MLBob Furia
Well-known member
Unfortunately, my 8 yr-old female Lab (Scooter} ruptured the cranial cruciate ligament (equivalent of our human ACL) in her right rear leg. It was evident that the only option was going to be some sort of surgery to repair the tear and stabilize the knee.
I have to give a shout out to our own Joe Spoo ( The Gun-Dog Doc ) who was gracious enough to spend a long time with me on the phone and exchanging PM's explaining all the different surgical options. It was his opinion that the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy surgery (TPLO) was the "gold standard" when dealing with an injury of this sort.
Joe has also offered to send me a PDF of his therapy & exercise rehabilitation program for TPLO 'patients.' Duckboats people are the best!
After consulting with a number of veterinary surgeons, both in Ohio & N. Kentucky, I went with Dr. Jacob Mathias an hour north of us in Tipp City , Ohio. After meeting with him, I felt he had the expertise and experience to do the TPLO procedure Scooter needed. So on Tuesday (Dec.3rd) Scooter went under the knife. She's 5 days out from the surgery now and has been placing weight on the leg when she walks since the second day after surgery. Now the challenge is to have the patience to bring her back slowly.
Rehab is going to be a drawn out process. For now, we are restricting Scooter's movement, keeping her confined in a room ( (she's taken over my music room), and any trips outside for potty breaks are done on a short lead in order to prevent the chance of her making sudden movements - the need for always using a lead was evident a few days ago when she saw a squirrel jump from branch to branch & tried to bolt toward the tree it was in. Fortunately, she is getting plenty of rest thanks to the sedatives & meds. Swelling is gone, and I have been massaging the leg and applying cold & heat packs 3-4 X daily.
At night, she's been wearing "The Cone of Shame", when we can't have eyes on her. The initial recommendation was that she wear the cone constantly for 10-14 days, but prior to the surgery, we ordered a product made by a company in Texas called "The Lick Sleeve." She can wear the sleeve all day and it comfortably protects & prevents her from licking at the incision site ( something that so far she hasn't shown interest in doing ) and something which is much less awkward for her than wearing the cone 24/7. If you've ever had to use the cone with one of your retrievers, you know what I'm talking about. The lick sleeve has been a godsend. 5 - STARS !!
Start of the season here saw frigid daytime and overnight temps, so I'm sure we had hard water in the sloughs. I will look for opportunities to get out, but will most certainly be picking up my own ducks this year.
Therapy in process:
It's a beautiful thing when the sedatives kick in:
"Handicap access" from the back deck:
The "Lick Sleeve" - greatest thing since sliced bread! :
I have to give a shout out to our own Joe Spoo ( The Gun-Dog Doc ) who was gracious enough to spend a long time with me on the phone and exchanging PM's explaining all the different surgical options. It was his opinion that the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy surgery (TPLO) was the "gold standard" when dealing with an injury of this sort.
Joe has also offered to send me a PDF of his therapy & exercise rehabilitation program for TPLO 'patients.' Duckboats people are the best!
After consulting with a number of veterinary surgeons, both in Ohio & N. Kentucky, I went with Dr. Jacob Mathias an hour north of us in Tipp City , Ohio. After meeting with him, I felt he had the expertise and experience to do the TPLO procedure Scooter needed. So on Tuesday (Dec.3rd) Scooter went under the knife. She's 5 days out from the surgery now and has been placing weight on the leg when she walks since the second day after surgery. Now the challenge is to have the patience to bring her back slowly.
Rehab is going to be a drawn out process. For now, we are restricting Scooter's movement, keeping her confined in a room ( (she's taken over my music room), and any trips outside for potty breaks are done on a short lead in order to prevent the chance of her making sudden movements - the need for always using a lead was evident a few days ago when she saw a squirrel jump from branch to branch & tried to bolt toward the tree it was in. Fortunately, she is getting plenty of rest thanks to the sedatives & meds. Swelling is gone, and I have been massaging the leg and applying cold & heat packs 3-4 X daily.
At night, she's been wearing "The Cone of Shame", when we can't have eyes on her. The initial recommendation was that she wear the cone constantly for 10-14 days, but prior to the surgery, we ordered a product made by a company in Texas called "The Lick Sleeve." She can wear the sleeve all day and it comfortably protects & prevents her from licking at the incision site ( something that so far she hasn't shown interest in doing ) and something which is much less awkward for her than wearing the cone 24/7. If you've ever had to use the cone with one of your retrievers, you know what I'm talking about. The lick sleeve has been a godsend. 5 - STARS !!
Start of the season here saw frigid daytime and overnight temps, so I'm sure we had hard water in the sloughs. I will look for opportunities to get out, but will most certainly be picking up my own ducks this year.
Therapy in process:
It's a beautiful thing when the sedatives kick in:
"Handicap access" from the back deck:
The "Lick Sleeve" - greatest thing since sliced bread! :
