Cruciate Ligament Ruptures

[malleerr]

Thanks for that Kel,

I just can't believe it all that we have all been through to have another health issue just breaks me heart for poor little Mallee. Although that being said she does not seem to fussed, the thing that most made her upset was going to the local vets, which she hates, they are soo rushed and make her feel uncomfortable the poor little thing wee'd herself. Not like the surgeons and staff at the hospital who fuss all over her and make it a pleasant experience.

Yes, the antibotics are to help clear up any infection if any. The vet said she would not send the samples off as they don't want to incur unnecessary cost, but as Brock said we have spent $10K plus whats $300-$500 for peace of mind, but no go.

I just really hope that the diet for the week and the antibotics clear it up for her. God, i know for sure if it was me passing all that blood i would sure as hell want it sorted quickly. But as i said Mallee is still full of life and not letting it slow her down, if she is uncomfortable or anything it only seems to be just before she is going to relieve herself. I must say though as i was doing the fantastic task of sorting through mounds and mounds of poo i did come across lots of little spine looking things that were really sharp, and we tend to think they are from her chicken necks that she ate, so maybe combined with a bad bout of diahorrea, and her body not allowing her to digest the food they have cut/scratch her insides on the way out??????

Argghhhhh i am sick of worry about her, i now that sounds bad, but with all we have been through we have just relaxed and really started enjoying Mallee again. I really feel bad for her what a start to life.

Anyway thats enough complaining. Special cuddles to Chloe - I hope that it gets easier for her as time goes on. Poor little mite, she has had as much had luck as Mallee. Hopefully it will get easier again for us both.

Hugs to you to Kelly and thanks for your thoughts

Update again soon

Antoinette and Mallee Moo xxooxxoo

Edited May 18, 2006 by malleerr

[Kelly_Louise]

Ummmm, all i can say is... OUCH. The description of spikeys in her poo.... not very pleasant. It was the same with my old girl Pepper, who could not digest bones properly. We didn't have a problem once we identified what it was and stopped giving her bones. Although I hated the vet that we used to take her to and God only knows what he did to her there. Since having Pepper put to sleep, I've never been back there again, and never will. We still don't really know why she was sick in the end, all I knew was that she was dying and it was the kindest thing as she was in her mid teens by then.

Sounds like your local vet is a little scary. Poor baby Mallee. I bet she felt so embarassed weeing herself. Believe me I'm sure that if Chloe wasn't so frozen with fear at any vet/hospital or strange place she would do the same. She usually waits till she's back in the car . Isn't it weird how the hospitals are much more friendly and sympathetic than the local vets? I suppose for the money they charge they should be nicer!!!

Anyway, had heaps more to say but OH has just informed me that he no longer has a job. Foking great . If it doesn't rain it pours... Not happy Jan!!! I'm going to go bang my head on the wall...

Anyways, hugs to baby Mallee and hoping it can be sorted out quickly for everyone's sake. You're right it's absolutely heartbreaking to get the girl this far only to have this pop up.

Love,

Kel and the red devil girl

Edited May 18, 2006 by Kelly_Louise

[fido666]

Hi Antoinette,

I'm sorry to hear Mallee is not well, her symptoms sound very much like Duncan's but he did not have blood in his diarrheoa. When he vomited it was nearly allways just bile but some occasional solids as well. After an endoscopic exam by a specialist Duncan has been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBS), I believe this is the same as IBS. Before we knew what the problem was we would feed him boiled skinless chicken with some steamed veg and rice whenever he had an episode. Vets generally recommend feeding a bland diet when diarrheoa strikes, chicken would be at the top of most people's lists. Once the IBD was diagnosed and we had him settlted down we found he would have another episode whenever we fed him chicken, we stopped feeding him chook and the problem (for now) is under control. IBD is brought on by protein intolerance, the trick is to work out which one(s) cause the problem. Duncan now eats mainly beef, veg, and Hill's Z/D dry food (for hypo allergenic dogs). The Z/D does contain chicken but the processing eliminates the nasty bits; it's only available from the vet so it's a bit expensive, you can also get it in tins.

