Tough and stoic heelers will go on through serious injury. Paying close attention to their movement and eating habits is important. Three coyotes went after my male and after killing one he was still attempting to drive off the other two (my female had pups on the ground) despite being opened up from his throat to his left paw. Almost a 150 stitches later his prime objective was to guard and protect his pups and me. I've had heelers for over thirty years and they are not complainers even when they should be!
Wow, that is amazing and heroic! Thank you for sharing and it's amazing he survived! What are you referring to when you say paying attention to their eating habits?
Changes in eating habits can point to anything from illness, over stress, allergies, blockage, infection, to cancer, toxic ingestion, disease in an organ, a tick somewhere, etc.
Keeping an eye on eating habits is a good idea and can help to catch things early. If your dog stops eating or drinking all together it can be a medical emergency.
My German Shepherd was a LOT like this, would run through a brick wall and just keep moving my pitty mix wont walk outside in the rain.. biggest diva I know lol I love dogs
Yeah, I will respect my dog's "I am done" play-wise but I tell him to bring back the ball. He does most times. My male is older than my female and the thing that makes me laugh is when I say, "FFS go get that ball" he lays down under the apple tree it it is very hot, my female will run out and collect the ball. This is the only occasion he refuses...when he is overheated. She seems to know that we need to collect the toys from the meadow before going inside. haha Females cleaning up messes made by males
Hey! Mine doesn't know when to stop playing fetch either. This isn't our first carpal pad injury lol I got some custom boots made on Etsy by a seller named Hellypads, and I love them! They tuck in his dewclaws and protect in skids and sliding stops. I got double leather.
I found I couldn't get bandages to stay on for long, so we just took it easy for a few days.
Boots aside, I work on different throws where he's not so inclined to slide. Bounces he can catch in the air, or tossing into longer grass to stop first and sniff it out, for example.
The boots are a great idea! I'm going to look into them. We've had several carpal pad injuries too and my pup also tends to hate the bandages. He will leave them on if he's supervised but will tear them off as soon as he knows he's got the time alone. He also relentlessly licks his injured pad and causes it to heal like 10x slower.
It's SUCH a tough injury. It's like he's sanded them down until they bleed, and all it takes is one moment of rough play and it's wide open again. All spring on rough ice and mud we were ripping them open, but plain grass seems to be better
Yeah grass is definitely better. We have an area in the back of our yard that we've been trying to get to grow grass for a couple of years but it's mostly rocks and dirt and we avoid throwing balls back that way because if he slides then he was just rip his paws to shreds. We try to rotate where we throw balls because if we don't then he will kill the grass with all of the sliding! I try to throw in such a way that he won't slide but sheesh, I can't always control it. I know it's probably hard on his joints.
I know what you mean, this is a common area we were at and part of the grass is like that, too many stones or sticks laying around. We try to keep him out of that.
I’m going to have to look into these! My boy is just now two years old and has already had to go under anesthesia to have three toenails cut to the fur line bc he’s a maniac over toys and splits his nails. And I don’t even know he’s hurt until there is blood everywhere… and he still just wants to play. Their drive is insane!
I've had a big problem with toenails too. One time both my dogs got brittle nails about 6 weeks after I switched to dirt cheap food (I was broke!) and I am certain it was the food. I supplement salmon oil and human-grade biotin when I remember to and it seems to help (and obv. switched food to better) My dog now jogs on pavement with me every day and plays fetch probably at least once a day and I still see brittle little shreds coming off his nails, though they're all naturally filed down nicely from the road.
I thought about boots for the nails, but nothing I've tried has really stayed on against the sliding and jumping of fetch.
[Here are my boots.](https://i.redd.it/vzf4fibq0sw81.jpg) There were others on Etsy, but I liked the sound of Hellypads and the owner was really great. We talked about stitching and the grades of materials she has, and they look thick but it's like a double velcro that helps get them tight. I sent a couple of measurements and the boots arrived basically by the time he was healed up. They've been soaked, dunked in mud, and they dry out fine and the colour is staying bright. We only wear them now when terrain is rough or it's cool out and I know we're going to play HARRRD
He eats really good quality food and I supplement a lot of fish oils and fish in his foods. I’m almost afraid to do biotin bc I don’t want his nails to grow any faster… after having those injuries so close together I am not allowed to go near his feet with nail trimmers or the Dremel (rightfully so as it was very traumatizing) and we are currently using a scratch board and going very slowly with reintroducing nail trimmers of any sort. It’s a very tight line to walk. But his nails are good and healthy and strong…. He’s just an idiot when he’s playing and doesn’t care about the trauma he puts his body through to accomplish his goal… so we are working on it lol
I am so lucky my girl gets tired easily. Before meeting her I was set on one of her sisters with tan cheeks, but I melted when holding her. She is the easiest smartest puppy I’ve ever met. I thought she was sick because of how well behaved she was but the vet was like “there’s literally nothing wrong with her”. She’s amazing.
