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My senior dog has a broken leg. Vet says no surgery. What can I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Border Collie | Female | spayed | 14 years and 6 months old | 42 lbs

Hi, My 14 year old dog got hit by a vehicle and had its back right leg broke just above the knee joint, I brought her to my local vet who bandaged it up, gave her a painkiller and something to keep off infection but he said my options werent great, shes too old for an operation or amputation but this was 4 days ago and she still in great spirits eating and moving on 3 legs, i dont want to put her down when shes in such good form, any advice what i can do? thanks

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 21st, 2017

I am so sorry to hear about Brandy but happy that she seems to be doing well. Your options will really depend on the type/severity of the break. Some breaks can heal if bandaged/splinted without surgery if the bones are aligned well enough. If that is the case, you may be able to manage her under supervision of your vet with strict confinement and pain management and regular rechecking. If the leg is shattered into too many fragments for the leg to heal this way, you may have to make the tough decision of going ahead with surgery knowing that there is a risk. Even though she is an older dog, if she is otherwise healthy and has no known kidney/liver/heart disease she may do fine with surgery as long as she has good monitoring during anesthesia and supportive care after. If your vet isn't comfortable with this you may ask for a referral to a hospital that does more surgeries or a veterinary college that handles this type of case.

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