Remember, a specialist diagnosed this, my vets were at a bit of a loss to explain the recurring problem. Duncan dropped down to 17kgs at one stage but thankfully is now putting on some condition again. I too have been wondering if all the surgery and anasthetics has caused some of Duncan's problems, I think he's had 6 GAs in 2 years! I hope your little Mallee is OK and it's just a tummy bug, if not and it is IBD it is manageable.

Regards,

Corine

[fido666]

Hi again Antoinette,

Just read your last post (DOL is realllllllllllllly slow tonight) and about the spikey bits. Just wondering if you fed the chicken necks raw, the bones in necks are all gristle and should pass easily as long as not cooked. If she has not digested the bones properly they could cause a blockage, the dairrheoa can be an overflow effect????????????

Hi Kel,

Sorry to hear Chloe is not doing so good but it is early days so chin up lovey! Bad news about hour OH's job, I have been given my marching orders too .

Regards,

Corine

[malleerr]

Thanks for the reply Corine,

Mallee gets the chicken necks raw, we were thinking that because she had a little diahorrea before she was feed the necks on Tuesday night that maybe her body didn't get a chance to digest them properly. But then again, am not too sure, she is such a scavenger its quite possible that she has picked something up from the backyard, but i can't for the life of me think what it could be out there as there are no bones or anything out side bar sticks???

She still seems ok although she has not done a poo since Wednesday night but that could be because she got rid of so much with the diahorrea and has only had a little rice and steamed chicken last night and a tiny tiny bit of rice yest lunch time. SHe is not a happy camper on the food sides of things - she is acting like she is starving!!

Would the vet have picked up a blockage in the physical exam. She did not even mentioned that, we did, we said about a neck being stuck and she said its unlikelyy as she is not gagging or coughing. I am not sure if she really knows what she is talking about because, i explained that Mallee has a tendency to glup her food and if she did not chew the neck it could be stuck in her gut somewhere or something.........Arghhh i don't know. Hopefully she is ok and it all clears up. My fingers are definatley crossed.

Kel i am sorry to hear about your OH losing his job that's just real shitty luck!!! Hopefully it wont be long in between jobs. Hang in there you have got to get some luck soon.

Must fly - too much work to do and i don't want to be the next to be sacked.

Keep me posted as to Chloe and Duncans progress.

Love,

Antoinette and Smelly Mallee Moo

[Kelly_Louise]

Hi guys! Corine what a shame about your job also. However, I'm sure that yours was not as intentional as my OH's was on his part, which is why I'm a little at him. It never ends.

Went to the hospital today as the worry got the better of me and I wanted SOMEONE to tell me that things would be okay. My surgeon wasn't in, but another (who did some check ups on Chloe last time) had a look at her leg, her walk and her stance. He said considering that the op is only new, Chloe is at the right place in her recovery. He said the leg felt fine, looked fine and the movement was smooth. So other than an xray, it was the closest thing to reassurance for us. She is still limping and bearing very little weight, and the vet said we can start her back on painkillers every second day or so for her comfort. But he said he was pleased with her and not to worry that the recovery was not the same as with the first leg. So, I know that I'll sleep better tonight. She has her stitches out on Monday as well, and also a check up by her own surgeon.

Well hopefully Mallee does not have IBS, and something less serious and at least manageable? My sisters dog had a blockage not long ago, but I don't remember her having bloody diarrohea. I do however remember the excitement at Claire having pooed after a few days!!! And seeing that she is not letting it get her down and is still eating well (ie inhaling everything put in front of her!!!) I am hoping this all means that it is nothing too serious. Still it's a worry until you know for sure. I'd be avoiding bones for a while too and maybe that would help. Maybe her tummy is having trouble totally digesting them. OUCH, blood running cold again..... ouch. Poor girl.

Here's hoping all the babies are okay...

