malleerr

I think this is quite a personal decision and there is no right or wrong or easy answer to it. We have spent thousand (i mean thousands) of dollars on our girl who had both ED and HD diagnoised about 3 months apart and all operations done prior to her turning 1. Yes, it was a very expensive task, but we are glad that we made the decision to go ahead with it, her quality of life has increased ten fold and if it were not for her massive scars you probably would not even now that she has had all these major surgeries. Mind you, our set of circumstances were a bit different as we were not advised correctly by the first vet we saw, who failed to advise us that her hips where bad also when she was diagonised with the ED (her excuse was we only enquired about the front legs, even though hip xrays were done ), so we were already half way there when we found out about the HD, so after spending $$$ on the front legs, we could not justify stopping there and letting that money go to waste and have a dog still in pain and no better off if you know what i mean. Mallee's first HD operation (the one which Kaz talks about) also failed her resulting in her having to undergo emergency surgery (FNHE) again, we had a lovely surgeon though who did the second set of operations for free. Though, if Mallee had had aggression problems, or if we could not have been certain that her quality of life would be better we would not have done it. Its not only the money side of things that needs to be considered, its also the emotional and physical stress that you will go through, and what the dog will go through, and whether or not you feel the dog could cope and not come out of it any worse off, and if behaviour problems are already there, well i would think that with the confinement and such involved in these types of operations i would be more inclined not to go ahead with it. You have to be very commited to your dog with these types of ops, we had to walk Mallee on a sling for a good 4months, she relied on us for everything during the recovery months and could not do anything for herself without us there. I have no regrets for doing what we did with Mallee, my only regrets surround a stupid vet who misinformed us greatly, but that being said, we have come out of it with a well rounded dog who is now pain free and happy, but again if we had of know, about the ED & HD at the same time, well i doubt Mallee would still be here.

No Maya - not Jonty....... Mallee had her hip dysplasia diagnoised at 6.5months and her ED was diagonised at 4months... Mallee's x-rays were nevered scored as such, as we were not breeding etc from her but the HD was definate. She displayed several signs early on which lead to the xrays being done. They do all different type of pressure tests on their hind legs while x-raying. I have my fingers crossed for beautiful Jonty that there is nothing there. PM if you need to talk about anything.

Hi ILA - so glad to hear Diesel is doing well Mallee is a licker also, and yes she does lick her scars on her front legs (& sometimes her elbows), and also her back legs. She mainly does it when she is really tired, and just relaxing. I put it down to sort of a comfort thing for her, and thought that it must feel nice for her as when i rub or touch her scars she goes all droopy and will stand or lie there forever letting you do it..lol... I was only concerned about it firstly after the op, but as she has not shown any signs of pain, and x-rays have all been fine i just think of it as a bit of a querk. Although i do get sick of hearing the licking sound... She doesn't chew her front legs at all but you often find her in the most amusing postitions with her back legs in her mouth. I remember when she was first diagonised by the specalist as having the ED & arthritis he said that one of the signs of it and something to look out for in the future in relation to arthrits was a sort of fluidy bubble that will appear under the skin in the elbow joint area, thankfully Mallee has never had it return (she had it when diagonised) but maybe its something to check on Diesel. Fingers crossed for you that it is just a querky little thing he has picked up Good luck again Sheenygirl, thinking of you and keep us upated. Try not to worry about Sasha's back legs also, you have enough to worry about now. She may well be rolling onto her back to take pressure off her front legs while lying down while she heals. Best of luck trying to keep your son and Sasha behaving, god i rememberwhat Mallee was like after aboiut a month after the surgery, it was an effort to keep her still and under control with all that wound up puppy energy. I will be watching out for your updates. :D

