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!

Day Five

We had a bit of a setback on Wednesday. It seems the leg doesn't bother Tipper when she wants to run from window to window barking at whatever might pass by, So she wil, have to be crated when I am not physically with her.

I moved her into the giant crate and being in a false pregnancy she loved it. She has her blanket and a nice sheepskin bed.

I am freezing peanut butter inside a marrow bone to entertain her and she does a great job cleaning it out.

One of her favorite places to lie is on my bed which is a good two feet off the ground, so yesterday I took the bed apart and put the mattress and box spring on the floor. now the bed is about 18 inches off the ground.

Sometimes she comes out of the crate holding the leg up and sometimes she will put a little weight on it. I can't say I've noticed much of an improvement which makes me a little worried.

Tipper is getting the Deramax every other day for pain and inflammation. I wonder if she should get it more often.?

Tipper's torn cruciate ligament

Yesterday was a nightmare of a day,  Tipper my 6 year old dalmatian was diagnosed with a partial tear of her cruciate ligament.

After a few weeks of off and on lameness, mostly when she got up from resting where she would hold up her leg for a few steps I decided it was time to visit the vet.

After only a few minutes my vet was pretty sure it was a partial tear but x rays would be needed to confirm the diagnosis. The X-ray doesn't actually show the ligament but rather the change in the bones around the knee. So until surgery is done there's no way to know how torn it it.

There is a lot of information about these tears. There is no doubt that ruptures require surgery but there is a lot of controversy about partial tears.

My vet clearly explained what happened to the knee, what could happen in the future and my options. 

I went home and spent hours on research and found a lot of information suggesting that restrictive activity for at least 8 weeks could mend the tear. My vet and I had a very frank conversation about waiting before doing surgery and he agreed that it wouldn't hurt. He prescribed, glucosamine and some omega fatty vitamins during the eight week period.

So we  are going to try a less invasive approach for a while.

We will start with some anti inflamitary drugs for a few  days to reduce the swelling? This  will be very

challenging since Tipper will only be allowed in the small fenced area, without other dogs. No running, jumping or any other activity. Basically out to pee and thats it. After 8 weeks if the leg appears less inflamed and swollen and there is no sign of lameness she can have 5 four minute walks  on a leash:-(. This will not be an easy recovery for a very active dog. Whether we do the surgery or not this 8 weeks of restrictive activity is required to  heal the leg.

I thought it might be good information to record since most of the medical research says dogs under 20 pounds can heal a tear but it usually isn't possible for larger dogs. What Tipper might have going for her is a very lean body at just 43 pounds.

I will post as we forge our way through the healing process.

Waiting for Spring

It's amazing how time gets away from you and before you know it, it's been forever since I have posted to the blog.

It's not that I haven't been doing anything but the blog seems to fall to the bottom of the list.

So what's new... The book was finally released with the 15 day old pictures of the Alex x Tipper litter from last spring. The photographs are gorgeous. It is titled "Newborn Puppies" by Traer Scott. It helps to tell about how horrible puppy mills are.

We have also been working on our own book about Apple & Whitney 2 beautiful deaf gives who were given special homes and are showing the world how special deaf dogs can be, rather that being euthanized because they couldn't hear.

We have also been showing Sizzle who is close to her championship,

They daycare dogs have been literally climbing the walls for spring and today is the first day in a long time that there hasn't been any snow in the yard.

We have some new clients including Nacho, Rio, Scout and Willow.

Childhood memories on an almost Spring Day

Despite being February 15th the weather is almost spring like. Granted I am dressed in long silk underwear and two layers of fleece, but no hat, no boots and no gloves. There is not a cloud In the sky and you can almost hear the snow melting.the top layer gives the appearance of cotton candy but be ware there is too much yellow snow to consider taking a bite . The dogs are even enjoying the warmth as they bask in the sun. As I sit here I feel occasional space of cold That emanates from the melting snow. This sensation never fails to bring back a specific memory from my childhood. It was a day in March and I was riding my horse through the woods. I was wearing a short sleeve navy blue shirt and I was more than comfortable as "Mairi" and I galloped along the trails. Then we came across a space that still held the winter cold as we traveled down the trail. I know it was just the air from a melting pocket of snow but it brought a shiver to my spine non the less!