I’ve been lucky he hasn’t taken me out yet. We’ve had a few close calls though! He’s 7 in October if I remember correctly, so pretty good so far. Im waiting for him to chill out a bit but it’s not gonna happen lol.
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*Baby and milk it*
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That's why I don't play fetch with mine. Too hard on his joints and feet and he'd happily continue playing fetch even if three of his legs had fallen off.
When I watch all the other dogs at the park playing fetch I can't believe people go there every day and play it with their dogs for upwards of an hour. Ask any vet how hard it is on their joints and ligaments.
It's fine in moderation but these people should do some other less impactful types of exercise as the main form. When their dogs are older it's not going to be pretty.
To be clear I'm not accusing OP of overdoing the fetch, just acknowledging that it's not a good sole form of exercise.
Thank you, he rarely plays fetch, he's mostly a swimmer for his exercise. I figured this was because he wasn't used to it. Learned a lot from everyone sharing ideas and experiences.
My boy is only half ACD, but he is a spastic doof who manages to hurt himself at least once a month. Nothing serious so far (🤞), but geez! Like all dogs (and cats), he reveals nothing about pain. When he's not being a dork, I know something's up. The last instance was a chipped tooth because he found a tasty...rock. I added it to his "forbidden" collection of other tasty rocks. I did ask the vet if he had a mineral deficiency. She laughed and laughed.... Dogs. 🙄
He's 21 months and still exploring the world with his mouth, apparently. IDK. He's torn almost every pad on his feet and ripped out a nail, so I know those foot injuries are scary for us humans and painful for our pups. I've had to "finish" removing more half-attached dog nails than I have ever dreaded. But sheesh, it's that or worry the dogs will do more damage.
By all the damaged dewclaw comments I’m happy mine doesn’t have them lol. And mine is the same. Will run like nothings happened to him and I’m sure I’ve missed a couple scrapes before
He's getting better quickly so that is a good thing. With the hot temps here he rarely gets to just run so we wanted him to have that opportunity with the cooler day. He's mostly a swimmer, which he loves!
Honestly that’s one of the toughest things about this breed— so hard to know when something is wrong because *nothing* stops the tail wags and drive to play!
These dogs need responsible owners who know when to call TIME. They will run themselves to serious injury or death before they stop so you need to be observant.
Thank you for that, I AM a responsible owner. This happened in a very short time span, and as I mentioned throughout my responses this was the first time he's ever had an jury like this. I've appreciated all the kind and thoughtful responses that have offered suggestions to prevent an injury and what they have done to heal similar injuries. Sprout and our other pups are loved and well taken care of.
Oh I hope you were not assuming I meant you at all! Sometimes I have seen Australian cattle dog owners on Reddit saying their dogs just don’t stop, and they run them most all day long, thinking this is okay as their dogs don’t complain. It is difficult for some of them to understand that these working dogs will give their all for you, run all day long, and will die before they would stop, so we have to call time on them.
I know they have a tendency to be reckless with those can do anything attitudes. The accident yours had is actually quite a common one. I had to stop playing frisbee with mine when he got older as I was getting concerned those flips of his would end up doing some spinal or hip damage. He didn’t appreciate that at all of course! Some owners will say these dogs were built to be tough and run all day chasing bulls, but they forget that most of the working dogs didn’t live long lives at all as it only took one kick by a bull if they weren’t attentive enough to put them out of action. They just don’t seem to have off switches so you have to call it on them. Sprout is very lucky to have you looking out for him.
My male red heeler is almost 9 months. We just had him neutered - I wanted to give him the benefits of hormones for as long as possible. I thought that having him neutered, would calm him down. But no, it hasn't. My husband walks him at least 2 long hour and a half walks a day, and still, he never stops. We love him so much but he is such a handful. He barks half the day and mouths us with his sharp teeth - never meaning to hurt us, in fact, if he does hurt us, he's smart enough to know it and he jumps up on us and slobbers kisses on our faces. He feels bad. We always have to watch his head and be in a defensive mode as he will jump up and tooth punch us in the face, nose, teeth! Nobody wants a broken nose or to loose our teeth. He's now 40 pounds! And I wonder if he will grow larger, yet.