Aw, thanks ILA - glad i could help you. I hope Diesel is going well now. Hi Sheenygirl - Welcome to DOL Poor Sasha, hugs to her and you. Mallee my Rhodesian Ridgeback was diagonised with bilateral (both) ED and athritis at around 4 months old. Its was a huge shock for us, so i can understand how you feel. Mallee had an arthriscope on both elbow joints where they removed several bone fragments, her right side was worse than her left and she also had the bilateral ulna osteotomy, which is where they cut and remove a section of the ulna bone (i cant remember how large it was) and leave it hanging to refuse over time itself, this relives the pressure from the joint and also allows both the ulna and radias (?) bones to match each other in height. (sorry if i have explained that badly, its hard to explain in type :cool: ). Is that what Sasha had done? Mallee was house confined for 2 months, with gradual onleash exercise only phased in about 1.5 months after the op (sorry i dont have my date book here). We started her on short walks only around 200metres for the first walk and over the weeks we increased it slowly. We are lucky in our street as we have lots of street lights so we just increased her walks by walking to the next street light, etc etc. This went on for about a month i think and then she was back to pretty much normal, well as normal as she would be for the time being back then as when she was 6.5 months old she was diagonised with bilateral HD which she has also had surgery for, but thats a whole other drama much bigger than the first. I would suggest though, for increasing the muscle mass, try her swimming, 10mins of swimming for a dog is about equal to an hours brisk walk, swimming is fantastic as there is no pressure on the joints. Swimming helped Mallee out alot esp after her HD operations. Mal was on Rimadyl for about maybe about month, but i would not recommend that, not too good for their system, she has also been on cosequin (glucosamine and condrotine (spl)) ever since and i believe this has been a wonder for her. ETA - Mallee has not been on any kind of pains meds for about 1.5years. Its 2 years (Sept 2005 she had her op) on from her ED surgery and she is fantastic. Mallee shows no sign of arthritis at all in her front legs, she only has two tiny little scars on both legs that you have to look for it you didnt know, bit different to th ones on her butt lol. And best of all she is finally pain free and happy. If you have any question feel free to PM me. Good luck to you both and i hope Sasha makes a speedy recovery. edited to add pic this is Mallee's x-ray confirming that the bones had refused and is sitting correctly

Hi Jon, Our RR Pup displayed similar to this when she was 4months old. She limped after getting up on her front right leg, cried if she jumped and generally became intolerant to any form of exercise. She was like an old dog all of a sudden. We took her to the local vet who gave us medication and told us to rest her, we did this for i think 2 weeks with no change took her back to be x-rayed and found that she had athritis and elbow dysplasia in both elbows. We were refered to a Ortho Surgeon who in the end operated sucessfully on her. IMO i would send her for x-rays and atleast then you kind of know what you are dealing with - be it bone / joint damage (hopefully not) or whether you need to look into something else. If your vet will not do x-rays i would seek another vet out or ask for a referral. I hope all goes with your pooch and that it is just something simple and easy fixed

Bilby - long time no hear!! Great to hear from you and that you are well. Firstly, so sorry to hear of the loss of Gem - bloat is such a horrid thing -hugs to you and your family. So glad to hear the the beautiful Bouf is coming along really well. Mallee is too, which is fantastic you would not know that there had been anything wrong with her besides her scars. We could not be happier. She has turned into a somewhat social butterfly of late and has been enjoying catching up on lots of lost doggy socialising time and lots of holidays. Well isn't Bess a sweet heart - is she a lab????? Sorry if i am far far off with the guess!! I do hope Bouf and Axle do not lead her astray....lol.... Glad to hear from you and thanks for the pics.

Poor Jak - i would take her to the vets to get it checked out, but thats just me and i am a worry wort when it comes to my dog. Hope she is ok tonight, i would limit her from jumping on and off things though and chasing after a ball.

Dam ILA I have been checking for updates on Diesel wondering what the news was. Poor little man. In relation to the gap - Mallee didn't have her check up xrays for 6 months after they did the osteotomy, so maybe he just need a little more time for the bones to fuse back together. I know with her hips, they seemed to take forever to heal i reckon about 8 months, alot longer than anyone ever thought. With the athritis, i am not sure really what you can do with that as Mallee has never shown signs of it since her arthriscope and osteotomy, and her xrays were all clear. We have her on Cosequin which she gets every night, it has glucosamine and other stuff in it, and it seems to have worked wonders for her. We were told the same as you, keep the weight off, limited exercise, no running if you can help it, or sharp turning movements, no jumping. All of which are very hard to achieve with a young dog that doesn't think they have anything wrong with them.. I would probably try getting him swimming and no real heavy exercise still until that bone refuses. Mallee was only allowed to start with exercise of 200 metres after her op and then gradually increase but no more than 1 km for a fair few months, i can't remember the acutual time frame would have to check paper work at home. I hope things start to improve soon for you, i feel really bad for poor Diesel and yourself. Hugs to you both.

