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Injured Lab Question.. HELP!


BRB

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Just wanted to see if any of you have experienced this with your hunting dogs.

I have a 1 1/2 year old black lab who I’ve really been excited to hunt with this year but unfortunately that has been put on hold for the time being.

When the problem occurred. Of course while I was on the road for work my wife called and told me that she was playing catch in the back yard throwing the ball maybe 20ft at max and our dog slipped and kind of rolled over himself (from what she said). After that she noticed that he was limping a little bit nothing to bad, but he didn’t want to play catch anymore. When I got home we took him to the vet who provided us with an anti inflammatory. And told us to rest him (leash only for 4 weeks). This was perfect timing because we were getting him fixed so the rest would be easy. The anti inflammatory and rest seemed like it was working at the end of the 4 weeks, my wife and I were heading out of town and we left our dog with my parents who also have a 4 year old black lab. I told my dad to take it easy with our dog due to the circumstances. When we went to pick our dog up we noticed he was limping again and I asked my dad how much activity did our dog get, he said that took his dog and our on a walk through taller grass looking for pheasants for no longer then a half a mile. So here we go again back to the vet and this time having an orthopedic surgeon look at him. They took x rays and nothing appeared to be abnormal. He recommended again 4 weeks leash only with an RX for anti inflammatory. So here we are now. It has been at the end of the 4 weeks again he seemed to be doing a little better until we had to bring him again to my parents and he was off leash for a little bit playing around with my parents older lab. And as soon as we got him back he was limping for a few days. I have told my dad servral to take it easy with our he is trying to heal. But he is the type where, ” hes a dog he will be fine in a few days. So after consulting with the vet again, they are referring us to the U of M vet clinic where we will be meeting with an orthopedic again. I kept asking our vet is this something serious enough to be needing surgery…… she didn’t think so. The guess was soft tissue damage, ie torn muscle or strained muscle. How long do these things take to heal. Basically what it comes down to is that I dont want to take him to the U of M bay $250 to meet with an orthopedic and do an MRI which is $1500 just to have them say he needs to rest more.

If he has no activity for 3-4 days, the limp is barley noticeable.But anytime he is off the leash trotting around a little bit then he will limp the next day. When we work his shoulder it doesn’t seem to bother him or be an any type of pain. The first orthopedic said he got a little bit of a reaction on abduction rotation, but wasn’t to bad.

Sorry for the long story but I’m getting really frustrated with the amount of money spent with basically not getting any answers.It is killing me not knowing what’s going on. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

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Man that is a tough situation I don't know what I would do. Maybe hold off on the mri and go like 6 weeks with strict rest and see how it goes. I would say too that I wouldn't hunt him at all this year regardless on if he seems to be better or not.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

I would check with another vet first that might much cheaper than u of m. I know by there is 3 vets in Princeton. I know vet in the metro charge more than here. As Zach said try more rest and don't let your dad watch your dog for the 6 weeks. I know it is hunting season but it's better allow your dog to heal. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Went to the U of M. They ended up doing a joint tap where they inject dye into to see where there is cloudiness. By doing this they can usually tell if it's a ligament or muscle/tendon injury from what I understand. This is a much cheaper approach then doing an MRI. The results came back and more then likely he has a torn muscle in his front shoulder, which is way better news then dealing with a torn ligament. So, he was prescribed an anti inflammatory and basically told to take it easy and not hunt with him this year, which just kills me. But I'm looking at the long term benefits in doing it the right way 

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

Well it great you figured it out. Sorry you can't hunt with your dog.

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It will be worth the wait! I'd say missing one season isn't as bad as injuring it worse and never being able to hunt him! I'm glad the u of m was able to help you.  keep is updated on how he is doing. Lets see a picture of him! I will be hoping for a full recovery for him

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On 11/8/2016 at 11:54 PM, ZachD said:

Good looking dog what are you planning on hunting with him waterfowl upland or both?

Thanks! The bottom two pics are of him when he was 8-11 months. I plan on hunting both with him. 