Love,

Kel

[Kelly_Louise]

New update... went to see surgeon today and have stitches removed. He was really pleased with the way Chloe was going, as was the vet on Friday. It's just the best news ever and we can now get on with her recovery without the terrible strain of constant worry whether we are doing the right thing or not. She is back on Previcox now and it's helping her tremendously. She is just doing so well, and the tension at home has gone because of this great news. Now I guess it gets harder to keep her quiet though!!! But she's trying really hard to be a good girl... The surgeon said that hopefully soon he expects her to be off all anti inflam medication, and only in her older years he may expect her to have to start them again in the colder months to help with arthritis... but otherwise he is fairly sure that she will cope nicely and the arthritis she does have will be manageable without medication for most of her life.

I have a feeling, not sure why, but I feel that she may heal quicker this time than last. We can only hope. But her poor other legs are taking another beating... her front legs have started creaking when getting up and down... a bit like my knees do!!! That's telling me something.. must be getting old. :D

Love,

Kel and her little red angel Chloe

[malleerr]

Hi Kel,

Glad to hear that Chloe is now well and truely on the road to recovery. Its always the best news when you hear from the surgeon that they are doing well, its like music to the ears...huh.....

Hopefully she is still behaving herself, and not trying to zoom around like an idoit. I am glad things have settled down at home for you, i hated the stress that having a sick pup brought to the home, everyone being so stretched emotionally that stupid little things became big issues.

Mallee is back to her old self, so hopefully the last episode was just a one off thing, heres hoping anyway!!!

Mallee is becoming quite the dare devil much to our disgust, trying to stop her and keep her down is something in its self. We are thinking that going back to obedience might be the way to go. She is just a lunatic at the moment, you can't even tell her off without her thinking it is a game and proceeding to run and jump around the house like a flea on steriods!!!!!! Its almost impossible to catch her once she starts one of her zommie runs. Last night she gave us the fright of our lives after we had taken her for a walk, she decided that that was not enough and proceeded to do the nightly zoom when she then decided she would try her hand at flying. We have just gotten a new lounge suite (mmm a nice chocolate brown leather one) and the old lounge is still in the house in the dinning room. Mallee decided that she would zoom around the backyard and into the house and jump onto the seat of the old couch, which was sort of all right not too big of a jump up, THEN she decided that she was not high enough off the ground so she jumped up onto the top of the back of the couch (were your head goes) AND THEN JUMP STRAIGHT OFF into the next room. The back of the couch is about 1.5 metres high. :D MY GOD WHAT WAS SHE THINKING!!!! Glad her legs held up, she did it with no effort at all and just kept on running around until out of breath.!!!

I am not sure what we are going to do with her - besides having her on the lead again all the time there is no way we can stop all the naughty stupid things she is doing!! I suppose she is just making up for lost time in a big way. It has been nearly 7 months since all the ops so i would say she is well and truely healed but we just don't want to risk her hurting herself again. Maybe we are being over cautious - i am not sure, maybe we should be walking her further then what we are, its just so hard to know whats not enough and whats too much.

This week i have lost 6 pairs of shoes, a jumper, several bills, 2 dog leads, and bowl! Of course all my fault for leaving them in places she can get to, but still makes you cranky!! ARHH THE JOY OF IT!!!

Hope everyone else's pooches are doing as well as Mallee seems to be.

Keep the updates coming,

Love Antoinette and the crazy kangaroo jumping MALLEE MOO

Edited May 25, 2006 by malleerr

[Kelly_Louise]

:D Mallee's antics would almost make you cry if you weren't just so damn glad that she is able to do all those fun doggy things hey? Gee I really think making up for lost time is an understatement!!! And she's no tiny pooch either, she'd be a bit like a missile!!!

