeak of 'Okay, thanks!' and dog was pulled back in, handed to someone in the back, and all the windows pulled up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 (edited) I was at Renbury once and was just picking up some little dogs and getting them into crates, my own was travelling in a harness on the front seat but I always get them out to toilet (I don't take them in hot weather by the way). Owner of a huge cross bull breed had just picked him up. No collar, no lead, just sitting on his front seat. He had both his and the passenger windows open. Suddenly as the dog saw me carrying one of my small dogs it almost launched himself through the driver's window as I was putting the dog into a harness on the front seat. I quickly shut the door and the guy only just managed to hold on to him and I recommended that he didn't drive along with his windows open in case they saw another dog walking along the road ... Edited February 22, 2013 by dogmad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystiqview Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 so sorry to hear about Faith, but you would be amazed at how well they can still manage. I dont intentionally drive with the windows down although with modern windows the dogs can open them! She is managing surprisingly well, considering surgery was only Wednesday and everything is still swollen and sore. The vets have advised she can still lead a reasonably normal life but there will be things that she will not be able to do or more importantly SHOULD be allowed to do. They also said, it is very important for her to not get fat and to ensure the muscles are well developed to support that side as she does not have a hip socket any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 What a sad thing to have happened to poor Faith. I wish her all the best in her recovery!! I never travel with my car windows down anymore and they are always locked with the driver lock button. I was visiting a friend 1.5 hours away and I forgot how excited my guys get as I pull the car into her street. As I slowed to enter her driveway, Kirah had put her feet on the window button opening it and jumped out. She was dangling by her collar out the window while I stopped the car and immediately jumped out to save her. No injuries thank Dog but I've had the windows locked ever since. They usually travel in harnesses too, but I'd neglected to use one on this one trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tralee Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I hope all goes well Mystiqview. I have recently provided an arthrodesis for a dogs wrist. I think the treatment for your dog is odd. I had a dislocated shoulder and they operated to repair the cuff to prevent the shoulder continuously dislogding. Anyway, good on you for putting the dog first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I think the treatment for your dog is odd. I had a dislocated shoulder and they operated to repair the cuff to prevent the shoulder continuously dislogding. The options provided to Mystiqview are quite normal. The majority of dogs that dislocate a coxofemoral joint do end up having a femoral head ostectomy (regardles of whether it is a GP or specialist performing the surgery) due to the severity of the damage to the joint capsule and surrounding tissues including the muscle attachments. Replacing the femoral head into the acetabulum under general anaesthetic is always attempted, however in my experience is usually pretty unrewarding. Recovery of function from an FHO is usually very good with adequate after care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosetta Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Poor Faith - hope she recovers OK. What really gives me the horrors are dogs on the back of utes - very few of them are properly restrained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coogie Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Mystiqview, I'm really sorry to hear about Faith, hope she is doing ok. It is about 14 months since our girl Issy had the same operation following a hip dislocation of the same nature and you are right it is a long road. However if you saw her today you would have to look hard to see the slight wastage in her muscle on that leg. I think our best weapon has been hydrotherapy - twice a week to start with and now a once a week session to maintain her. She has also had a lot of physio - initially with Lesley Harrison at UQ and more recently with the wonderful Chris from Foundations Physiotherapy.Both Lesley and Chris teach owners the exercises and massage techniques which we still use to keep her as flexible as possible. One thing I found frustrating was the fact that it was not a linear journey, in the first few months she would have long stretches of no limping only to randomly come up lame for a week. We were lucky in that we had a great ortho as well, he would call to ask our vet to dispense meds to save a trip in and so she could get back on the anti inflammatories for a few days while it settled again,signs of lameness are very rare now. We use a ramp for the car and have gated the stairs at the front of the house to try and prevent explosive dashes up and down. I know you are an extremely experienced owner and breeder so will most likely be on to everything anyway- but if you do ever want to chat about any post op stuff please pm me. I found it hard to find anyone else who had a dog who had had the same surgery until we went to hydro. Photos are 1 week post op and 9 months post op. She has improved the muscle tone a lot more since but can't find a picture of her back end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleDuck Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Hope she heals well, poor little girl. My old dog Riff jumped out a window once as the car away from the lights. Lil bugger was fine, he ran across the road and dove into the fish and chip shop before anyone could catch him :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystiqview Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 I hope all goes well Mystiqview. I have recently provided an arthrodesis for a dogs wrist. I think the treatment for your dog is odd. I had a dislocated shoulder and they operated to repair the cuff to prevent the shoulder continuously dislogding. Anyway, good on you for putting the dog first. How is it odd? While a shoulder and hip are both ball and socket joints. Their movement is different. It also greatly depends on the damage done during the injury. As I had said, the preferred option was a toggle and tie. Basically they drill through the femoral head, attach nylon threat to a toggle or I suppose for better description a bolt in the hip socket. This operation has a success rate of between 50-80% as if the animal puts a lot of downward pressure on that leg/joint, the nylon can snap (much the same as the hip ligament torn during her accident) As I had also said the most common dislocation is for the joint to move forward and up. This is easier to repair as the cuff is not as damaged and there is some support left in the socket to help hold it together until the scar tissue etc is formed. There was another operation of screws, but given the way it had dislocated, was not advisable in this particular case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 So sorry to hear about Faith. Fingers crossed for a good recovery for her - and lots of patience for you. It's good news that she's recovering well already. Good opportunity to renew warnings about restraints. My puppy class at dog club gets these reminders quite frequently. My guys travel in their wire crates - so I had to get a car big enough to fit the crates in :laugh: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Oh, these stories - there is always something waiting to go wrong even with the most caring and careful owners. Hopefully Faith (beautiful name) will make a very good recovery and continue to be a happy girl. I've had two experiences with dogs going out and nearly going out of windows and, each time, I thought I'd taken all the care necessary for their safety. Dogs will continue to surprise and scare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Sorry about Faith, hope she heals quickly. The other day my sister rocked up with her dog just sitting loosely in the back seat in her bed...she has a harness, so no excuse. The only way I could get her to put her in was to tell her it was the law and Goulburn is the last place you want to break the law (due to the number of cops). We never have the windows open due to flying debri. Also, I hate the noise of a window down when driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystiqview Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 So sorry to hear about Faith. Fingers crossed for a good recovery for her - and lots of patience for you. It's good news that she's recovering well already. Good opportunity to renew warnings about restraints. My puppy class at dog club gets these reminders quite frequently. My guys travel in their wire crates - so I had to get a car big enough to fit the crates in :laugh: . Mine are strapped in when travelling. I have a duel cab ute with canopy and cage and they will travel in that normally. She tried to jump once while strapped in (more like lunged) on the way home from a show as she likes to snap at cars passing by. This particular time she liked to snap and "chase" the parked cars. Problem with crates is if they are not strapped in too, in an emergency they can go flying through a window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Sorry about Faith, hope she heals quickly. The other day my sister rocked up with her dog just sitting loosely in the back seat in her bed...she has a harness, so no excuse. The only way I could get her to put her in was to tell her it was the law and Goulburn is the last place you want to break the law (due to the number of cops). We never have the windows open due to flying debri. Also, I hate the noise of a window down when driving. Despite the number of times this comes up on DOL - people keep perpetuating the myth it is the law to restrain. There is no law that says you have to restrain your dog in the back of a car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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