Thank you for the reply Jerry. I called my vet this morning and sent pictures of Dawson's elbow. My husband and I have been sling walking him and carrying him. He has a harness as well. Most days he will hop/crawl on his old bed (he has a big orthopedic bed he sleeps on in the house) and I will pull him outside like he is on a sled. He will crawl off into the grass and do his business and then crawl back on the bed and I will pull the bed back inside. He is a large breed guardian dog so getting him around has been a challenge but he is very intelligent has maintained his happy personality. 

I changed his bandage this morning and it looks like his elbow is protruding out of the skin a little bit. He does not appear to be in any pain and allows me to do whatever I need to with his elbow. He is eating and going to the bathroom like normal. He is taking antibiotics, thyroid tabs, Prednisone, and a joint supplement.

This Sunday 8/23 will be 4 weeks since he first injured his elbow (before it ruptured) and has not been able to walk on his own. He tries but just falls over and cannot bear any weight on that front right leg. I am really concerned about his lack of mobility and especially the open wound on his elbow that is protruding out. I will get in to see my vet today but advice from fellow tripawd parents would be greatly appreciated. 

Dawson and I were in the yard about 4 weeks ago. He had to have fallen or twisted his elbow because when we were ready to go inside he couldn't bear weight on his front right leg and he was knuckling his paw (his paw was rolling over and he could not use it). The vet told me it looked like an old injury where a small piece of the elbow had been chipped and Dawson had aggravated it causing it to swell and him not to be able to use it. He told me that it would probably rupture, which it did and that is what caused the open wound. 

Friday I took him to the vet to have the drain removed. The removal was quick and went well but 1 stitch appeared to be coming out. The vet told me the location of the wound would make it hard to heal, to change the bandage daily, keep an eye on it and bring him back Wednesday. From Friday to last night (Sunday) all the stitches have busted and the elbow almost looks like it is protruding out. He has stayed inside on his dog bed and has been good about resting. I have been keeping it bandaged with extra padding and he is on a large orthopedic dog bed . I just wanted to get advice from others specifically related to tripawds. The pictures are from Sunday night. 

Thank you Jerry. I hope this works. Please let me know if I still did not upload the photos correctly. 

Thank you Stacy for letting me know. I am trying to upload the pictures. 🙂 

I am trying this photo thing one more time. I created a blog and added these photos and I am hoping I followed the directions correctly. Jerry I will email these to you as well just in case. 

Stacy, to answer your question my name is Sierra.

Dawson elbow picture 4

Dawson elbow picture 1

Dawson elbow picture 2

Dawson elbow picture 3

Thank you Stacy for letting me know. I am so glad they came through! 

I talked to my vet yesterday and he said the wound was proud flesh and he did not think we could close it up. He is mainly concerned that Dawson has not been able to walk in almost 4 weeks. He thinks there is a deeper orthopedic issue and that we might be coming to the end of the line. He said if Dawson had 4 legs it would not be as big of a problem but he cannot be non mobile. He thinks that I probably should make a decision in the next few days. I have been praying about everything and trying to determine what the best decision is for Dawson. 

Jerry, I plan on getting another opinion for sure! This is an usual situation and I’m hopeful I can find a way to help Dawson. We aren’t giving up just yet! 
Also, I am so thankful for this tripawd community. I could not have navigated (and still navigating) this whole 3 legged journey without it!