Obedience lessons would probably be good for her to give some sort of control and of course help her to socialise. I think we only home trained Chloe (memory is drawing up blanks here!!!), and of course it's hasn't done her any harm except for the fact that she has selective hearing and probably could have been better socialised, although she is never really around other dogs anyway, but she is a big blubbering spaz with people she likes, or rigid with people she doesn't. And of course the sly bugger knows what she can get away with without too much drama, and what she knows she will be in big trouble for. We haven't had too many problems this time keeping her quiet, she seems to know the drill, but of course is getting a bit jack of it all now. But she does have this terrible habit of after going to do wee's she cleans herself (very thoroughly) which ends in a tail chasing incident 95% of the time. She knows she is not allowed, so tries to be sneaky. She will try and hide around the corner, or hide in her bed and try to do it. I'm starting to think maybe she has a urinary infection of some sort or is just plain OCD about it. But overall she is being as good as one can expect. The good thing is that she does listen to me - even though I'm the demanding unfun person who makes her lie quietly. A bit more selective with Dad, and fully selective with Mum... hence why I get the dirty job!!! But she still gets excited to see me if I've been gone longer than 15 or so minutes and greets me with a big tail wag and woo woo's, so she must know I'm only doing it for her own benefit!!!

The thing is Antoinette, you can take Mallee to every obedience class possible, but I doubt it will get that puppiness out of her!!! Zoomies are zoomies, and from what I've gathered, are just not possible to stop once they've started!!! So is the shoe chewing, digging and destruction of everything at doggy level!!! I think it's something you have to roll your eyes and accept for a while (except for zoomies that last forever, Chloe can confirm that!!). I do remember how frustrating it was, but just remember how bad the situation was once before and be glad that you have a healthy puppy that CAN destroy your house... (the new lounge was a bit game!! ). And at her age, you could probably walk 100 kms and she'd still have energy to burn.

Well as you can tell, I've had limited contact with the outside world and only my puppy to talk to all day... and she's a great listener but doesn't contribute much to the conversation!!!

I'm thrilled to hear that Mallee is doing so well (not so thrilled to hear of her impressive list of destruction, but what can you do?). What's 6 pair of shoes when you look into those big brown eyes (and want to throttle her!!)???

Better go and check on my baby girl!!!

Love,

Kel and the almost 4 good legged Chloe

[fido666]

Hi Antoinette,

The type of behaviour Mallee is exhibiting is to be expected after such a long period of confinement. I took Duncan back to obediance class once he had the all clear but he was like "WOW other dogs YIPPEE!!!!", total lack of concentration so we got booted out of class GRRRRR. It might be best to socialise on lead for a while till the "I'm free" raptures wear off a little. I'm taking Duncan to a K9-Force workshop tomorrow, it will be interesting to have Steve's opinion on his issues.

Cheers,

Corine

[Kelly_Louise]

Ohhhhh, poor Duncan getting kicked out of class !!!! Hehehe, I can understand how they can become a bit out of control. It must be so different to have a such a big change in their lives and be able to be FREE!!! I doubt I'd want discipline too!!! I'm lucky that Chloe is older, I don't know how you guys coped going through all this with puppies!!!

Corine you mentioned Duncan has 'issues' (who doesn't!!!), what do they include? Just curious as I've always thought Chloe had some very odd habits....

Love,

Kel and Chlo-Bo

[malleerr]

Hi All

I hope i didn't give the wrong impression before in my previous post in that Mallee was driving me crazy with her puppiness! I am over the moon that she is back to being a terror of a puppy, the main concern i had with it all is the constant zoomies around and doing crazy things like jumping onto and off things. I would sooo hate for her to hurt herself or do damage that may restrict her rehabiliation in the long term. I am so glad that she of course can do all these things, its just worrying at the same time I don't want the puppiness taken out of her, well...................... maybe just a tad, but to have her slow down a bit would be nice, why does she not understand that walking will still get her there......lol.......

