all that glitters Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 Thanks KL!! I hope it heals on its own too, it seems to be getting better and better, not worse, so there's hope. This vet does a TTO method which I am not that sure about but he said you just confine them indoors you don't need to do total crate restriction, just prevent running/jumping and frisbee and zoomies etc so the joint can heal. We havent played frisbee or gone on a walk in 2 weeks now! And we go outside on leash. When indoors she basically just sleeps anyway, the only sucky thing is when one of the cats runs past she will give chase! So trying to prevent that too. I'm glad the joint showed a lot less discomfort though and that he was able to do the drawer test and couldn't do it. We'll avoid running and long walks and frisbee still, just hang around inside the house, and see how we go. At least it's not a bad case.. I mean she doesn't even limp except for 3 or 4 paces after laying down, thats the only time you can see it a bit. And when standing she has a habit of holding weight off the leg, which is weird cos she's standing still, and she doesnt bear weight off it when walking and trotting.. so maybe it's become a habit to stand with more weight on the other leg when standing still?? Thanks for your info onthe Previcox, I feel a bit better using it now :D In terms of supplements we just received our first bottle of SynFlex in the mail from the U.S! It's this pharmaceutical grade glucosamine and other good jointy stuff liquid and they say to double the dose for the first 10 days to penetrate the joints faster, so we just started that last night, hopefully that helps too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Might be worth taking Shyla to a good chiro. I had one of mine who was intermittently lame and the chiro was able to treat her and resolve the muscle spasms and get to the bottom of her lameness. It was thought to be a partial cruiciate tear. If either of mine have an episode of lameness the first point of call is now the chiro and not the vet unless I can help it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all that glitters Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 Might be worth taking Shyla to a good chiro. I had one of mine who was intermittently lame and the chiro was able to treat her and resolve the muscle spasms and get to the bottom of her lameness. It was thought to be a partial cruiciate tear. If either of mine have an episode of lameness the first point of call is now the chiro and not the vet unless I can help it. Really!! Interesting, I wonder if anyone in Melb has recommendations of a good one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 http://www.avca.com.au/search_results.php?...&search=VIC There is a list of the ones in Victoria. I am sure people have also started thread in the past so you might be able to search for recommendations from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 It's better to be overly safe than sorry with cruciate tears - I think you are wise to be cautious, might seem overboard, but it really needs to heal well and totally... otherwise a few months down the track you'll be in the same spot, just a bit closer to surgery We went through the vicious cycle with Chloe, but we just couldn't avoid it. She would be fine for a couple of months, then have a doggy playdate and be lame again... and it just got worse and worse. Back then, we didn't know much about cruciate ligaments, ruptures, tears etc... and our vet didn't really give us the info we really needed. Perhaps her minor tears just never healed correctly in the first place. Sounds like you are doing the best you can and following all the advice given, so what will happen will happen. Can't wrap them up in cotton wool or watch them 24/7. They are dogs, and will do as a dog pleases (the cat is just ASKING to be chased I'm sure) :D Chloe had a TWO - tibial wedge osteotomy. I think a TTO is pretty similar from memory. For larger dogs, the osteotomies are much better surgeries. Chloe wasn't crate trained, so we had her in a pen 24/7. For the first 2 weeks a very small one, then after that a 3m x 5m pen. Many people said it was too much room, but unless it was night time - she had someone with her 18 or so hours a day to make sure she didn't run or jump or overdo things, and to keep her entertained. Huskyheaven's boy also was not crated from memory - so it's not compulsory to crate. As long as you can make a small pen and supervise as much as possible, sometimes that will suffice (it did for us anyway). But, let's hope you don't need to worry about that anyway Personally though, I would be concerned about her not weight bearing on the leg when standing. It's not a good sign. Dogs will run through the pain, but if they aren't weight bearing when they are standing usually means something is amiss (from my limited experience anyway). Maybe the vet has cleared it though hopefully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all that glitters Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 (edited) Thanks again! The vet didn't seem that concerned about the leg weight when standing, maybe because she walks and moves fine on it, sits normal on it and scratches with it etc? She hasen't seemed to slip backwards in improvement