ness

want to have a whinge - Kenz is three legged again tonight. She seems to have serious issues with getting on her dog bed in the evening and having the leg give way underneath her. Specialist isn't worried but geez its hard to not stress about it. I hate seeing her like this and it just sucks . She is dead to the world in her crate now .

Yeah I know it does MG and everything I have read tells me she should be doing more then she is but I have to trust the specialist and his recommendations for her based on her issues.

Unless he feels she needs to have another fortnight of rest - originally he wanted 6-8 weeks so he might want me to wait a little longer .

Poor RosieFT. I know the saddest part of the not chasing balls. Hard to believe its been 5 weeks since Kenz had her surgery. By this time next week I am hoping we have good news from the specialist and she is allowed to start having walks again.

They are every 2 years now rusty - 2014 in Brisbane I think.

Weatherbeeta go up to a 70cm http://www.weatherbeeta.com.au/range/dog-coats.html

Thanks Jumabaar. I ended up emailing the specialist he isn't worried just suggested using pain meds when it happens. I have relaxed a little bit - if he doesn't think its cause for concern yet then I can't stress over it. Biggest stress at the moment is having decided to take them up to my parents place for the long weekend only to have mum nagging because she thinks Kenz should be walking around and not spending her time in a crate even though that is what the specialist wants . Suffice to say I think we will end up back at home tomorrow. Don't need it. Mum has a point and I have run it through in my head plenty but decided if the specialist is happy with what he is recommending i.e. strict crate rest for 6 weeks then that is what we will do.

Despite being extra good with her confinement she is still having issues . 3 times in the last 4 days she has gone to step on her bed and the leg seems to have buckled underneath her and she has ended up on three legs. Somewhat stressed out . She is just over a month post surgery and done absolutely nothing which should have caused any issue. .

Yep sounds like the way Kenz managed her CD title although I am not sure there was any choice in it :laugh:. Good luck to the red dogs they will do well they ALWAYS do :D. And any that don't I will be waiting just let me know when to expect them :laugh:.

I use Joint Guard with both of mine. The oldie who is nearly 12 and the youngster who has had a number of joint issues and just had surgery.

yep the only real difference is I now also have a crate moved into my room in case she decides she wants to do stuff and then she gets turfed in there :laugh:.

BCs can chill - two photos one of Kenz on day 22 and one of Kenz on day 27. We are now day 29 WAHOOOOOOOO - if I posted a photo of today you would see similar .

LOL RosieFT - I swear the specialist removed Kenz's drive chip when he did the operation. She wakes up I carry her outside to the lawn she gets a toilet break, she gets carried back to bed and we cuddle for a while then I get up and she gets breakfast. We try and go for an outing of some description in the morning so I'll take them both in the car. This morning they came shopping with me so sat in the car. Then came home and she is now back sleeping on her cuddler next to the computer desk by the heater. I will crate her later this afternoon while I take Ness out for a half decent walk at some point. She is use to her new routine now although it doesn't mean she doesn't start to get ratty at various points during the day . Then after tea she is crated downstairs while I watch TV. Then its upstairs to her bedtime crate.

RosieFT I have said the same next time its a goldfish for me.

Sorry gsd2 I didn't mean it quite like that . I guess its realization after having had a dog injured for an indefinite period of time that life is way to short - things happen to handlers, to dogs, in life so you might as well enjoy the journey as you never know what is around the corner. Life has a funny way of throwing curve balls and I am finding you can't get stressed about it.

You would be surprised. They weight bear fairly quickly. I have seen videos of small dogs having both done at the same time. They still have to be carried out anyway and they aren't really allowed to walk around. Even more so when they have had bone cut.

God 12 weeks would be great. Kenz's specialist has told me 4 months to get her back to full activity although I think it will be longer since he wants 6 weeks crate rest before we start. They build up scar tissue which helps stabilise the shoulder but its not as strong as the original ligament.

Google would be my answer. Plenty of sites that explain the process. I would probably google MPL and TT. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20830449 http://www.animalmedcenter.com/faqs/category/management-of-medial-patella-luxation

Glad you got some reasonable advice Nic. Plenty of small dogs have patella issues and cope fine for life .

Ah fair enough - Kenz's bicep pain was inconsistent and the ultrasound inconclusive but the second specialist felt there was some evidence on the ultrasound of biceps tendonitis. Agree those the lifestyle changes are the hard bits. I suspect that is more the issue then the walking. If you don't control them the entire time and limit them then 15 minutes of leash walking and being under control when they spend the other 99% of the time doing things which could potentially reinjure is a little counter productive. I guess thats why for proper conservative management and to allow inflammation to subside they really do need strict rest. I am going to be interested to see how Kenz's shoulder fairs with having spent 6 weeks on crate rest. She has had best done 3 weeks strict rest for the shoulder. I didn't see any point in the 6-8 weeks because she was still showing evidence of being sore and it seemed to be worse. A little different when you know you have to because the dog has had surgery.

Yep Kenz's restricted exercise was normally 4-6 weeks but whenever we tried to ramp things back up again we then ran into problems which saw the cycle repeat.

Yes I am still wanting to compete with her as long as the specialist is happy. He agreed when I first took her to him that if he was just a pet then we would do nothing so I do understand where your coming from with your decision. It might also be worth asking about using Tramadol to control the pain when its bad. Kenz's specialist when we discussed the front end intermittent problems just before her surgery said it might be manageable using that when needed. Apparently its not a long acting thing like an anti-inflam but can be used to control pain. Kenz as best they can determine has damaged ligaments that in a human would be equivalent of a damaged rotator cuff injury. Her shoulder had some slight instability which seems to have stabilised to some extent with the rest/conservative management. She also has shown evidence of having biceps tendonitis. It was inconclusive as to whether that is the entire story behind what is happening in there other than she has had a slight palpatable pain response to her bicep tendon. The PRP injection was directly into the bicep though to settle down inflammation there. He did also inject a little more around the area just to make sure he covered all bases.

Yep that is effectively what Kenz lived on for a lot of last year when she was "restricted" she was normally allowed two 10-15 min leash walks a day. When I was in a compliant stage .

Sounds very much like Kenz . And yep I also know about the not actually sore and no appreciable front end lameness. Grade 2 luxations are borderline and Kenz only ended up having surgery because it deteriorated over a relatively short period of time.

Cortisone injection - requires 6-8 weeks strict crate rest as well . ETA. Nic what was the verdict on yours????