I suppose we are finding it difficult in that we still aren't too sure of what she can and can't do, when she should do things etc etc etc. I would suspect that we are holding Mallee back a bit out of our own fear that she might injure herself or something. She soo just wants to play all the time run around after a ball or stick, and its hard to deny her all those things when she looks at you with those big eyes and she seems so fine and able to do them. Hopefully i will hear some more from the surgeons soon on where to go from here, but i think they are in the same prediciment that Brock and I are in as they also are not too sure on what to allow us to do with her as they have never seen the result of the ops Mallee has had, as they have never experienced a collasped pelvis caused by a TPO that required a bilateral femoral head and neck excision!! I suppose we just really need to wing it and take some more chances with her....be a little brave at times.

In relation to the obediance classes - i think we will have the same problems as Duncan had. Although Mallee is very food driven and was really good at classess before all the ops. The main concern i have is the contact with other dogs, she definatley needs to go back to socalise its just a worry though of rough play i suppose. I can limit what she does, its the other people there that don't seem to understand that even though she is a big pup she is still delicate esp her pelvis. We took her back inbetween the elbow op and the hip op and had problems then with people allowing their dogs to jump all over her.........

Arggh the joys and stresses of having a recovering doggy............

I also would love to hear what Duncan's issues are and what Chloe's odd habits are.

Anyway guys i must fly - hope to hear from you all again soon.

Hugs to both Chloe and Duncan. Hope the workshop is informative for you Corine maybe you could give us a few pointers...

Take care and enjoy your weekends.

Luv,

Antoinette and Mallee Girl

[Kelly_Louise]

Oh Antoinette, we absolutely knew what you meant!!! Just want you to know though that apart from having a coronary every time she gets the zoomies, there isn't much you can do to protect her from herself!!! I'm sure she thinks she is fully recovered!!!

Well Chloe's odd habits... She has a 'thing' about open doors and gates. If she sees one open, or does not hear a door click shut properly, she's off and hiding as far as possible from said door/gate. Usually you can find her crammed in a corner somewhere. She will not come out until you go and explain to her "The door is SHUT, Chloe", and she will hesitantly follow you back. We really don't know why. Another is wind. She is fine with the wind blowing, but is scared witless of anything that BLOWS in the wind. If a board moves, a tarp flutters, paper flaps, anything that makes noise in the wind... again she is off and hiding. We have a Cattle Dog calendar out where her bed used to be, and every time the wind blew it had to come down 'just in case' it flapped in the wind and she would rather sit out in the freezing cold or rain than go anywhere near that calendar. We also have to ensure everything possible is tied/taped/weighed/stuck down before we go to bed if there is any sign of wind. She also hates people sliding their feet anywhere near her... you can drag, but she hates sliders. Can't figure that one out. And if you even so much as make a flicking action with your fingers, she will show you her pearly whites in a snarly kind of way (I think we can thank my mum for that??). Anything that you claim aloud as 'mine', to her means it's 'hers' and will move heaven and earth to take it away from you. She has many other oddities that I can't even think of right now... but it really never ends with her weirdo ways.

Just took her for a poo, and yes, after scattering it in 3 different locations (bugger), she ran, yes RAN a few steps back to her pen. And of course had to kick both legs high in the air to cover her efforts (little did she know that the poo was in a totally different direction). I could kick her little red bum sometimes. I can swear she is having a laugh at my expense sometimes!!!

Well better be off.

Love,

Kel and Chloe

[fido666]

Hi Kel,

Duncan's issues mainly relate to male dog agression (but not all males), he also has a few noise phobias such as attacking the vaccuum cleaner and going off his nut if the mixer starts up. After reading Antionettes post I recalled he doesn't like things flapping in the wind like plastic bags but is fine with the washing on the line, I suspect that's be cause the washing doesn't make the same noise.

We also had a few incidents of him snapping at us after his desexing op, it occurred when we leaned over him so I suspect it's something that happened at the vet's. I'm not saying anything the vet did was bad, it's more likely he associated our actions with one of the unpleasant procedures he's had to endure.

The course today was an overview of training a reliable recall, training in drive, and starting on the right foot with your dog. I'm not sure how much has sunk in, the brains a bit foggy after such a long day. There will probably be a thread on the board over the weekend as lots of DOLers were there today.

