And now the second knee!!!

We were Two months and 2 days post op when I heard a piercing scream from the other room. Tipper came limping into the kitchen on three legs. At first I thought she had injured the knee that was just repaired but then with a sickening feeling in my gut I realized it was the other leg! 

I tried to tell my self it was nothing serious and she would be fine in the morning. But of course she wasn't. 

When the vet walked into the room he took one look at her and shook his head. It was then I knew we were in for another long 8 weeks. Thank god we had just finished our rehab and the repaired leg was 100% weight bearing. 

So today I packed her blanket and Elizabethan collar and off to the vets we went for surgery. If we are lucky, it will be another torn meniscus and not the ACL. Surgery won't be til after lunch and now  I wait for the vet to call and tell me all went well. 

Day five 96 hours post op

Today is Friday, surgery was Monday afternoon, so we are rapidly approaching 96 hours post op and cocktail hour!

One of the things that I really hate to do with my dog is to leash walk them for going potty. I think it must stem from the hours of leash walking during dog show weekends. I much prefer just opening the door and letting them out into the yard and frankly I think they prefer it too! 

Let me tell you Tipper doesn't like the PT range of motion flexing one bit, and neither do I. We are doing 10 bend and then a bit of leg extension 2-3 times a day. By the time we get to the 3rd or 4th one she starts hitting me with her front paw. I know she is asking me to stop. Which I do for a minute or two. Then I count off 5,6,7,8,9 and last one. This little therapy session is followed by 15 minutes of icing, and that is the part she likes.

It's hard to explain to a dog that this is for their own good and every day it will get easier and easier. She just looks at me with those eyes that tell me,"mom I'm in pain". The fentanyl patch comes off today, and after daycare I will head off to the vets for some tramadol to make sure she doesn't have a lot of discomfort. I also think it's more likely she will start using the leg if she's comfortable.

Day Four 72 hours post op

Ok this may be very graphic, but if you are contemplating knee surgery for your dog it's good to know what to expect. The bandage was removed yesterday and the incision while swollen and a little pink looks really good. My vet did not spare the staple expense which should make for a very smooth scar.

Cool compresses are much more effective with the bandage removed. Tippers temp was a little elevated this morning at 102.9 but the vet felt it was probably a result of the inflammation. Tippers appetite is not very good so, dog grain is out and chicken, eggs and rice are the food of choice. Of course that she will gobble down. She is being leash walked to potty and in her crate unless I am close by to supervise her. She is definitely one spoiled dog.

Day Three,

How appropriate that day three should start just before 3 am. I thought that Tipper might be more comfortable in the giant crate but just before three she woke me crying.

I took her out and she did a few big pee's. She does not like the sling helping her up the stairs but I don't want the good knee to be fatigued. So I'm making her suffer through the humiliation of not making it up the stairs under her own power.

I returned her to the crate and she was quiet for a few minutes and began to whimper. While technically this was day three. She is  really only 36 hours post op, since surgery was late afternoon on Monday.

Having suffered through ankle surgery and multiple broken bones, I know the pain first hand and so I got her up and lifted her onto my bed. She settled very quickly and slept until 6am. The bandage will come off today and we will start some massage and very gentle flexing. not looking forward to that.

Day Two

The vet called at 7:15 this morning to tell me all is well and Tipper can come home after nine. No fever, she went for a short walk and had a big pee.

Once she was under the anesthesia the vet found that the knee was completely stable. He questioned whether to open up the knee because their was no sign of a cruciate injury. She didn't appear terribly lame and he was quite perplexed. We had to get some answers and so he cut open the knee. Upon examination there  was NO cruciate ligament.. It had been re absorbed after the initial injury. What he did find was a totally torn Meniscus. In a way this is good news because the rehab time is 3 months vs six to nine months.

I paid my bill and because of a very generous co owner nothing went onto the credit card!

Tipper hopped 3 legged out of the vets office, stopping on the way to the car for a big pee. The bandage keeps the leg slightly bent at the knee and is designed to keep the swelling down but it makes it impossible for a female to squat, so stand up and pee she did.

The ride home was un eventful and she was settled in a big crate with water and blankets. I gave her about a cup of broth, pasta and chicken which she voraciously wolfed down. She is settled in for a nap, hopefully the fentanyl patch will keep her comfortable. 

As you can see from the picture the vet has a sense of humor wrapping her leg in zebra stripes!

Pre Op Knee Surgery for Tipper

Everyone I meet asks me how she tore up her knee and the answer is we don't really know. Tipper first came up lame 3 years ago. We noticed a slight hitch in her step when she went around the ring. I made arrangements for some rehab and she was diagnosed with a illiosoas injury. We had a course of rehab and Tipper seemed much better. she finished her championship, had a litter of puppies and enjoyed retirement. All seemed well until June of 2013 when X-rays showed a change in her knees and a diagnosis of partial cruciate tear.

After hours of research and conversations with my vet and an orthopedic surgeon I opted for rest and therapy. Exercise was confined to a small 40x50 stone pen. Six months later she seemed good and then early 2014 the limp re appeared.she was not COMPLETLY lame but just showed random lameness. So we scheduled Tipper for cruciate surgery for September 15. 

I dropped her off at 9am with a planned surgery at 1 or 2 pm. Before we even got into the car Tipper knew something was up sand she refused to get in the car. There was no desire on her part to walk into that building! We checked in and the tech came to slip a lead on my baby girl. There is something traumatic about unbuckling a collar from your dogs neck at the vets. It took all my strength not to let the tears flow as my dog walked into the back of the hospital. I watched as she reluctantly followed the tech. 

Now I wait for the phone call...

Do you understand your dogs bark?

Ever notice that your dogs bark is not always the same? And do you ever wonder what your dog might be saying? 

Well here are a few explanations of what your dogs bark is saying.

Continuous rapid barking in the mid range means; Call the Pack, there could be trouble.

Continuous barking but slower and lower in tone means; The intruder is close.

Barking in rapid strings of 3 or 4 barks with pauses in between with a mid range pitch means; I suspect there may be trouble. the pack should check this out.

Prolonged and incessant  barking with prolonged intervals in between means ; Is there anyone there? I'm lonely.

One or two short barks means; Hello there.

A single short sharp bark in the mid range means; Stop that usually heard from a mother correcting a puppy but could be used by a dog that is annoyed.

So the next time your dog is barking see if you can figure out what they are trying to tell you!