Hey Kel, Am having withdrawals need an update on the beautiful ChloBo Just wondering how you both are going. Life seems to be moving along so quickly lately - much faster now that the doggies are all recovered hey!!! Can't believe its the end of Feb already - way over a year now since all the drama. Mallee Moo couldn't be better - the scar on her left side is all but gone, her surgeon has requested a visit to see how she is going so we will try and organise that shortly - her nurse is also bugging me for a visit so must do that to! Hope all is well with you.... Cheers Antoinette & Mallee PS does Chloe have any more bling yet....hehe

Ohh SP - there is nothing like the love of a horse only thing that comes close is the love of a dog. I have been through this several times also and can share in your pain........Big hugs to you...treasure your memories. RIP Blondie run free and easy at the Bridge and roll in all the lovely fresh never ending grass & clover there.

Hey Bilby - you can get these things down her at PetStock that are little LED flashing lights that go on the doggy collars, i was thinking about getting one for Mallee for when we go up the bush so we can keep track of them. A while ago i did a google search on lights for dog collars and few sites came up give that a go.........Ohh that topdog site has refelctive anklets.....fancy!!! Thanks for the link Kel going to check it out now..

Kel, You have to let me know where you got it from - i was going to try to make one of the ones made out of beads but thought it might be a tad trickey............well especially with bug a lugs hanging around all the time, i am sure more beads would end up in her stomach than on the collar. Its a leather collars yeah?? BTW i nearly forgot - hugs to my Chlo Boo tonight when you get home

Yeah that last photo of Mallee is pretty special to us too. I can still look at it and get all mushy - but - i am a big softy from way back.... And geees Bilby its not that hard to get attached to us...we are just soo lovely and great.....lol......... BTW Kel - I LUV Chloe's new collar - i would love one for Mal like that but i think Brock would die......not quite what he would like on his dog while he is walking her i doubt......

OK - a few Christmas shots and Christmas holiday snaps for you Kel........hope the wait was worth it Mallee ready for Chrissy at home before we left to go away...."not happy jan" One of Mal's pressies - it only last about 10 mins i reckon Mallee's first time at the beach and first smell of the ocean A few of Mallee enjoying the surf

When we feed Mallee chicken and rice for her upset tum tum , we trim all fat off the chicken breast and steam it, and boil the rice. She is a nearly 2 year old 30kilo ridgeback and when she has an upset tummy she gets about 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice and a chicken breast spread over morning and night..... Seems to do the trick.

I am so sorry to hear of the passing of Pyro - may he rest in peace and run freely at the Bridge Condolences to Warley and Xcel

OMG Kelly I know how bad those heart stopping moments are, but thankfully all appears well now. I bet Chloe gave herself a bit of a scare also. The little buggers still seem to think they are invincible at times hey!! God knows Mallee does!! You are good at trying to make me tear up aren’t you Kel - when you were speaking about poor little Chlo Boo going grey and life without her - WOW - that’s too hard to imagine hey, they way these bloody creatures get under you skin and into your hearts is unbelievable at times, the bonds you develop - even more so when they have relied on you for a time……..i wish those days of saying goodbye never had to come, but that’s life hey. Special hugs to the beautiful Chloe. Well, I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that News Years was enjoyed by all. Heres to 2007 being a fantastic year for all with lots of doggy success and happy smiling pooches and owners. Bilby that’s fantastic about the charmer Bouf, back at obedience, wooing over all the lady dogs with his fine obedience skills. Such a great come back from a bad last year. We have been toying with the idea of taking Mallee back to obedience, but must admit that it is my insecurities and fears stopping her from going back, I would just hate for something to go wrong or for her to hurt herself. But I think it should be done for the social side of things for her. Just need to bite that dam bullet I suppose. We had a great break away, went home to Mallacoota and spent Christmas with family and friends. Mallee experienced the beach and surf for the very first time and loves it……Run for a dog that we were told would never run again she sure did a good job at it, chasing all the little swallows all over the beach, jumping in the waves, she even went swimming with Brock in the ocean. It was just fantastic to see. Sometimes I tend to forget that what she has been through not only effected Brock and myself. The first morning there we took her for a walk down to the surf beach, first walk of the holiday, with my mum and dad, and my mum burst into years at the sight of Mallee enjoy herself running around off lead like a goose, chasing sand flies, and anything else that moved. It was just so great to see, and pretty special. All in all she is turning out to be quite ordinary, and if truth be known probably now leads much more of an active life than a lot of able body dogs out there. I know for a fact she is much fitter than all the dogs in Brock's family which is kind of sad in a way. Anyway I must fly and do some work, I will try to add some pics when I have some free time. Glad everyone is well and pooches also. Hugs to you all… Antoinette and Mallee Moo