Cheers,

Corine

ETA: I should add the snapping incidents have not been repeated since, I can lean over him and be "in his face" without any hint of trouble. Steve who ran today's course seems to support my vet theory so I'm hoping it was just a transient fear response and not a long term problem.

Edited May 26, 2006 by fido666

[Kelly_Louise]

Oh I see... Duncan seems to be as weird as my Chloe!!!

You just reminded me, Chloe also has issues with the laundry basket trolley wheels. She will just attack them all the time, even when it is not moving. Also wheelie bin wheels... when she hears that wheelie bin moving she's there and biting at the wheels. No problems with wheels on anything else though. She also absolutely DETESTS anyone talking through the hole in a paper roll or toilet roll. She will play with them, but if you talk through it, she's off or woo wooing. Hehehe, she's really disturbed!!!

Well I hope that the course was helpful for you and Duncan. Considering Chloe's age, I think she will just always be a little eccentric... too late to train it out of her now... and it's kind of cute in a way!!!

I had to stop giving Chloe her pain killers today because she is just too hard to keep quiet. She thinks she's much better than she really is. She still has a slight limp but is bearing more weight on it now and using it really well. The only worry I have now is that her poor front legs (lower down from the elbow) is still making a cracking noise when she gets up and down and it's becoming more prevalent. It sounds like when you stretch and your joints have a bit of a crack - not a serious crack though, just a click. It doesn't seem to bother her, but you know, it's just something else for me to worry about. I did tell the vet but he said that if it's not coming from her back legs to not worry... Does anyone think it's a sign of something going wrong there? Or maybe just pressure from overusing them due to her back leg not taking the weight?

Anyway, hope Duncan the man, and the other little girl Mallee is doing well. I wonder how Stella is doing as well? Koza, please update... although I'm guessing no news is good news right? ;)

Love,

Kel and Chloey

PS. Corine do you have more than one dog? For some reason I have the impression that you do... and I just wanted to ask if you show them? Just curious!!!!

Edited May 28, 2006 by Kelly_Louise

[fido666]

PS. Corine do you have more than one dog? For some reason I have the impression that you do... and I just wanted to ask if you show them? Just curious!!!!

Yes I have 2 dogs, 10 mth old Mel who I show and 2 yo Duncan who doesn't get shown anymore. Mel is a little miss bossy boots, gives poor Duncan hell . They're both good kids really .

Cheers,

Corine

[Kelly_Louise]

I thought so... I just asked as Duncan is such a beautiful boy and I thought I could recall you mentioning another puppy. Have you posted pics of Mel before or do you have any you could post? I'd love to see her.

Well, Chloe is going well. No news is good news. She's starting to become a bit more active, but we are doing our best... and so is she. Barely limping at all now and is taking on much more weight. So it's all good, and hopefully she will be recovered in no time!!! Can't wait, it's so exciting!!! I know how you must have felt now Antoinette to be soooo close!!!

Love,

Kel and Chlo-BO

[malleerr]

Hiya!!!

Wow eveything must be going well for all pooches as it took my ages to try and find our post - 3pages back, at first i thought it may have been deleted for some reason.

We had the most wonderful weekend with Mallee Moo. Finally, its beginning to feel like we have somewhat of a normal dog again. Yipee. On Saturday she had a great day at home, the MIL & FIL came around and low and behold she behaved herself and actually displayed some manners...

On Sunday we finally bit the bullet and took her out on an outting to a local Sunday market. We have been really nervy on taking her out anywhere in public since the op, beside walking up and down the street she has not really been anywhere besides my parents house. We have not so much been worried about her behaviour, more worried about whether she would physically be able to cope with walking around for a distance, and uneven ground etc etc etc, and other people's dogs behaviours. We are such worry worts. Anyway, she had the most fantastic day as we did, we were so proud of her. She must have walked about 1.5 kms with no drama what so ever, was so well behaved, except for trying to pinch a little boys spring roll. Mallee was not fused about the large crowds of people and cars zooming around, she didn't even bat an eyelid on a lady nearly running her over in her go go mobile. The only thing that scared her was a young guy busking, and mind you he scared my also......lol......