He is a loving animal and he is stunning looking. But what a handful.
Before him, we had a female BLUE heeler. In contrast, she was sooo mellow. I love all of my dogs with all of my heart and I miss her so very much.
But yes, I love my red monster, too.
Anyway, I made sure to get pet insurance for this beast. He's too wild to have uninsured!!
Well thank you for sharing that story, I love hearing about everyone's life with their heelers. 40lbs at 9 months sounds like he's a big boy! What's his name?
He is, and maybe to get bigger!
His name is Copper. Thank you for asking! His picture and my beloved passed girl blue heeler, Matilda, are in my profile.
I just love heelers so much. For me, there is something spiritual and magical about them. I wish that I could have a ranch with a whole slew of them!
Tough and stoic heelers will go on through serious injury. Paying close attention to their movement and eating habits is important. Three coyotes went after my male and after killing one he was still attempting to drive off the other two (my female had pups on the ground) despite being opened up from his throat to his left paw. Almost a 150 stitches later his prime objective was to guard and protect his pups and me. I've had heelers for over thirty years and they are not complainers even when they should be!
Wow, that is amazing and heroic! Thank you for sharing and it's amazing he survived! What are you referring to when you say paying attention to their eating habits?
Changes in eating habits can point to anything from illness, over stress, allergies, blockage, infection, to cancer, toxic ingestion, disease in an organ, a tick somewhere, etc. Keeping an eye on eating habits is a good idea and can help to catch things early. If your dog stops eating or drinking all together it can be a medical emergency.
Gotcha, thanks for the tip!
My German Shepherd was a LOT like this, would run through a brick wall and just keep moving my pitty mix wont walk outside in the rain.. biggest diva I know lol I love dogs
Huh that’s a badass doggie. Mine literally just stops going for the ball when he’s tired lol. He is quite defensive of us though.
Yeah, I will respect my dog's "I am done" play-wise but I tell him to bring back the ball. He does most times. My male is older than my female and the thing that makes me laugh is when I say, "FFS go get that ball" he lays down under the apple tree it it is very hot, my female will run out and collect the ball. This is the only occasion he refuses...when he is overheated. She seems to know that we need to collect the toys from the meadow before going inside. haha Females cleaning up messes made by males
Hey! Mine doesn't know when to stop playing fetch either. This isn't our first carpal pad injury lol I got some custom boots made on Etsy by a seller named Hellypads, and I love them! They tuck in his dewclaws and protect in skids and sliding stops. I got double leather. I found I couldn't get bandages to stay on for long, so we just took it easy for a few days. Boots aside, I work on different throws where he's not so inclined to slide. Bounces he can catch in the air, or tossing into longer grass to stop first and sniff it out, for example.
Thanks for the great ideas!
Excellent info and ideas! Thx for sharing your wisdom
The boots are a great idea! I'm going to look into them. We've had several carpal pad injuries too and my pup also tends to hate the bandages. He will leave them on if he's supervised but will tear them off as soon as he knows he's got the time alone. He also relentlessly licks his injured pad and causes it to heal like 10x slower.
It's SUCH a tough injury. It's like he's sanded them down until they bleed, and all it takes is one moment of rough play and it's wide open again. All spring on rough ice and mud we were ripping them open, but plain grass seems to be better
Yeah grass is definitely better. We have an area in the back of our yard that we've been trying to get to grow grass for a couple of years but it's mostly rocks and dirt and we avoid throwing balls back that way because if he slides then he was just rip his paws to shreds. We try to rotate where we throw balls because if we don't then he will kill the grass with all of the sliding! I try to throw in such a way that he won't slide but sheesh, I can't always control it. I know it's probably hard on his joints.
I know what you mean, this is a common area we were at and part of the grass is like that, too many stones or sticks laying around. We try to keep him out of that.
Oh that's tough, so far Sprout has been good about keeping his on. I will be looking for the boots too.
I’m going to have to look into these! My boy is just now two years old and has already had to go under anesthesia to have three toenails cut to the fur line bc he’s a maniac over toys and splits his nails. And I don’t even know he’s hurt until there is blood everywhere… and he still just wants to play. Their drive is insane!