The Road Most Traveled by "Sea Dog"

Leopold, Leo for short  lives by the sea shore, as a matter of fact he lives right on the harbor. A little history about Leo. He is a black and tan Min Pin, 1 year old who yes came from a pet store. But his owner saw fit to provide Leo with the best opportunity to overcome the first 4 months of his miserable life and he has made great strides. He is amazingly smart. It doesn't take him long to pick up on stuff. Good and bad. if I ever got a little dog it would be a Leo dog. He's got a big dog personality in a compact little body.
A few weeks ago I took to bringing Leo home after a day of daycare. It is about an 8 mile drive to his house.  I find the first view of the water and boats and the smell of the sea  almost as good as a cocktail at the end of the day.
The first few trips were uneventful. But last week as soon as we turned into his drive way Leo let out a little..."Hey everyone I'm home". He did it all three days!
Now people will tell you all the time about how their dogs hear the car when their owner turns into their street, or their dog sees a familiar landmarks and starts getting excited. I know my dogs can be returning from a dog show sound asleep and as soon as I turn into our road up their heads pop. So I got to thinking.
How did Leo know he was home. He couldn't see out the windows because he was in his carrier on the front seat  with his seat belt attached. Unlike an owners car his house wasn't making any noise. Could he sense the amount of time in the car? Did he feel the car climb up the incline to his house? How did he know?
And then last Friday evening it dawned on me as I gulped in the unmistakable smell of a low tide and heard the sailboat lanyards lightly clinking on the masts. Leo who's hearing and sense of smell was a hundred times better than mine knew he was home by the smell of the sea.

The Cast Iron Stomach...

One of my dogs will puke at least once a week. I spend a lot of money on dog food and despite that my dogs prefer crap they find on their travels. I tell people all the time I wonder why I bother to buy good quality food when they prefer dirt and grass.

Not having the double stomach like most grazing animals the grass always finds itself back in the yard. And as I write I hear that well known sound and sure enough  Tipper just deposited a big pile of food on the rug.

So when Margaux's owner told me she had been puking once or twice a week for the past few months it didn't seem to be too much of a concern to me especially when she also mentions that she chews and eats everything she can find. Typical of a puppy and a lab. But her owner had decided to bring her to the vets. Margaux was diagnosed as probably being allergic to her food. Her food was changed and she was no longer puking. Seemed as though the vet was right.

Now I love my vet dearly but having multiple dogs it needs to be serious before I pick up the phone.

Being in dogs for multiple decades I trust my instincts when it come to a vet visit.

If a dog is limping but will put weight on a limb, I check the paw and put the dog on crate rest and leash walks.

If a dog has diarrhea and no fever I rest the gut for 24 hours and start a meal of oatmeal and chicken. Some people like the hamburg and rice but I prefer the oatmeal. if there's anything in the stomach it seems to bind to the oatmeal.

Same goes for vomiting.

For simple cuts and punctures, cleaning the wound , some antibiotic cream and just watching the wound usually does the trick.

Fevers, not drinking or eating, lethargy (after all the saying sick as a dog has some merit) and we are in the car.

Sunday morning rolled around and Margaux puked. Being a long time student of poop and puke I was intrigued by the small little currents in her puke. On further investigation I realized they were tiny pieces of black plastic. The same plastic that her crate tray was made of. The same crate tray that she has been snacking on for months. Her owner has purchased a new crate with a metal tray which hasn't arrived yet but I'm betting on Margaux being allergic to her crate tray rather than her food! 

Defying the Odds

Take a minute to watch this video......


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8zKndhTCy8

Wow...

I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted to the blog. This week is quiet at Sit Stay and Play with 4dogs on vacation.... like they aren't every day right!

anyway to fill in the gap I am posting a slideshow of the puppies when they were 7 weeks old. Friday they turned 3 months and their dad turned 2 years yesterday.

