OT Pup update

Taria..... I didn't even know they did such a thing? Do they "straighten" them or what? Poor little baby....... I'm sure they must give her some sort of tranquilizer or something to keep her quiet for a while? And she probably won't be in the mood to move much after the surgery anyway. I wish her (and you) the best of luck, and 100% success. I'll send a "Murphy Slurp" to her while she's recovering..... let us know what you opt for.

Hugz Patti in Seattle

"forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it" =AD=ADmark twain=AD=AD

Well, Taria at least your pup is a girl. When Fred had his bones fixed, I really did carry him out to the favorite bush, (an heirloom rose, naturally), support him and help him heist his leg. What we do for love, we do. He wasn't even particularly embarrassed about the situation. Keeping him quiet was out of the question but we prevented all the exciting things we could. Thank you for reporting back, we wanted to hear that Georgia has a good outlook and 80% is fine, just fine, belly rubs from Aunt Polly

Taria Please keep us "pupdated" on your decision and her condition. If she is so young, can't her soft, growing bones straighten with time and splints/casts? I knew of someone once who ran after the mailman and the truck ran over her foot. She was 2 or 3 yrs old, and the doctor just took her foot in his hands like playdoh and formed her duck foot back into a human foot. 6 weeks in a cast and she doesn't remember a thing. Cyndi

Taria, somebody on my Dalmatian list recently went through her young dog recuperating from a broken neck and surgery. She kept him in a crate and when he was out of the crate, he was on a leash. A couple weeks after the initial surgery, he was adapting to the situation well enough that he would lie down quietly next to her on the floor on his bed. If I recall his entire recover was close to 3 months. Happily, everything healed properly and he recently celebrated his first birthday and a big win in the show ring.

Lots of patience, love and strict supervision.

LizA. Kent, WA

My dear, sweet Barney (who is waiting for us at Rainbow Bridge) had complete knee reconstruction surgery at almost 10 years of age last February. He was a big boy at 90-95 lbs.--- a Golden/Old English Sheepdog cross. Actually, the surgery itself is somewhat draining on the dog and the pain meds keep them a bit dope-y, so it's not as hard as you might think to keep them quiet. We kept him secluded in my sewing room with a big comfy cushion to lay on where he slept a LOT during his recovery period. The post-surgery antibiotics can cause loose stool- we fed him cottage cheese and rice to combat that problem and it worked very well. Barn thought he was pretty special having his own room, a lovely big bed he didn't have to share and to getting to eat that ambrosia! We did his physical therapy three or four times a day and spent time laying on the floor next to him- talking and petting him and hand feeding him kibble- so he wouldn't get too lonely and start roaming around the room. His PT consisted of rotating the knee

15 revolutions in each direction after icing it to keep the pain down. Sadly, when he wouldn't start bearing any weight on his leg (left hind leg) at the two week mark the vet xrayed it and found the bone cancer. One thing to remember, Susan (our doggy obedience trainer) gave me some words of wisdom that mean a lot to me and are a comfort, too- a dog lives in the moment. They may know something is hurting right now, but they do not have the ability to anticipate pain. It's not the same issue as it is with humans.

You and Georgia can do it.

Huggles,

Leslie & The HairyButt Gang cheering you on- pics at

Hi Taria, My friend's white Schnauzer was hit by a car and almost lost her back leg. One Vet said just amputate, but Rhonda wasn't ready to do that. The Veterinary School Hospital put the leg back together with a rod and pins. She was crated for at least 6 weeks and adapted to that very well. Then she had physical therapy. Dogs always surprise me the way they cope with pain from surgery. Today almost 1 year later, the only sign that she had a problem is that the major muscle is just a bit smaller in the thigh area than the other leg. Not even a limp!

I hope it all works out well for your pup. They are light in our lives. Linda in Tx

Taria, Are they talking about an angular limb deformity? I've seen lots of these repaired at the facility where I work and they seem to do quite well after surgery. In the cases I've seen, the surgery is done to straighten the angles of the bones by essentially cutting throough the bones, then using an external fixator to support the leg while it heals. Trust me, most of the dogs with ex-fixes get around just great after the initial pain/soreness fades. Another surgery that it sounds like they may do for her is called a TPLO, for Tibial Plane Levelling Ostectomy. In this, the surgeon cuts the very top and back part of the tibia into a curve and changes the angle of the tibial plane. This corrects the deformity and, once they recover from surgery and heal, most of them do great. The fact that she is young is greatly to her advantage. I think she'll do wonderfully. And if both of my above assumtions as to her problem are wrong, please let me know what the plan is and I may still have information to help.