So bummed I cant hunt him this year. I was so eager to get out with him this year. He really blew me away in the field last year at 8 months and now this...........

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

Sorry to hear but just think about the next 9 to 12 years. 

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  • 2 months later...

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • gimruis
      I hunt in the rifle zone so I don't have a need to use a shotgun to hunt deer, but I would be looking at this if there was ever a need to.   There could be state legislation introduced next summer that eliminates the shotgun zone completely.  It has bipartisan support.  Wisconsin removed theirs years ago and MN is usually later to follow.  They've tried to pass it more than once and it came up just short both times.  Probably just a matter of time.
    • Wanderer
      Oh, h e l l no! 
    • leech~~
      Screw that, here's whatch need!  😆   Power-Shok Rifled Slug 10 Gauge 766 Grain Grain Weight: 766 Shotshell Length: 3-1/2in / 89mm Muzzle Velocity: 1280
    • Wanderer
      20 ga has become a real popular deer round in the last 5 or so years.  The rifled barrels are zinging those sabot slugs with rifle like accuracy out to 100 yards easily.  Some go so far as dialing in for a 200 yard shot but really, by 150 they’re falling off pretty low.   I have a single shot Ultraslug in 20 ga that shoots really well at 100 yards.  Most everyone I know that has bought a slug gun lately has gotten the Savage 220 in 20ga.  Problem can be finding the shells you want.
    • leech~~
      My son always bugs me about getting a nice light over-under 20ga for grouse hunting.  I say Heck no, I'm getting a 3 1/2" 10ga so I can put as much lead in the air that I can!!     So, I'm keeping my 12ga.  
    • 11-87
      That’s almost exactly what I was thinking.  Have slug barrels for both   One for turkey and one for deer.      I have a 20ga mosseberg as well. (Combo came with the scope but never used.   I always liked the 12 better
    • leech~~
      Wanderer is right on the money and covered it well.  I was wondering too if you had a slug barrel for one of your guns?  If so you could make that your slug gun with a scope, and the other your turkey gun with the Red dot.  As you can afford it. 
    • Wanderer
      Kinda depends on if you want magnification or quick target acquisition.   More magnification options and better accuracy with a scope.  You get what you pay for too so get comfortable with a budget for one.  Tasco and Bushnell work but I find they lose their zero easier, have low contrast and don’t gather light well in low light conditions.  That said, I’m still using one I haven’t replaced yet.  Vortex has been the hot brand for the past several years for bang for the buck.  Good products.  Nothing beats Swarovski though.  Huge dough for those.  Burris is another decent option.   There are some specific models for shotgun/slug hunting in the economy brands and bullet drop compensation (BDC) reticles.  Based on experience I’d recommend not falling for that marketing ploy.   Red dots are usually lower magnification and easier to get on target.  Reasonably accurate but don’t do well with definition, like searching the brush for your target.  I put a HAWKE red dot on a .22 for squirrels and it’s been good.  For turkey, that’s probably the route I’d go.     If your slug shots are normally not too far and too brushy, I’d think a red dot could work there too if you’re only buying 1 scope.  You’ll be better off dimming the reticle to the lowest setting you can easily use to not over shine the target and get a finer aim point.   If you don’t have a slug barrel, you might appreciate one of those.  I had a browning with a smoothbore slug barrel that shot Brenneke 2-3/4 inch well.  The 11-87 would well fitted with a cantelever rifled barrel. 
    • 11-87
      Looking for recommendations on scope or red dot    I basically hunt turkey and whitetail, live in southern MN. So it’s all deer/ shotgun    looking to add a scope/ red dot as my eyes don’t work like they used to to with the open sights.    my gun options are 11/87 12. Browning BPS 12    not looking for the most expensive or the cheapest    pros and cons of one over the other
    • SkunkedAgain
      That's good news. I haven't seen any ice in Black Bay yet, but it looks like the small bays should start to freeze up this weekend. Hopefully we make some ice next week.   Below is the forecast for Cook. We should have temps mostly below zero . The bottom section below shows that it should not be windy, and no snow is predicted. All good signs for making ice.  
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