The Heat is On and...

you need to pay special attention to your dogs.
Once the temperature gets above 75 degrees you CAN NEVER LEAVE YOUR DOG IN THE CAR UNATTENDED. While you might think its cool enough with windows cracked or the sunroof open , it can still reach temps above 105 degrees in a matter of minutes.Temperatures this high will actually cook your dog! So you might think it would be nice to take your dog for a ride, but do them a favor and leave them home.
Water is very important...lots of cold fresh water. Once I hear the weather is getting warm, I start freezing big ice cubes. I use a 3 inch round tupperware container. The trick is keeping the dogs from removing the cube from the water bucket.

Bailey and Margaux...beating the heat.

Just like people exercise should be limited during the heat of the day. If your dog needs to run keep it to the early morning and late evening.
Dogs can suffer from heat stroke and it requires immediate emergency treatment. Dogs do not tolerate high temperatures as well as humans. Because dogs cool their body by panting, when the temperature is close to the thier body temperature it becomes difficult to cool their bodies.
Heat stroke begins with rapid, frantic , noisy breathing, the tongue is bright red, and saliva is thick. They will frequently vomit and their temperature can reach 106 degrees or higher. It is very important to cool your dog immediately and get them to a vet.
If possible keep your dog in a cool place. If your dog needs to stay outside, make sure he has shade all day and plenty of water that can't possibly be knocked over. If possible provide the dog with a pool of water.
Now if you should be crazy enough to exercise in 90 degree heat during the middle of the day, do your dog a favor and leave them home.

On our way....

Tomorrow Apple and Dazzle begin their new adventure as we travel to MD to their new temporary home. They will start their Therapy Dog training.
The Dalmatian Club of America supports the euthanizing of deaf puppies in their code of ethics. Another reason to not be a member! I am bringing 2 ten week old girls who you would never know, were deaf except for the fact, that when you call their name they don't come.
They are going to be two special girls who will have very important jobs. They already know sit, down, come, watch me, no, touch and yes.
How many other ten week OL hearing puppies could boast such accomplishments.
They will also be taught agility and with some luck they might be some of the first deaf dogs to compete in AKC performance events.
Much better alternative

I found an Angel!

By the time Apple and Razzle(Dazzle) were 15 days old, I knew in my heart they were deaf. I called my friend and co owner of the litter and sobbed my heart out. Giving her the news that I thought was a death sentence for these 2 beautiful babies.
I was committed to giving these 2 little girls the most love and the best life that could be packed into 7 or 8 weeks.As the days went by they seemed to show some signs of hearing, after all Apple was almost always awake standing alongside the other hearing puppies. On the other hand Razzle was often dead asleep in the crate. But many times when I went into the puppy room there they were sitting and staring at me waiting to be petted or fed or just picked up and loved.When I picked up Apple the tears would start to flow and she would look at me and lick them off my face, as if she was saying "it's okay, don't be sad.
After some research on the internet, I learned that deaf dogs can be trained and live very productive lives. After all if we could teach a gorilla to sign, why couldn't we teach a puppy the same thing. Yes it would be a lot of work but so is training a hearing puppy.
When the day came for the hearing test I handed off my babies to strangers and waited with tissue and a heavy heart, already knowing the results before they were confirmed. But I also knew that these babies would come home with me until I found them a home. The puppies and I started signing and after the first 10 minute lesson they knew the sit command! But would they remember it the next day? yes they did.
A week later and they are working on "yes" "sit""down" "watch me" and believe it or not "come"
And then an angel came into their lives.......SPOTTED DOG DALMATIAN RESCUE a non profit organization offered them a home where they will be trained as therapy dogs and placed in a forever home.
Support Spotted Dog Dalmatian Rescue with Spotted Dog Dalmatian Rescuedonatetab.firstgiving.comSpotted Dog Dalmatian Rescue is a great cause. You can show a little love by heading on over to the Facebook page titled "Spotted Dog Dalmatian Rescue" to help us spread awareness. You will make a huge difference by liking and sharing our message, or even just leaving a comment on our page.

Sizzle

We learned to eat this week and dandelions were a favorite