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Do you have questions regarding the health of your greyhound? Do you need tips what you should feed your dog? Or do you need advice in curing an injury?
Just had to put a hold on the schooling of a March bitch due to slight metacarpal soreness. I remember a guest lecturer at a Skillnets session saying that in U.S.A. all pups have their wrists taped whilst schooling and this prevents metacarpal problems but when I asked my own vet who is also a Skillnets lecturer he said that whilst taping will give a modicum of support, if a dog is going to have a metacarpal problem then the strapping wont prevent it. To which my reaction was, then why bother. May I have peoples opinions please based on their own experiences with their own dogs. I concluded a long time ago that in common with other race injuries, its the faster, keener dogs that break metaparpals, anyone not agree with that?
Andrew Plaiser Australia (Verified User) Posts 3904 Dogs 17 / Races 36 06 Apr 2007 09:53
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usually the way,good dogs always get more injuries it seems,also believe ur vet,any strapping supports, cant c it preventing damage.still mite b good idea in breaking in pups.
Patrick Higgins Australia (Verified User) Posts 1292 Dogs 9 / Races 2 06 Apr 2007 10:59
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I beleive proper strapping of wrists greatly takes the pressure off the meticarples when jumping from the traps plus on the bends,I know it worked for me.Do you notice the number of top trainers taping their Dog's wrists, I have and I feel they are doing it for the reason I've sugested and had success with doing this. regards Paddy.
Mark Glennerster United Kingdom (Verified User) Posts 3208 Dogs 0 / Races 0 06 Apr 2007 11:32
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I see very few pups with wrists or metacarpals taped here in the States. A lot of shin soreness etc. is actually missed over here.
I know of one trainer that if he gets a bit of shin soreness he may wrap them when he first starts them back after treatment.
Since i started doing it never had a problem.Ray Cuddihy showed me how to do it properly and since then no hassle.He also told me he told a top kennel that was having a lot of meta injuries to start strapping their saplings up . They did and they rarely go to him now with this injury. David
I would like to thank the four respondents for their experiences, pity there were not more as I am sure that metacarpal injuries are a universal problem. General concensus then is that strapping is benefical so I will give it a try, I have an 80lb pup that I will not have schooled until he is at least seventeen months but that will be a real test will it not.
Mark Glennerster United Kingdom (Verified User) Posts 3208 Dogs 0 / Races 0 07 Apr 2007 10:05
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Metacarpal injuries are caused by repetitive strain, by not giving enough time between runs when first starting young dogs on the oval track. Age does not appear to be all that relevant as even older dogs when first started arround the turns suffer the same problems, even dogs that have been off with an injury for some time can get them.
Strapping the metacarpals does give some support but you want the metacarpals to come under strain and remodel, its a natural proccess.
If you are breaking in your own dogs you can space the runs out to suit but if you send your pups away to a breaker it is very unlikely that they will get this type of treatment.
If your dog comes up with a sore shin, easily detected by firm pressure over the individual metacarpal bones, you must treat the problem before returning to bend work or a more serious condition could follow. The two metacarpals most effected are the right fore inner and the left fore rail outer.
As Dave said there is a right and a wrong way to strap any injury and knowing the correct methods are very important.
the way i do it is to get somebody to hold up one front leg by doing that the dog will then hold the other leg straight,then with an elastic bandage strap the wrist in a figure of 8.
David, Sorry to hear about your pup, hopefully he will recover without any ill-effects. Now, the wrist taping I have seen has always been with 'Vetwrap' which is a most excellant product. When you say 'elastic bandage' are you refering to something else since Vetwrap is some 80mm wide all one can do is just wrap it around the wrist. If you wanted to do a figure of eight you would have to cut the Vetwrap into strips and I am sure you dont mean this. If by elastic bandage you mean 'Crepe' bandage that seems a bit ham fisted. Having decided to always strap wrists I want to make sure I am doing it right, sorry to labour the point.
Mark Glennerster United Kingdom (Verified User) Posts 3208 Dogs 0 / Races 0 08 Apr 2007 17:27
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John,
Don't know about Ireland but we can get vetwrap here in 1", 1 1/2" and 2" widths.
Thanks Mark, didnt know tnat, better check. Do you agree with Davids description?
Mark Glennerster United Kingdom (Verified User) Posts 3208 Dogs 0 / Races 0 08 Apr 2007 19:37
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John,
I have never applied a figure of eight strapping to a dog, humans, yes, and we always use zinc oxide tape which is not elasticated.
The idea of any strapping is to support the structures from excessive motion, and understanding the motions any greyhound joint goes through is fundamental to the way you apply the support strapping.
With greyhounds running anti-clockwise arround the bends, this means more stress is being placed on the medial aspects of the offside (right) joints and muscules, whereas its the lateral aspect that comes under most pressure on the nearside (left). This is why the inside metacarpal on the right and the rail side metacarpal on the left are the most commonly injured, and any support for these areas must address the strains placed on these structures. If you strap them without taking this into consideration you may as well not be doing it.
john,by straping in a figure of 8 from above to below the wrist it still allows the wrist to flex,and you can get the vetwrap in smaller sizes here if you cant just cut the roll with a stanley knife
Just had a call from a buddy of mine,Brendan R., took a pup to Mullinahone yesturday, taped the wrists in a figure of eight, (below the wrist). The track manager said, " thats a waste of time, if your dog is going to break a metacarpal then he's gonna break a metacarpal", gave him a handslip and the dog broke a metacarpal. What the hell do you do!
Mark Glennerster United Kingdom (Verified User) Posts 3208 Dogs 0 / Races 0 09 Apr 2007 11:30
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John,
Dogs don't just break metacarpals unless they are invoved in a major collision.
I bet the dog already had a stress fracture that your buddy had missed and I honestly do not see how a figure of eight strapping would support the meatacarpals, the wrist, yes, metacarpals, no.
Dont know about strapping a wrist like that, but john get someone to hold up one leg as another post suggested, to get the weight on one leg, get 5cm elastic bandage,put some cotton wool under the dew claw and wrap the bandage 3 times anti-clockwise around the MT area.I usually put a small bit of tape to hold it closed.
Do you have questions regarding the health of your greyhound? Do you need tips what you should feed your dog?
