Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture

[Jakes_mom]

Hi, my 2 year old hound, Jake, was recently diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament in his left hind knee. Tomorrow, he's scheduled for surgery and we're going with TPLO option. Jake is a very active dog and has been really good about his decreased activity. He's been carrying the leg most for much of the past 3 weeks, but still running until last week, when we were told to only leash walk him.
My biggest problem over the next 3 months or so, is how to keep him quiet but HAPPY. Has anyone else already gone through this and if so, how did you cope and how did your dog cope?
Any advice would be very welcome. Thanks.

[Maggies-parents]

Jakes parents:
I haven't gone through this yet, but I believe we are about to (calling to schedule our appointment with the Surgeon tomorrow). In the mean time we have been spoiling her with as much loving as we can muster, and a variety of Nylabones. My vet recommended them awhile ago for her chewing, and she loves them. I think we have 4 or 5 of them laying around our house right now. Anyway, maybe a chew toy of some sort, whatever Jake likes, would be a good start?
Sorry I don't have much advice...but I hope this helps at least a little, and that Jakes surgery went well.

Heres to a happy recovery!!
Maggies parents

[Jakes_mom]

Hello Maggie's parents:

Thanks so much for your reply. Jake had his surgery on Thursday and we brought him home on Friday afternoon. We had a little difficulty getting him into the house and ended up having to lift him up the steps because he didn't like the little sling we used, to assist him :)
Jake is doing remarkably well. We have watched him closely to make sure he doesn't lick his incision and he's just amazing. We only have to say, "leave it" and he stops the licking. We only used the cone or e collar, the first night.
His leg is swollen and bruised and he's still tending to walk mostly on 3 legs, but I noticed this afternoon, he was beginning to "toe walk" now and then.
He's being very patient, and, yes we bought him a nyla bone....he had an old one that was pretty ratty looking so we treated him to a new one and he's enjoyed that from time to time. Also we bought him a pork bone from the pet store. I don't think we'll be getting him another one, it's a little greasy.
He's getting lots of cuddles and belly rubs. He's already trying to tell us he's ready to do more than he is allowed, so I can see this being a long winter, indeed!!
Please stay in touch and let us know how Maggie gets along after her appointment. I wish you all the very best. How old is Maggie? and what type of dog is she?
Again, many thanks for your reply. Jake's mom.

[Daveyo]

Good to know the surgery went well. Keep in mind it takes 8 weeks like you breaking your bone OK After about 4-5 weeks you can let him get around, so for now keep his movements to a minimum and keep everything he likes close by. The less he has to move the better.

Also maybe perhaps you can place something high enough for him to leg his leg hang down to make him more comfortable while he lays down to sleep or rest and watch the buzzing of you folks going back and forth.

Primary objective is to keep the weight of the dog off the leg that had surgery. It needs time to heal.


good luck

[Jakes_mom]

Thanks daveyo....Jake is doing fantastic. He still tends to walk mainly on 3 legs, but all the swelling and bruising are gone. He just doesn't understand why he can't go for walks, runs or play with his toys. He's very patient though :)
He gets lots of love and attention. Only 6 and a bit more weeks to go before his check up x rays..then we'll start to slowly get him back to normal, all being well.
Thanks for writing.

[Maggies-parents]

Jakes_Mom,
Glad to hear that Jake is recovering well!! Thats great news!
Maggie is doing well. She is a shelter dog, but our best guess is that she is a 14 month old Whippet/ Boxer mix. She LOVES to run and play and has a ton of energy. We've only had her for 4 months but I don't know what I would do without her!!
We had our follow up appt with the surgeon and it sounds like the ER doctor that we met with originally may have been a little quick to judge. I should back track a bit here....when Maggie was first brought into the shelter she was about 6 months and she had an injured leg - the same leg that is injured now. When we adopted her, we were told that they had thought it was a cruciate injury but it had been resolved. My husband and I were both under the impression that she had had surgery. Turns out, according to the surgeon, that it wasn't a cruciate tear when she was 6 months old, but it was a fractured bone, right below her knee. Poor thing!! Anyway, he now thinks that she may have a bruised bone type injury rather than a cruciate injury. We have been told to keep her on her pain meds for a week and then give them to her on an "as needed basis" after that. We're supposed to just keep an eye on her and she has she recovers (or doesn't recover) over the holidays. She's been off of her pain meds for a few days now and seems to be doing ok. She still holds her leg up a bit, but it doesn't seem to be as bad as it was (or maybe she is getting used to it?) I don't know.
Anyway, we are still restricting her from stairs (42 lbs is a lot to carry up and down the stairs!!) and no jumping, playing or running. She gets outside to do her thing and she wants to run but we leash her. She loves the snow!! She holds her leg up a lot more outside than inside. In fact, this weekend she was actually holding both of her rear legs up in the air at one point. I picked her up then and we went straight inside. Kills me to see her like this!!
So, for now, we are waiting it out to see how she does. She'll be traveling with us over the holidays (we are driving) and if she doesn't get any better by the 31st or 1st, I'm going to take her back to the surgeon. They didn't actually put her under to evaluate her, just looked at the x-rays and played with her leg a bit. He said that if she doesn't show any signs of improvement to bring her back and they would put her under so that they could really play with her leg without her muscles fighting them. She's a slender dog, and a big time runner so her legs are all muscle!
So that is where we are at right now.... wait and see. I'm not a very patient person, but I'm trying to learn to be. :-)
Keep me updated on Jakes progress... I hope he continues to improve without issue!!!!

[Jakes_mom]

Hi Maggies_parents:
I do hope Maggie only has a bruised bone....poor dog having a broken leg before :( I'm glad she found a home with you good people :)
Jake is also a rescue, we adopted him through the Greek Animal Rescue, more by chance than anything, but we feel he was meant to come to us. We had tried looking at shelters within our own area, but found each dog we applied for had already been rehomed. Long story short, I came across the Greek Animal Rescue and after reading about the plight of all the many, many strays in Greece, I knew I had to help. And so, Jake travelled all the way from Greece to live with us here in Ontario. A lot of dogs have found their way to Ontario via this rescue :)
Jake is the most wonderful dog and thank goodness he's very laid back and patient, even though, when he has the chance, he loves to run and run and run.
The time will pass and he'll soon be out there again with his buddies...(and I with mine!)
Keep in touch and let me know how things go with Maggie. Thanks again for writing.