Rebel is good, now it's Sadie's turn

[Rebelsmom]

Long story short about a month ago Sadie came in from outside limping. I'm chalking it up to stupid armadillo holes in our back yard and she is clumsy. Well when I spoke with vet a week or so later they said she should start to get better on her own if it's just a sprain within the next week. Well here we are a month later and she has started to get worse. I spoke with vet and they think it might be her knee :eek:

Needless to say I'm just now catching up on my bills after Rebels last visit and stim test, so I won't be able to take her in until the 18th. I feel like a horrible mom but I just can't get a break with the vet bills. I feel like I have neglected Sadie while trying to get Rebel under control. And now it's the holidays!! They said that if she has to have surgery then I could be looking at around $2500! :eek:

So today I asked for a loan from my 401k so I can have it by her visit. I just hope I got enough! They also said I need to keep her calm. My response you come tell a 2 year old lab to be calm! She is a nut job and that's being nice. The only way I can calm her and it only works a little is by giving her some benadryl. I can only imagine how hard it will be if she has to have surgery!

Just wanted to vent and see if anyone has had any similar issues with leg injuries.
:(:(

[StarDeb55]

Melissa, I certainly hope Sadie hasn't ruptured a cruciate ligament in one of her knees. I have now been through this twice. Chewbacca blew his right knee out jumping off the bed in early, August, ruptured the cruciate ligament. His surgery cost $3200, but he is doing great, & has been cleared by the surgeon. If you want to be prepared, Chew had what is called a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, TPLO, for short. My first time was with Barkley years ago, & they do this surgery totally different, now. Chew's surgeon said that the type of repair that Barkley had is "old school". He still does it sometimes, but has had much better success with the TPLO. Recovery time is a minimum of 8 weeks, confined either in a crate or small room, no running or jumping up on anything. Potty breaks have to be done on a leash to prevent any craziness while outside.

I just want you to be prepared if this is what they propose for Sadie, since you indicate that she's kind of a wild & crazy girl.

Debbie

[AlisonandMia]

If Sadie isn't crate trained you might want to look at doing a bit of crate training before the surgery. It will make the recovery period a lot easier for both of you if she is prepared.

Here's a link to a good article on crate training: http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/crate-train.pdf

I more or less did it this way with my dogs. Zac who had never been crated before we got him at 4 1/2 months took to his crate with enthusiasm - it is his "happy place" and loves to go into his crate, be in his crate and to come out of his crate equally. I remember when he had to be hospitalized a couple of years ago that the vet remarked that crate-trained dogs handle hospitalization infinitely better than non-crate trained dogs - and because of not being so stressed at the vets they often probably don't need to be in hospital for as long either in many cases.

Our other dog, Tink, (who has only been with us for 6 or so weeks) has been a bit of a case of "crate-training rehabilitation". She seems to have had some negative crating experiences in the past (too much, too soon, for too long at a guess) but is now taking to her crate here very well and is now leaping into the crate with enthusiasm and settling well once inside. Still not as passionately happy about the crate as Zac, but we now have calm, happy acceptance.:)

It never ceases to amaze me how well dogs handle crating if it is done right.

Alison

[Rebelsmom]

Wow Debbie I really hope it's not that! She doesn't even act like anything is wrong with her other than she limps a little. She does whine or cry in pain won't stop playing or running around even if it looks like it is bothering her more.. And yes she is wild and crazy!! After her bath she does laps around the house making this loud grunting sound. It's so funny..

Thanks for the info Alison, she is crate trained and has been from the beginning. She is ok with the crate and I only use it when no one is home. Will I have to keep her in it while we are home? She will go crazy watching Rebel out playing and interacting and I would feel horrible for her.

[StarDeb55]

Melissa, don't let the fact that Sadie keeps on going fool you. Chew was limping like crazy for about 2 days, & by day 3 he was bearing weight on that knee, with a less severe limp. It might be a good idea, if possible, to try to slow her down as much as you can until she can be fully evaluated. If it is an ACL rupture, I know the repair surgery can be done quite awhile after the original injury. Chew saw the surgeon 3 days after the injury, & was in surgery a week later. I didn't intentionally rush things, but after going through this once before, I just wanted it over with. I had tried the conservative management approach with Barkley, & it didn't work. Sadie is such a young dog that if she does have an ACL rupture, the TPLO is probably the best way to go. My surgeon has done this procedure on police dogs, hunting dogs, etc., & they have pretty much returned to full function.

