New puppy questions

RosiePosie · 11-25-2012, 04:53 PM

Hello, I have a few questions about my 6 month old puppy.

Rosie went "into season" at 5 months. ?? We weren't expecting to get her spayed until 6-8 months because we didn't expect her to go into heat before then. I called the breeder and she said that it was very early and has never had a dog go into heat before 7 months. She said that her dogs usually go into heat much later. Should I be concerned?

A few weeks ago Rosie got very excited when a friend came over and when she jumped up (like a circus dog) she fell down hard on wood floors on her hind leg. She limped a bit and it seemed a bit sore when she'd sleep on it, but didn't favor it. Yesterday, she slipped off the couch when my children took their eyes off of her and there was a library book on the edge of the couch that made it slippery for her. Eeek. We were so scared and we took her to the vet right away. She checked out okay (hips and knees did not feel luxated and her patellas were in the right place) and came home with pain meds and orders to not walk, jump, or run. She is still not putting any weight on it. We are very concerned. We're giving her lots of TLC and we're carrying her out to do her business. Has this happened to anyone's pup?

TIA!

Becky Chittenden · 11-25-2012, 05:12 PM

Need to keep her off the furniture for a while, especially unattended or with the children. I, too, haven't heard of one coming in season so early.

Gabs · 11-25-2012, 07:37 PM

mine pulled a muscle in her hind leg at 6 months (from jumping up and down on her hind legs...slipped and fell). She needed to be on rest for 6 - 8weeks (no jumping, running etc it was challenging to keep her quiet but we did) it healed fine and hasn't happened since (she's 1.5 yrs).

sprorchid · 11-25-2012, 08:16 PM

my pup was a mad jumper. I mean, since I got him at 8 wks old, he'd leap off of any surface. turns out at 6 months old, playing with a tall 20 lbs dog I was pup sitting, hip checked my ollie (8 lbs at the time), into a wall and broke ollie's leg.

did you get an xray? I would. just to be sure. there is a very common puppy injury, right below the patella is a small bone that has growth plates on either said of it, making it suspectible to breaking very easily, which is what ollie broke. they operated to insert pins to hold that small bone in place. Ollie was super hard to sedate or keep still, he actually bent one of the pins, and took a while to heal up b/c he was so active on his broken leg, dork.

He still gets water on the knee b/c of that injury, the pins rub a little on the skin causing inflammation and water building up (jumping is the worst for it). they would have to put him under to take the pins out, which isn't really worth it. I really limit his jumping even now at age 3.

don't mess around, get an xray, it's the only way you'll know for sure what's going on.

RosiePosie · 11-25-2012, 08:24 PM

Thanks for the replies.

I should note that she fell on to carpet and not wood floors (thank goodness!) And, our breeder did tell us to be very careful with our children watching her, but in their defense...they are usually good caretakers of her. They really are. They love her and treat her like a newborn. The library book shouldn't have been there and that's why she slipped -- and we try our best to keep her from jumping. This is a good reminder though, and I will definitely not allow her to be on furniture without an adult.

Our vet recommended that we watch her and if she's still favoring her limb on Monday, then we should get an x-ray. I am pretty certain she'll still be limping because she hasn't put any weight on it since the accident. Fingers crossed that it's just soft tissue damage.

Gabs, 6-8 weeks on rest -- eek! That would be tough for our little girl who likes to be in the middle of everything.

Gabs · 11-26-2012, 05:08 PM

we got an xray done too.

Yes, the rest for 6-8 weeks was very challenging to say the least but we got through it & she fully healed ... it was most difficult taking her out to potty (because she wanted to "zoom" so much!). The 1st couple of weeks were the most important to make sure she healed, then we gradually added things and by 6 weeks she was walking again on a leash.

They are still growing & developing at 6 months which makes them more vulnerable to injuries like these