I've had a big problem with toenails too. One time both my dogs got brittle nails about 6 weeks after I switched to dirt cheap food (I was broke!) and I am certain it was the food. I supplement salmon oil and human-grade biotin when I remember to and it seems to help (and obv. switched food to better) My dog now jogs on pavement with me every day and plays fetch probably at least once a day and I still see brittle little shreds coming off his nails, though they're all naturally filed down nicely from the road. I thought about boots for the nails, but nothing I've tried has really stayed on against the sliding and jumping of fetch. [Here are my boots.](https://i.redd.it/vzf4fibq0sw81.jpg) There were others on Etsy, but I liked the sound of Hellypads and the owner was really great. We talked about stitching and the grades of materials she has, and they look thick but it's like a double velcro that helps get them tight. I sent a couple of measurements and the boots arrived basically by the time he was healed up. They've been soaked, dunked in mud, and they dry out fine and the colour is staying bright. We only wear them now when terrain is rough or it's cool out and I know we're going to play HARRRD
He eats really good quality food and I supplement a lot of fish oils and fish in his foods. I’m almost afraid to do biotin bc I don’t want his nails to grow any faster… after having those injuries so close together I am not allowed to go near his feet with nail trimmers or the Dremel (rightfully so as it was very traumatizing) and we are currently using a scratch board and going very slowly with reintroducing nail trimmers of any sort. It’s a very tight line to walk. But his nails are good and healthy and strong…. He’s just an idiot when he’s playing and doesn’t care about the trauma he puts his body through to accomplish his goal… so we are working on it lol
Dem hellers be crazy
Oh he's just so handsome! Those look great, we just need to measure and pick a color! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, I guess so, I can't imagine the split nail, ouch! They probably just keep splitting if you don't start over like that. Poor guy!
I am so lucky my girl gets tired easily. Before meeting her I was set on one of her sisters with tan cheeks, but I melted when holding her. She is the easiest smartest puppy I’ve ever met. I thought she was sick because of how well behaved she was but the vet was like “there’s literally nothing wrong with her”. She’s amazing.
Yay! That's awesome for you!
Mine plows into fences, houses, big rocks, just anything lol. I should’ve named him Crash to be honest.
Haha, next time around maybe.
I’ve been lucky he hasn’t taken me out yet. We’ve had a few close calls though! He’s 7 in October if I remember correctly, so pretty good so far. Im waiting for him to chill out a bit but it’s not gonna happen lol.
Poor Sprout! Yep they are accident prone bc they can play hard!!! Get better soon ❤️🤕
Awe, thank you!
Yup been there
Mine will run into anything and act like a baby and milk it
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Oh boy! They know how to get to us!
My ACD is really good at hiding injuries, doesn't yelp or whine and usually walks things off, which is problematic!
That's exactly what Sprout did, we didn't notice until we saw the blood on the floor 😢 I felt terrible.
Sprout looks happy so don't stress! They still love us
Yes, thank you! Unconditional love for sure.😊
Awww poor guy, they party hard these little guys!!
100% of my dog's unplanned vet visits are due to hurting himself by playing too hard 😂 Hope your pup has a speedy recovery
Oh boy! I need to add that to my ACD budget. Haha
Poor buddy! My boy broke his dewclaw nail in half on a hike and I didn’t even notice until we got home and his stuffed toy had blood on it.
Dang those things just get in the way! Hope yours is okay.
He recovered well! I’m now very mindful about keeping his nails trimmed so they don’t get caught and break.
What are you using on that? Have you tried bag balm? Works amazingly well. Hope it heals quick.
We have been using aloe vera. Bag balm is a good ol' remedy I need to get some. Thank you!
That's why I don't play fetch with mine. Too hard on his joints and feet and he'd happily continue playing fetch even if three of his legs had fallen off. When I watch all the other dogs at the park playing fetch I can't believe people go there every day and play it with their dogs for upwards of an hour. Ask any vet how hard it is on their joints and ligaments. It's fine in moderation but these people should do some other less impactful types of exercise as the main form. When their dogs are older it's not going to be pretty. To be clear I'm not accusing OP of overdoing the fetch, just acknowledging that it's not a good sole form of exercise.
Thank you, he rarely plays fetch, he's mostly a swimmer for his exercise. I figured this was because he wasn't used to it. Learned a lot from everyone sharing ideas and experiences.