Debbie

[Rebelsmom]

Thanks Debbie for the information. I have been trying to slow her down. As soon as I get home she gets her benadryl instead of right before bed. It's hard and I feel bad cause she wants to play. She picks up a toy and brings it to wanting you to throw or play tug of war. Poor dog doesn't understand why we won't throw it for her. Then she gives up on plauing with us and starts something with Rebel. I have to then tell them to chill out which makes me feel bad cause they dont understand. And Rebel missed so much playtime with his cushings that it makes me feel even worse. What's a mom to do?

Still keeping my fingers crossed it's not anything major.

[AlisonandMia]

Thanks for the info Alison, she is crate trained and has been from the beginning. She is ok with the crate and I only use it when no one is home. Will I have to keep her in it while we are home? She will go crazy watching Rebel out playing and interacting and I would feel horrible for her.

Hooray for crate training!

I think the vets will be insisting on full crate rest and only being out on a lead. You don't want any jumping about or jumping onto furniture during the healing period.

We have this situation in miniature every evening. Our dogs basically live outside but they come in and sleep in crates at night and are also inside in crates in inclement weather or when there is something scary (like fireworks!:eek::eek::eek:) going on. Every night Tink (being a hairy little papillon) needs brushing and after that she has a short one-on-one playtime with us with some special toys she brought with her from her previous home. This play involves charging around the house and playing catch and chase and generally vigorously "killing" her toys for about 10 mins. Zac would dearly love to join in (and completely dominate the game and destroy the house) but has learned to lie happily (almost happily;)) in his crate despite this. Early on one person (me) would stay in the kitchen with him and make a big fuss of him and give him treats for being quiet and "good". Since then I've had a "brainwave" (ha! ha!) and taken to giving him a peanut butter Kong during that time - as well as praising him frequently and including him verbally. I can now join in the game with Tink without him feeling too hard done by. (Lots of praise and fuss for him once she's gone to bed in her crate too.)

Things like Kongs and treat balls - and big beef thigh bones (remove fat) are just brilliant for keeping crated dogs happy. The bones do make for a lot of mess though - basically you end up with the bedding soaked in what looks like half a bucket of blood and saliva but you also end up with a happy and, best of all, rather exhausted dog! Chewing a bone - at least in the determined way that Zac goes about it - seems to be a really full physical workout.

Basically you have to make the crated dog "special" and go out of your way to include them in everything even if they are "behind bars".

Alison

[Rebelsmom]

Thanks for the advice Alison. My pups are complete babies and only go outside if they have to potty or if we are outside. I actually put peanut butter in her kong this morning for her to see if she likes it. As I was walking out the door I heard very vigorous licking so I think it's a like! But she is also stubborn, if I have to take Rebel to vet then I give her a treat and crate her and she will drop the treat and just stare at us like why isn't he locked up! lol

Guess I'll see what happens next week. Thanks everyone for the advice, her appointment is not until the 18th but I will let everyone know what happens.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Melissa,

My Squirt had a patella surgery redone this past July. The first surgery, for luxating patellas, was about 10 yrs ago and one of the pins came out so it had to be redone. She was crated for about 4 weeks after the surgery unless we went out to potty. Her crate was large enough that she could move around some so she wasn't kept completely still or off that leg but her activities were tightly controlled. Once the crating was over for the most part, she was allowed to be out on carpeted floors only so she wouldn't slip and slid, messing up the knee again. She was kept on a leash at all times out of the crate even on the carpet to keep her from getting too excited and trying to run, jump, etc.

