[Fresia]

My Australian Shepherd/Labrador mix has bad knees; her angles in them are way off from where they should be. She blew one last spring and did surgery to correct it, now the other one has started to go. The vet thought it could be stabilized by keeping her quiet and on a leash for walks, or confined space, until in her small modified run of a yard space for bathroom breaks, she chased after something. How in that small modified space that happened it beyond me but she is not putting any weight on it now and so know it is completely blown.

We have an appointment this morning with the surgeon to take a look at it; they suggested she be NPO after midnight in case want to go through with the surgery today. She will need to stay overnight if so after the surgery. It breaks my heart that she is so young and that the angle of her knees is so bad to have to go through this again. She will have to be in a crate except for bathroom breaks and very brief walks for months as a part of recovery to keep it stabilized. It is hard since she is such an active dog.

She is also the sweetest dog I have ever had and surgery always makes me nervous for any animal; lost a dog just to anesthesia alone once. I know it is better now but still makes me nervous.

I am trying to tell myself that despite the stress and fear right now that she came out of the first one with flying colors in the end and fully weight bearing after all those months despite how grueling and tiring it was for both of us, bless her though, and hope she can forgive me. I will try to remember she will be able to romp, play, and do all the things she loves to do again when this is all over. it is going to be ok.

Thanks in advance for listening to me vent.

[gayleggg]

I'm sorry your poor Aussie is having to go through this. I'm glad she has you to care for and love her. Recovering from surgery can be hard on anyone. I'm sure it is hard for a dog to understand but she will feel better after. She'll remember all the love you show her not the surgery. Hope she will be back and running and playing soon.

[Fresia]

Thank you!

Surgeon said her knee is barely hanging in by a thread of a ligament and does need to be stabilized. I left her for surgery this afternoon and she will stay overnight. Here's to hoping and praying all goes well. Meanwhile will get the rest of the house ready this afternoon and the the remaining ramps back up on all the doors. Fortunately they asked if I still had some of the previous supplies so that saved some bucks, but not looking forward to this bill on top of it all especially with dad's surgery bills just now rolling in, insult to injury, but will be worth it. I think for all future puppies will seriously be considering pet insurance.

[Fresia]

Surgery went well. She is resting comfortably. I can pick her up in the morning. Bless her recovery and hope all goes well.

[lizardlady]

Fresia, how is she doing?

Aw, an Aussie/Lab mix. My two favorite breeds in one! I bet she is super smart.

[Fresia]

Yes, with her, it is actually hard to be smarter than the dog. She keeps me on my toes.

5 days after surgery now and she is starting to put a little weight on it instead of carrying it, which is a good sign. I am concerned about the swelling (edema) in her hock; it is not pitting though and not red nor hot to the touch, so it should go down here in a few more days, keeping a close eye on it meanwhile. If only there was a way to elevate it. Her incision looks great and no swelling in the knee itself.

It is hard that she knows the routines of the house and cries out when I take the other one out, taking the trash up, etc. She is only allowed out for 3-5 5 minute walks at a time for the next 7 weeks. It is going to be a long road ahead. Just thinking about how she could run and play when this is all done that it will be worth it. If only I could tell her that.

[TheOriginalMe]

Are there any doggy hydrotherapy facilities that you can get to? My friend's dog had cruciate ligament surgery and, once the stitches had gone, part of his physio was hydrotherapy. He is a collie/spaniel and loved the hydrotherapy, it really cheered him up playing in the pool. Like all good stuff it came at a cost though. Hugs for you both

[Fresia]

Good news!
The edema is gone, the incision still looks beautiful, her eyes are bright, she is flexing it, rolling over on her back now to sleep like normal, and best of all she is putting a considerable amount of weight on it now with a spring back in her step with just a slight favoring but no real limping, nothing like before. It is lovely to see her spirit return even in the drugged filled haze of the pain medicine; it may be time to back it off some. Her progress at this stage is even more advanced than it was this time last round. Perhaps because she knows what she is doing this time. Fortunately, though as the surgeon and vet both said, the other good news is that she only has 2 knees and won't have to go trough this again.

So she has a check up on Tuesday. We'll see what the surgeon thinks.

[Fresia]

UPDATE:

She actually is putting what looks like 90-95% of her weight on that leg the last couple of days and is trying to hop around, unfortunately/fortunately; she tried to even jump up on me to greet me this morning standing on her hind legs. Got her down immediately, but this is such a great sign.

The vet said that at 3-6 weeks is when the bone cells, osteocytes, are trying to fuse so she still has to stay quiet, in her crate most of the time except to go out 3-5 times a day to do her business. This where it is hard to keep her still. I am glad she feeling better though and her lovely spirit is back finally, bright eyes, and bushy, wagging tail.

4 weeks down, 3 weeks to go before she goes back for her follow-up x-rays and then can start going on brief 5 minute walks that can be extended each week. This is when the surgeon said she can start hydrotherapy. The closest one is quite a ways a way. I am in the process of interviewing for jobs and depending on the job I get if I will be able to do this. It is a great idea though and will definitely try.

Thanks for your support.

[lizardlady]

Frescia, it sounds like she is recovering very well. That's great news!

Labs and Aussies so need something to keep them busy. Could you give her some kind of puzzle toy to play with to help keep her from getting bored? There's one you fill with peanutbutter they lick out. There's another, I don't know what it's called, but you put a treat inside and they have to figure out how to get to the treat.

Since you said it's when you bring her out to do her business she wants to be active is there some kind of game you could play with her to give her something to do without running around? Maybe have her guess which hand holds a treat? Having had both Aussies and Labs, it's tough to keep them from being overactive during recovery.

[Maven]

Glad to hear things are going well. It sounds like she'll be back to her old self in no time. Keep us updated.