| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Aug 12 2010 : 06:50:42 AM
My much loved Cairn Terrier has recently ruptured his cruciate ligament in one of his hind legs. The vet is recommending surgery to stabilize his knee. Poor baby is in a lot of pain when he walks. She says his knee will never be the same but that he can return to a more normal state and will not be in as much pain as he is now.
Have any of you with fur babies gone through this surgery? I'd love to get a first hand account of his recovery needs and to know if the surgery helped.
8/30 Update I'm just beside myself right now! My poor puppy had his surgery on Friday. He's supposed to be on restricted movement for 4 weeks. I had him outside early this afternoon to relieve himself and didn't follow vet's orders to keep him leashed. Thought it was a quick pee and back inside. I turned my attention to a weed and a big delivery truck drove by just then. Instincts being what they are, my puppy gave chase. Full tilt running on 3 legs for a few yards then YIP and down he goes. He can't stand by himself let alone walk. I think he tore the ACL in his other (good) leg! We are back to the vet tomorrow to see what damage was done. I'm just sick about it.
9/14 Update Both of us are doing much better now! His repaired knee seems to be getting stronger everyday. He continues to have a great attitude to not being able to move about much. He is able to walk a bit and hold himself up to do his bathroom duties. I'm figuring out posting pictures here so I thought I'd share some with you.
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Sep 03 2010 : 11:59:09 AM
Oh and Ruth, we actually gave Hobbs a birthday party when he turned 1 and he got lot's of gifts! And he used to get Christmas presents under the tree from his Nana before she passed away! Little dogs are fun that way!
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Sep 03 2010 : 11:56:37 AM
Ruth, he's doing surprisingly well. Was able to go out and pee and held himself up without me assisting this morning so I thinks he's getting stronger every day. His surgery on his left knee was a week ago so I think that's a pretty good sign it's healing well. He's been very happy to just lie on the bed except when I take him out, becoming quite the lazy boy! I think he understands he needs time to heal.
Sheila, I've been thinking about giving Hobbs gluc/chond so good to know it's helped your baby so much. My vet said if we didn't have his knee(s) repaired he would develop arthritis and may have some anyway. I know the gluc helps in those situations. Yes, the surgery is quite pricey and for once in our lives we actually had the money so I didn't hesitate. Two years ago, I'm afraid it would have been a different out come,but God is good!
Thanks for thinking of us!
Audrey & Hobbs
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| SheilaC |
Posted - Sep 03 2010 : 11:44:53 AM
Oh man, our yellow lab (4 yrs old) blew out both of his rear knees (acl's) about 2 years ago. he injured the first and we opted for no surgery, since it is so $$$. that winter he injured his second one (both were diagnosed by our vet). We also opted not to have surgery for him. He didn't seem to be too much in pain all the time, just stiff sometimes at the end of the day. He developed super strong chest muscles and would walk up AND down the stairs on his front legs only, very quickly and agile-ly. He hunts with my husband (ducks) and would get a pain reliever pill after a hunt.
About a year ago I started giving him glucosamine/chondroiten (not on the advice of the vet, but on my own) and we have seen an amazing change. He is still super strong in the front, but is rarely/never stiff except for after a long day of fetching/hunting. So---there's our story--so glad we tried the gluc. |
| violetrose |
Posted - Sep 03 2010 : 11:31:09 AM
Audrey, Just checking in on the patient! It's so hard, and he really didn't mean to blow the other leg - bless his little heart!
My sister does have a stroller for her little dog - it was a "doggy shower" gift. Her friend gave her a puppy shower - you would not believe the stuff she got for that little dog - oh my goodness!
Anyway, hope he is doing better!
Hugs, Ruth
Farmgirl Sister # 1738
God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us!
St. Augustine |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Aug 31 2010 : 2:58:55 PM
Thanks Mary Jane and Ruth, he's doing pretty good this afternoon. I know he's enjoying the extra attention he's getting. Poor guy, keeps looking at me like "well, I've gone and done it know, huh?" Guess I've become one of those doddering old ladies who walk their dogs around in baby carriages! Well maybe I'm not quite there, maybe next week!
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| violetrose |
Posted - Aug 31 2010 : 2:30:52 PM
Audrey, Glad everything if over for the moment. Bless your heart - it wasn't your fault that that truck drove past, and he couldn't resist. Bet he will be a good boy now, poor little guy.
I have a 13 year old fur baby that is slowing down - she is deaf and that doesn't help. She has never been interested in chasing anything other than a ball!
Hope you are feeling better today - you and puppy take it easy.
Hugs, Ruth
Farmgirl Sister # 1738
God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us!