yet she's only been getting better, so here's hoping! When we are at work we leave Shyla in a big lino room, we are going to try to find bits of carpet to put down. How do people leave their cruciate post-surgery dogs if they have to go to work during the week full time? Shyla is only alone 2 days a week. She pretty much sleeps the whole time. If I left her alone in a small crate I'm sure she would freak out and do more damage than if she was kept in her room as normal but on carpet bits... not sure though what I'd do I wouldn't want her having company 24/7 because being that she already hates being alone I'm sure not being alone for that long would trigger worse anxiety when we leave her Edited February 13, 2010 by ~ShelleAndShyla~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andisa Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 (edited) Shell I have heaps of carpet here that your welcome to - it was from a friend when they re did their floors. I use it for the same reason that you need it. Edited February 13, 2010 by Andisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I was lucky that when Chloe had her ops I was still living at home and mum and dad cared for her after I went back to work. Firstly, if you can, take some holidays for the first couple of weeks. After that, if you can't have someone to just mind her (not necessarily stay WITH her - but just stay in your house to make sure she stays safe and not too active) then if you can make a small area, all the better - but if she will stay in that room and there is nothing to slip or climb on, then that should be fine. Not everyone can stay home through recovery and I"m sure many have done it like you would. Most do crate, but there are some dogs that don't do well with crating (I had the same problem as you - Chloe would have done more damage to herself trying to escape the crate and getting upset). As long as you take as many precautions as possible, and eliminate anything that she could hurt herself with, jump on/off, slip on etc then there's not much more you could do. If she is used to sleeping during the day in that room when you are at work, then at least it won't be scary for her and she will be used to it. If you do need to do anything different, start getting her used to it now in case surgery is required down the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 (edited) Well I cancelled the x ray cos she was barely limping last night and this morning she seemed heaps better! But this evening she is favouring it a little when getting up from a lay down Mum couldn't tell she even had a limp when she visited to give her a lunch pee break this arvo.Maybe the leg is just tired from today She had her third anti inflammatory tablet at dinner I don't wish to dampen your hopes ..... I too hope that it is something repairable with rest. But I did my cruciate. Acute pain, and then sore to walk on (limping) for a few days. After that, I had no pain (once the inflammation had receded). But yes, I had snapped my cruciate. I walked around on it for at least 12 months. No one would have known, unless they were watching closely and all the time. Most of the time, my muscles protected and held the joint, but certain angles (down hill) would have me feeling the joint slipping on itself. I eventually had a reconstruction. That's me though and I'm human. Not sure if my experience would correllate in any way to dogs. I just don't want you to lull into a false sense of security based on Shyla not limping on it. Edited February 13, 2010 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Wow Erny that's fascinating... to think that yours was snapped, and you could still function on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all that glitters Posted February 14, 2010 Author Share Posted February 14, 2010 Thanks guys!!! Andisa - Pmed you Well today she's standing on the leg a lot more when standing still, she's only had half a anti inflammatory tablet this morning so not sure if that helped or not, but she definitely is improving. Done lots of research on non-surgical methods of healing if it's a cruciate and it seems lots people have healed even total ruptured cruciates with lots of rest and supplements and good diet and physio/hydrotherapy so that looked interesting too! Considering it's only a little tear if it even IS a tear at all I don't want to rush into major surgery! I guess my vets don't want to either by the looks of it. Rang a really good specialist guy who does lots of leg ops and he said if it's a strain it could take weeks to heal as well! Will see how we go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Rang a really good specialist guy who does lots of leg ops and he said if it's a strain it could take weeks to heal as well! A rule of thumb for healing (if it is damaged only to the extent that it might repair) that I learnt was to count the letters in the name of the tissue that is damaged and that will give you the approximate time in weeks to allow for healing to occur. Example : Ligament - contains 8 letters, hence 8 weeks for healing. Bone - contains 4 letters, hence 4 weeks for healing. Muscle - contains 6 letters, hence 6 weeks for healing. It's just a rule of thumb but I think it holds fairly true, and it is a good way of remembering. It allows