07/11/2025
Cookie's story!
Cookie is an adorable Cockerpoo puppy, who broke her tibia when she was just 5 months old.
The injury happened when she was racing around in a field, and she immediately yelped and would not bear any weight on the leg. Her owners rushed her in to us and she was seen by Fiona. Fiona could tell by examining her that something was amiss, so administered pain relief and sedation and took x-rays.
X-rays showed a spiral fracture to her left tibia. The smaller bone bone running alongside the tibia, the fibula, was still intact and was offering some support.
Bone fractures are nearly always treated surgically, using plates, screws, pins and wires to repair the break. Casts are not normally used as they are difficult to keep in place and rubs from the cast often develop before the break has time to heal.
In Cookie's case however, she was young enough that rapid healing was expected, and the fracture extended very close to the joint, meaning that surgery would be tricky. We opted to treat her fracture with a full limb cast.
The cast was carefully applied with extra padding over the bony bits, and was removed each week to check for skin damage and reapplied. The fracture healed quickly, so she only needed to wear the cast for 4 weeks. Being a bouncy young puppy it was difficult to keep her calm whilst not allowed to run around, but her owners did a great job of caring for her during this tricky time. The x-rays show the bone at the time of the initial injury, and the healing progress after 4 weeks.
After not being able to use her leg properly for 4 weeks, it was left quite weak. Our friends at South Coast Hydrotherapy are now helping to improve her strength and mobility with regular hydrotherapy sessions.
Cookie is a lovely little girl and we are delighted with her progress!