St. Augustine |
| CountryBorn |
Posted - Aug 31 2010 : 2:11:15 PM
Oh my gosh, That is awful. My daughters Springer had knee surgery and almost did the same thing. They just don't want to take it easy. How old is your fur baby ? Don't blame yourself Audrey. It is almost impossible to keep a dog immobile like that. They just take off! Hope all turns out well.
MJ
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. Freya Stark |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Aug 31 2010 : 12:31:37 PM
Yup, he blew the other (right) knee out! Sigh...the vet suggested we wait 4-5 weeks to give the first knee a chance to heal and get stronger and then have his right knee surgically repaired. He's pretty much immobile right now. They showed me how to assist him walk with a sheet as a sling around his rear so he can go do his "business" outside. That seems to work well enough. Ironically, him being immobile like this will actually help his first knee heal better. He's seems to be OK with it all, unlike me who was a blubbering fool yesterday!
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Aug 30 2010 : 8:03:34 PM
Yup, that's how I feel. Still a very fiesty terrier. I'm not ready to part with him and I don't think he's ready, this just may be a very difficult recouperation on the both of us!
Thank all of you for letting me get some of this off my chest. Since I was the "responsible adult" I feel very bad about it. But if it is his other knee it would have probably gone out soon anyway. I guess when one goes bad the other follows, just not this quick. We'll see tomorrow. I'm off to bed.
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Aug 30 2010 : 6:40:53 PM
Almost 14 and still chases cars! What a dog. He sure has a lot of life left in him.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Aug 30 2010 : 6:26:41 PM
Gosh! I sure hope he's better tomorrow too. He ate real good tonight and had some water. Poor guy, other than this mechanical problem he's in real good health. Ruth, he'll be 14 in a month. I know that's pretty old for a dog but he's little and they always live a bit longer than big ones. Up until he injured himself, he was going on 2 walks a day around a mile each. Sleeping a bit more but still very active, I hate to see him this way.
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Aug 30 2010 : 4:15:47 PM
Oh No! But maybe he'll be ok tomorrow. Things like this happen all the time. Don't be too hard on yourself, Audrey.
Hugs, Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| violetrose |
Posted - Aug 30 2010 : 4:14:08 PM
Oh Audrey, I'm so sorry for his new accident. Bless his heart, guess he wasn't thinking about that hurt leg, he just wanted that truck!
Maybe he just pulled something today and the news tomorrow won't be too bad.
How old is he?
Ya'll will be in my prayers - please keep us posted!
Hugs and prayers,
Ruth
Farmgirl Sister # 1738
God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us!
St. Augustine |
| maggie14 |
Posted - Aug 16 2010 : 2:06:09 PM
Awe, I hope he's doing better. I'll be praying that everything goes well.
Hugs,
Channah
Farmgirl sister #1219
Just a small town country girl trying to live her dreams. :) |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Aug 13 2010 : 1:36:44 PM
Thanks Melina, my vet told me there are 3 different types of surgery he could have and she recommended the less invasive, less expensive one since he's a small dog. She said the other two are more for the larger, heavier dogs. They are all horrendously expensive but the one she wants to do is about 1/3 less expensive than the other two so I guess that's the route we'll take. He's scheduled for surgery on the 27th. Hope he can hold out that long, I'm afraid his other knee will go out now that he's putting most of his weight on it. We've got him pretty much on bed rest, poor puppy!
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| Melina |
Posted - Aug 12 2010 : 2:58:55 PM
My bulldog had to have the ACL surgery a couple of years ago. He came through it fine and is about 100% at this point. He did develop a hematoma at the surgery site that had to be drained, but he was fine, otherwise. My vet did say he might develop arthritis later and glucosamine and condroitin would help that. I would suggest the older, traditional surgery, rather than the newer, more expensive technique. Ask your vet about the difference. I have been happy with the results.
The morning breeze has secrets to tell you. Do not go back to sleep.
Rumi |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Aug 12 2010 : 12:46:23 PM
Thanks Kris, I'm hoping so too.
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Aug 12 2010 : 10:43:57 AM
Poor doggie. She will probably feel much better after it's done. I have no idea about that surgery. I hope she has a quick recovery and back to mostly normal soon.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Aug 12 2010 : 10:18:38 AM
Thanks, I'm pretty nervous about this. More so the recovery than the actual surgery. I guess this is a pretty common injury in small dogs.
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| nut4fabric |
Posted - Aug 12 2010 : 08:42:15 AM
My MILs poodle had knee surgery and recovered very well. She looked pretty darn cute in her cast and after you never would have known that she had had a problem. Good Luck with the surgery
Kathy |