Because I am an idiot and didn't recognize how bad her leg had gotten until she was lame, the other leg has a strained ACL. Dr. Dew, her surgeon, had said she would probably need to have that fixed next. However, I don't know that I will put her through any more surgeries - she will be 13 in Feb. and she has had 5 surgeries already. That is a lot of anesthesia for a little body. :( So I do some minor CM (Conservative Management) with her. I don't allow her to jump up or down from anything, stand on her back legs, go up or down steps (IF I can catch her first!), try to prevent her from running much, and on the days it seems to be bothering her more, and she is leashed all day even inside. She is an old lady now so restricting her activities isn't nearly as hard as it would be with Sadie who is young and full of energy.

When my Crys was alive, it was discovered she had several skeletal problems due to her early neglect and starvation, so many, in fact, that I decided against any surgery for her at all. I found this Yahoo! group for CM and used many of their suggestions for Crys.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ConservativeManagement/

She was less than a year old when we learned of her problems and having some Pit Bull in her, she was full of it! :p She spent many days in her crate, resting her frame and muscles, and was leashed most of the time inside and out. As much as I hated to, she was tied outside at times so she could at least enjoy some sun and fresh air with less danger of her hurting herself. I tried every way I could to make her life pleasant in spite of the restrictions her conditions caused. One of the many things I found on the Yahoo! site that helped us was a list of things to do with your pup while under restriction. One of Crys' favorite games was when I would hide a toy somewhere on me - under me, or in a pocket, etc. - and she would find it. The idea is to stimulate them mentally with minimal physical activity. I truly believe this approach helped Crys to enjoy her short life and kept her from experiencing some real pain and further damage.

Hang in there! I know how difficult it can be with a young, large pup who just wants to play with all their heart and being.

Hugs,
Leslie

[Rebelsmom]

Hi Leslie, thanks for the additional info. We do the whole hide the toy on us too, but usually only once! She seems to be pretty impatient and instead of looking for it she just jumps with all her 95lbs on top of you! Basically she forces you to give it up! I'm thinking in her case she might need lots and lots of drugs to keep her calm! lol

[Rebelsmom]

I aded some pictures of Sadie and a couple new ones of Rebel

[Rebelsmom]

I moved Sadie's vet visit up to yesterday. After having one of the worst days ever, I finally got her in. Vet could not get her to react at all in pain and of course she was showing no signs of limping. Vet thinks it is either a soft tissue sprain that she keeps aggrivating or it still could be a small tear in her knee. She was sent home with anti inflammatories and strict orders to rest and be calm! We are giving it a shot I drugged her up with benadryl and she barely moved last night, she goes outside on a leash only and she is somewhat cooperating. Crossing my fingers that this will help her. Happy holidays to everyone.

[Rebelsmom]

Well Sadie has finished her round of anti-inflamatories. She is still limping and the more I watch her the more I believe it is her knee. I'm leaving to go out of town on Wednesday for just a few days and after the New Year I guess we will be back at the vet with her. It just couldn't be an easy fix. It never is with my pups..

On the happy side we had a great Christmas and I'm uploading new pictures today if I can get it to work.

[Rebelsmom]

Update on Sadie... She is still imping and went back to vet this past Saturday. They sedated her and checked her knee and did xrays. Found evidence of a tear in her left knee and also the beginning of hip dysplasia in her right hip. The vet is ready to do surgery yet since for 95% of the time she walks with no limp and bears weight on the knee most of the time. This helps give me time to save for the surgery. She is back on Rymadyl (sp) and vet sent home Tramadoyl (sp) in case she is in more pain. I won't use that unless she is in a lot of pain. She doesn't seem to be at all other than a slight limp when she first stands up. She also sent home sup supplement chews to help with her joints. Can't recall the name but the tub was $44 for 120 chews and she takes 4 a day!! :eek:

Now let me talk bout the whole sedation part. I had to leave her at the vet for all this and I had to go to Jacksonville for the day (hour away). My roommate said he would pick her up no problem. He picked her up and called me to say she didn't even recognize him, couldn't get herself into the car and barely held her head up!! Later that night she was still to groggy to eat! When I finally got home, she came up to me just pushing into me and whining a lot. Made me feel horrible for her. They said that she would take a long nap and be fine! She wasn't back to herself until last night and even at some points still seemed to be confused.

So this is where we are at now with her.

Hope all is well with everyone else here.