us to realise that even though we or the animal in question might not be symptomatic, it doesn't mean healing of the damage is as complete as it could be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 (edited) Wow Erny that's fascinating... to think that yours was snapped, and you could still function on it Other ligaments surrounding the knee, together with muscle (fortunately I have always been fairly active, so I had reasonable muscle tone) made a big difference, but I knew that sometimes that wasn't enough, and I certainly did not trust my knee to hold, so I was limited (avoided unstable and/or steep ground). I was actually informed by one specialist/surgeon (I visited 4 before I found one that I was completely confident in - and made the most absolute right decision to go with him .... he is brilliant ) that I didn't need to have the op - that I could cope with a snapped cruciate, unless I was really active and it bugged me. Apart from the fact that it DID bug me, I was also conscious of the fact that I must be gradually causing more damage to the joint, or run a high risk of worse damage (especially if I tripped/fell) as the joint was not supported as well as it should be. There were certain conditions that had me losing the control needed to bring my leg forward from a backward bend (as in when you are walking) and I'd kind of have to swing the leg so it could 'flip' back into position. But yes, I functioned and in actual fact, I continued my dog-training activities (both hands on and instruction) throughout that period. In fact, how I snapped it was when I was proofing Kal in her drop/stay and I leapt over her. When I landed, it snapped. I blacked out for a few seconds, from the mass of pain. LOL The first thing I said when another instructor rushed over (I still couldn't see for the pain) was "did Kal break her drop/stay?" She hadn't (so proud ) but she had wriggled herself around to be next to me. Bless her cotton socks ;). Sorry ..... I drift away from the OP's topic at hand. My apologies. Edited February 14, 2010 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all that glitters Posted February 18, 2010 Author Share Posted February 18, 2010 FEB 19 Well the little missy is not limping at all now! Gone is the stiffness when getting up and she stands on all 4 feet, I am so happy. Rang my vet and he said thats great news, he said it means the leg is stable. He said it doesn't totally rule out a partial tear but if it is one it may be tiny and to just keep resting her for another month or so before getting the greyhound I am adopting. So we're gonna do another month of no frisbee and long walks etc and see how we go! I think when we get the greyhound we'll cut off half the yard so they can't go doing mad zoomies up and down the whole length of yard, I might just restrict the yard size for several more months and try and keep them indoors more than outdoors for a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjelkier Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 So glad she is getting better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 FEB 19Well the little missy is not limping at all now! Gone is the stiffness when getting up and she stands on all 4 feet, I am so happy. Rang my vet and he said thats great news, he said it means the leg is stable. He said it doesn't totally rule out a partial tear but if it is one it may be tiny and to just keep resting her for another month or so before getting the greyhound I am adopting. So we're gonna do another month of no frisbee and long walks etc and see how we go! I think when we get the greyhound we'll cut off half the yard so they can't go doing mad zoomies up and down the whole length of yard, I might just restrict the yard size for several more months and try and keep them indoors more than outdoors for a while Great news - and I think it's very wise to stay cautious to ensure a total and GOOD heal. However, I'm extremely jealous you are adopting a greyhound... I want one too... (but it's not the right time for Sash yet) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all that glitters Posted February 20, 2010 Author Share Posted February 20, 2010 FEB 19Well the little missy is not limping at all now! Gone is the stiffness when getting up and she stands on all 4 feet, I am so happy. Rang my vet and he said thats great news, he said it means the leg is stable. He said it doesn't totally rule out a partial tear but if it is one it may be tiny and to just keep resting her for another month or so before getting the greyhound I am adopting. So we're gonna do another month of no frisbee and long walks etc and see how we go! I think when we get the greyhound we'll cut off half the yard so they can't go doing mad zoomies up and down the whole length of yard, I might just restrict the yard size for several more months and try and keep them indoors more than outdoors for a while Great news - and I think it's very wise to stay cautious to ensure a total and GOOD heal. However, I'm extremely jealous you are adopting a greyhound... I want one too... (but it's not the right time for Sash yet) i know i am a bit very very excited!!!! I reckon I'll let her heal/rest for another month or even more before bringing him home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now