When a Boxer Dog Has a Broken Leg

Let's look over some stats in regard to Boxer dogs and broken bones. Then, we'll take a look at what happened to Titus. We'll follow with some steps you can take to try to prevent this from happening to your Boxer. 

Though the limbs are the most common body parts that suffers from fractures and broken bones, there are other areas as well such as the skull and spine. The prevalence of where breaks occur and how often this happens, varies quite a bit depending on the size of the dog breed. 

Though this is not a fragile breed by any measure and some broken bones are due to quite serious accidents, below is a chart showing the most common reasons. 

The next top reason is falling from too far of a height, followed by both sporting accidents and rough play. Puppies and seniors are most prone to the latter 3. 

There are several different ways to classify how a bone is broken. Fracture vs clean, or incomplete vs complete are the most common. 

In essence:

With breaks that are able to be set in casts with any surgery, young puppies tend to heal faster than adults, often in as little as 4 weeks. Older adult Boxer dogs may need up to 8 weeks. 

If surgery is needed to repair a compound or comminuted fracture, it can take 3 months or more for a Boxer to be fully healed. Physical therapy may be needed in some cases, particularly if a dog has learned to favor one or more limbs.

One issue seen with Boxers that are still growing, is that the broken leg may be shorter then the other limbs. In many cases, once the cast is removed the dog can play 'catch up', with all limbs eventually being even. 

Below, we have some Q&A with his owner Ashley, to find out what happened. 

A: Over $1,000.

Q: Was this a fracture or a clean break?

A: It was a clean break.

Q: How long did the cast need to remain on and was he given any pain medication?

A: The cast stayed on for 6 weeks, and he was given pain meds, but only for the first few days. 

Q: How did he handle having the cast on?

A: He did really well with cast. It was just a little bit of a challenge for us trying to potty train a puppy with a cast and not get it wet. We had to put little baby socks on the cast to protect it. Every time he would go potty we had to lift the broken leg out of the way to make sure that it would not get wet. 

A. Thankfully, no signs at all. He runs so fast it is scary! His leg was much smaller and fragile then his others. But it grew to the same size of his other legs right away. Now you can't even tell.

Q: In hindsight, was there anything you would have done differently aside from segregating the two? Or was it one of those odd, random things that could not be prevented?

A: Of course we wished it would have never happened to him. We were just getting ready for bed and Titus and Odin started to play and it was an accident. These 2 dogs are best buds.

1. Do not allow your Boxer to be off leash outside. With being hit by a passing car the #1 reason for receiving broken bones, and there is of course a possibility of a fatal accident, take steps that your Boxer cannot take off running off leash.

2. With jumping from heights & sporting events (Frisbee, etc.) the next top causes, it's up to you to supervise your Boxer in regard to what he can and cannot handle. 

3. Since rough play is the 4th top cause, don't assume that two dogs will automatically play together with the exact right amount of force and restraint. It's really easy for dogs to be having fun and get carried away. 

In multiple dog households, while you do want to encourage your dogs to be friends, it's best to offer very close supervision until the dogs are either close in size or have proven themselves to show control in regard to enthusiasm.