HOW CUTE WAS CHLOE!!! Aww you could just eat her up couldn't you..... Well last day at work today till the 8th Jan, so take care all. I am off tomorrow to Mallacoota, my original home town, to spend a long over due christmas with my family including my much loved grandparents who i have not seen in around 2 years - can't wait. Take care guys

Just wanted to.................... WISH YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A SAFE NEW YEAR & ONE THAT IS BETTER FOR US AND OUR HOUNDS THEN THE LAST Take care all - don't eat too much on Chrissy Day oir drink to much New Years (as if....never), and i hope the Christmas Fairy brings you all lots of nice things....and even the pooches. Hugs to you all Antoinette and Mallee Moo xxoo

He looks fantastic you must be so happy... they are really clean nice straight cuts so they should heal over really well and start to disappear. Mal's still seem to be shrinking all the time, you can bearly see them now. The dreaded zoomies hey, Mallee was constantly having them - in the end i would just shut my eyes and try to ignore them, they just get soo wound up with all their energy hey..... Glad all is going really well for you. Do you know if you are still going to be able to show him with the little scars ( am sure you said you wanted to show him, but i could be wrong)???..???

Just wondering how Diesel was going and weather the stitches/staples are out yet??

Hiya, Our RR who is now 20 months old had both ED & HD - we had ulna osteotomy's done on both front elbows at 4 months, and had a TPO which failed her a week later when her pelivs collasped on her resulting in the Femoral Neck and Head excision done on both hips. Thats the one where they cut the ball right off. A year on and Mallee is running around playing getting up to mischeif and really just making up for all her lost time. If we had our time over again with her we would have never done the TPO and just opted for the FNHE - shorter recovery time, and not as full on as having your pelvis cut up and pinned and stapled. Mallee had a long recovery time but that was due to all the damage to the pelvis, that is probably something i would ask the specialist about, she was crated with no exercise at all and only loo breaks on a sling for 6 months....i believe though under normal circumstances the recovery time is only around 8 weeks. Its hard work especially if both sides are done at once, but well worth it in the end i think. If you have any questions just let me know and i will answer them if i can.

Hi Claire - our RR had a bilateral Femoral Neck and Head Excision just over a year ago now at the age of 7 months. We had the TPO done first but unfortunately there was too much unseen damage done to her pelvis area from the HD that the operation failed her which required the FNHE. It definatley wasn't our first choice of operation, but a year on things could not be better!! While Mallee's recovery time was quite extended i believe that in normal circumstances its only around about 8 weeks. Mallee had no real pain at all after the operation besides the normal after op pain, and believe she would have suffered less had she not had the TPO in the first place.. If we had our time over again with Mallee we probably would have tried to keep her going a little longer on pain relief and such, and when things got bad again (which in all honesty probably would have only given her an extra few months) opted for the Femoral Neck and Head to be done. There is a really long thread called Cruciate Ligaments Reptures in the Health Section started by Kelly Louise - its probably a few pages back, Mallee's whole journey is pretty much in there if we want to check it out. Good luck with it.

Aww so glad he is home and that all has gone well Yay i am sure you are wrapped that its all over... Poor little man will be so itchy with all that hair to grow back, i see they have shaved him all the way up to his neck, poor guy. Good luck with the confinement, we found the hardest part was after about the first fortnight, when they start to feel really good and want to do zoomies and all..... Its amazing to think that they have had a section of bone removed, almost like a broken leg and can still get around no worries hey. Good luck and thanks for the pics

Hope Diesel is doing well and recovering from the op, did they end up doing both elbows or just the worst one!! Poor boy will probably have to be a bucket head for the next week or so, i think that is what upset Mallee the most - wearing the bucket and not the actually operation . Hugs to poor little Diesel, and hoping for a speedy recovery!!!