We did not have one drama with her legs, she did not pull up stiff or sore, no extra limping no whining or anything. Which you have no idea on how worried we were about her legs. So this has been a massive step forward for our brave little girl. She actually got to sniff and say hello to several other dogs which she loved.........as usual the only dogs that showed any agression to her were a lab and of course a SWF whose owner had the gall to have a go at us for bringing "A dog like Mallee out in public" mind you she said this as Mallee stood next to Brock on the lead with the most worried look on her face as her dog complete in a matching jacket to hers, went off its head growling barking and trying to jump up a grab Mallee's face.....some people....huh

Mallee even got to met another Ridgeback, she has not seen one since she was a pup, and my god he was GIANT. We thought Mallee was a biggy till we met him, Mallee only came up to his belly.....not sure what the owners feed him but he was more great dane size then RR.

I hope that Chloe is coming along Kelly and making you proud also. How long has it been now since the op, it must be like 3 weeks which would make it half way over, am i right???? Hope she is going well and not limping too much or showing any signs of pain. I can't wait till she is fully recovered for you and she can once again go for a walk in her beloved park.

Hows Duncan going? Hope his bowels are doing ok and all other dramas are getting there.

I wonder how Stella and Koza are going? I suppose no news is good new.

Must love and leave you all

Hugs

Antoinette and Mallee Moo

Edited June 5, 2006 by malleerr

[Kelly_Louise]

Wow Antoinette that's just the most fantastic news. I can tell from the tone of your post how happy and proud you guys are. And you have every right to be. She's come a long way and it's time you guys got to reap the rewards of your efforts. Seems like she is becoming very much a lady... who would have thought!!! (apart from the scavenging you mentioned of course!!! hahahahaha). I'm really ecstatic for you and Brock Antoinette. It's wonderful news!!! I know it took you guys alot of courage to bite that bullet, but now you can rest easy and relax a little, especially seeing that she coped so well and didn't pull up sore or uncomfortable.

Yup Chloe is doing well. Now I'm back at work I don't get to spend as much time with her of course, but Dad is on the constant vigil. She is becoming a little naughty, and I have had to remind everyone of the rules every now and then. They think cause she is not limping then she must be fine. It really angers me sometimes, but I just have to keep going and reminding everyone. She actually ran about 10 or so metres on the weekend and I went berserk. Not Chloe's fault at all, she should have been on a lead, especially when I get home as she comes and says hello, and then without fail has always taken off like a rocket down the back to wait at the door for me to catch up. She doesn't know any better, so I got very angry and reminded everyone that she is still in a crucial stage of her recovery and I do not want her off lead in the yard. But otherwise, she is barely limping at all now, and is getting very restless. Her op was done on 9th of May so it is 4 weeks today. She will go back in another 2 weeks for her first xrays. Oh Antoinette I can also not wait until the day she can be like a normal dog again just like Mallee.

So yes, not really much news on the Chloe front... still plodding along with a ways to go yet... but we're getting there and I am indeed very proud of my little one. I'm so happy that we've been through all this, it has really been worth it... even through the worry and pain etc.

Must run too, thanks for the update Antoinette, it's made my day!!! Lovely to hear from you!!!

Lotsa love,

Kel and Chloe

(PS. I bet Chloe is very proud of sister Mallee too, and sends her a big lick)

[fido666]

Hi Antoinette,

Glad to hear you had an uneventful outing with Mallee and I bet she enjoyed it too! Nothing much new on the Duncan front except I've noticed he's a little stiff, I'm wondering if it's the cold weather? Lately he's been really sooky and clingy, very smoochie. He turned 2yo on the 27th May!

Hi Kel,

It's hard when the rest of the household doesn't obey the rules (and Chloe chooses to forget them) . I hope she didn't strain herself too much but I'm sure she will be fine.

Cheers,

Corine