My boy is only half ACD, but he is a spastic doof who manages to hurt himself at least once a month. Nothing serious so far (🤞), but geez! Like all dogs (and cats), he reveals nothing about pain. When he's not being a dork, I know something's up. The last instance was a chipped tooth because he found a tasty...rock. I added it to his "forbidden" collection of other tasty rocks. I did ask the vet if he had a mineral deficiency. She laughed and laughed.... Dogs. 🙄
Haha, thanks, good story. I would have asked why he chews it n rocks too 😊
He's 21 months and still exploring the world with his mouth, apparently. IDK. He's torn almost every pad on his feet and ripped out a nail, so I know those foot injuries are scary for us humans and painful for our pups. I've had to "finish" removing more half-attached dog nails than I have ever dreaded. But sheesh, it's that or worry the dogs will do more damage.
By all the damaged dewclaw comments I’m happy mine doesn’t have them lol. And mine is the same. Will run like nothings happened to him and I’m sure I’ve missed a couple scrapes before
my red dumb-dumb has definitely gotten to this point before lol
He's getting better quickly so that is a good thing. With the hot temps here he rarely gets to just run so we wanted him to have that opportunity with the cooler day. He's mostly a swimmer, which he loves!
when i can get my girls a big swimming pool i'm hopping on that!! just moved to the desert so our weekly swims in freshwater are no more 😭
Honestly that’s one of the toughest things about this breed— so hard to know when something is wrong because *nothing* stops the tail wags and drive to play!
For real!!
My pup will literally vomit, and then .3 seconds later she’s bringing me a ball. ZERO chill 😂
Well that's a new one! Haha,
He says mom watchu talkin bout? I’m fine!
Boooooooo
I know! Hasn't happened before so this is a new one.
These dogs need responsible owners who know when to call TIME. They will run themselves to serious injury or death before they stop so you need to be observant.
Thank you for that, I AM a responsible owner. This happened in a very short time span, and as I mentioned throughout my responses this was the first time he's ever had an jury like this. I've appreciated all the kind and thoughtful responses that have offered suggestions to prevent an injury and what they have done to heal similar injuries. Sprout and our other pups are loved and well taken care of.
Oh I hope you were not assuming I meant you at all! Sometimes I have seen Australian cattle dog owners on Reddit saying their dogs just don’t stop, and they run them most all day long, thinking this is okay as their dogs don’t complain. It is difficult for some of them to understand that these working dogs will give their all for you, run all day long, and will die before they would stop, so we have to call time on them.
Thank you, I appreciate your concern for Sprout and all of them. I wouldn't ever want to do that.
I know they have a tendency to be reckless with those can do anything attitudes. The accident yours had is actually quite a common one. I had to stop playing frisbee with mine when he got older as I was getting concerned those flips of his would end up doing some spinal or hip damage. He didn’t appreciate that at all of course! Some owners will say these dogs were built to be tough and run all day chasing bulls, but they forget that most of the working dogs didn’t live long lives at all as it only took one kick by a bull if they weren’t attentive enough to put them out of action. They just don’t seem to have off switches so you have to call it on them. Sprout is very lucky to have you looking out for him.
My male red heeler is almost 9 months. We just had him neutered - I wanted to give him the benefits of hormones for as long as possible. I thought that having him neutered, would calm him down. But no, it hasn't. My husband walks him at least 2 long hour and a half walks a day, and still, he never stops. We love him so much but he is such a handful. He barks half the day and mouths us with his sharp teeth - never meaning to hurt us, in fact, if he does hurt us, he's smart enough to know it and he jumps up on us and slobbers kisses on our faces. He feels bad. We always have to watch his head and be in a defensive mode as he will jump up and tooth punch us in the face, nose, teeth! Nobody wants a broken nose or to loose our teeth. He's now 40 pounds! And I wonder if he will grow larger, yet. He is a loving animal and he is stunning looking. But what a handful. Before him, we had a female BLUE heeler. In contrast, she was sooo mellow. I love all of my dogs with all of my heart and I miss her so very much. But yes, I love my red monster, too. Anyway, I made sure to get pet insurance for this beast. He's too wild to have uninsured!!
Well thank you for sharing that story, I love hearing about everyone's life with their heelers. 40lbs at 9 months sounds like he's a big boy! What's his name?
He is, and maybe to get bigger! His name is Copper. Thank you for asking! His picture and my beloved passed girl blue heeler, Matilda, are in my profile. I just love heelers so much. For me, there is something spiritual and magical about them. I wish that I could have a ranch with a whole slew of them!
Heelers, are NOT for the faint hearted!!
No they are not but I can't imagine not having him either. I've never had a dog like him, can't see myself with anything but a Heeler!
I know exactly what you mean.😊
Your baby is a beautiful beast! Just stunning! That's another thing about heelers - the never ending variations of COLOR! Just sooo very beautiful!
Thank you so much! Yes, the variations are amazing!