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ACL Surgery on my Lab and exhausting the other dog
I know there's one or two of you out there who have had their dogs go through ACL surgery (Cooper's mom... sorry I can't remember your SN!).
Ziva is going in for ACL surgery on Tuesday. There are two different kinds of surgery I was told, one where they put in some metal plate thingy and it sounds like they basically rebuild the knee and then one where they fix the ACL or replace it with some sort of suture thing (I didn't take notes). They're going to do the one where they fix the ACL with the suture thing since she isn't a running kind of dog beyond back yard and living room wrestling while the humans are trying to watch TV.
I have a couple questions though. We obviously have to keep her calm. This also means getting some energy out of Collins (GSP-Jack Russell Mix... hello high energy). We have a tug a jug and a kong wobbler I figure we can use along with a stuffed kong and walks. I can't walk her more than around the block just because of being pregnant. Do you have any other suggestions? She doesn't like fetch and looks at you like you're an idiot when you throw the ball for her.
Any suggestions for keeping Ziva from getting completely bored while recovering? She's EXTREMELY smart (can open the stinkin gate if we don't make sure we have a lock on it) but I think she knows all the tricks I can teach her and not have to have her move too much. She's also gotten a little portly this winter so beyond feeding her with the puzzle toys I don't think those would be good to try and decrease the weight.
Sorry this got so long!!
Re: ACL Surgery on my Lab and exhausting the other dog
Haha, its meeee! Cooper had CCL surgery....but the options sound the same, TPLO (the metal thing) Tightrope (suture thing) or a Traditional which is an extracapsular repair...which is what we opted for, even though he is a high energy, & crazy hyper at times, but I just couldn't stomach the TPLO for an extremely active shorthair(ed dog) who lives in WI. (I work in human Orthopedics so I "get" what that procedure is in a different way then most people). I have nothing against the procedure, lots of people have had dogs who have gotten great results w/the TPLO, but the Trad was the right choice for us.
For Collins, my recommendation would be to hire a dog walker (who can take her for lengthy walks or runs since you can't) or take her to doggie day care as much as possible to wear the crap out of her! If you don't, you will be in he!l w/one bored, hyper, crazy dog that will take all her bordem/frustrations out on you &/or Ziva who 1. is trying to recover from surgery & 2., has to remain under absolute activity restrictions for awhile!
As for entertaining Ziva during recovery, don't worry too much about that. Even though Cooper is a GSP,& @ the time of his 1st surgery he was finally mellowing out a bit (age 5 Lol), we were still prepared for the worst. But, he was fine! Super sleepy & worn out the 1st few days, due to pain meds, the stress of the situation & just functioning in pain/discomfort.....& after that, he just took things slow. But thats b/c we made him. Leashed potty breaks, crate confinement when we weren't home, & absolutely zero exercise for couple days...which you would think for/a GSP would have been a nightmare, but, somehow he "got" it, if that makes sense. Once we started to get back into some exercise, it was really short & slow; walks down the block 2x a day...then gradually increased by a block....& these just exhausted him. (think about when you are sick, & how even going out to get the mail is exhausting) After about a month (??) we stopped crate confinement, but used baby gates to keep him from stairs & off couches, so it was basically crate confinement but w/more room...he's a big guy! We felt bad for him!
Keep in mind, the dogs will do whatever you expect them to do. 100% of the responsibility lies on your shoulders. (same as in obedience training, ever notice how the majority of the "dog" training is actually training the owners? If you know what I mean). Even as a hyper breed, Cooper did not once attempt to run, or even act crazy manic hyper in the house those couple weeks/months following surgery, probably b/c he knew it hurt/didn't feel good, & probably b/c we didn't let him. Its DEF 100x more work for you as the owners, &, its PITA! I just think of the # of times a day we had to take him out to go potty...atleast then it wasn't winter! We're looking at possibly having to have him go through another surgery right now & its the middle of a WI winter!!
By the 2nd surgery he was a pro...from the minute we got home he just seemed to have this "I got this Mom" air about him. We didn't have to do crate confinement for as long (of course we still followed the activity restrictions as instructed though, you don't mess w/the Vets post-op instructions!)....I actually witnessed him jump up on a spare bed 4 days after surgery...scared the sh!t outta me!!
HTH, & GL! Feel free to page or PM if you have any more questions! &, if we lived close Collins could come stay w/us while Ziva recovered! Lol!
thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! We actually got a groupon for the doggie daycare down the road (that we also use for boarding) that we were intending to use when the baby comes that we are now talking about using now and hoping they do another groupon in May or June. Glad to hear that its a suggestion to.
Also, that's really good to hear that Cooper was pretty much taking cues from you. Ziva is pretty chill for a 2 year old lab so I'm hoping that will help. As long as she takes cues from us I think we'll be good.
Collins seems to understand Ziva is hurt right now (as in super cute cuddling with her and napping) so hopefully that continues.
Went through the same thing here. My "wild" dog who didn't have surgery "just knew" not to mess with the dog who did. He actually closed the door once when he saw she was getting up to escape when I wasn't looking. Kinda cute. He also would lay down next to crate to keep her company.
I wasn't concerned with keeping the dog with the surgery calm, she was pretty good. I was worried about how to tire out the other dog. Besides, she was looped up on drugs for a few days/a week following surgery. She limited herself.
I bought a lot of bully sticks (the ones with the knotted ends last the longest) and rolled cow cheeks (completely safe, even though they look like rawhide--which I refuse to give) from bestbullysticks.com.
I took him for brief walks in the fresh air to knock him out.
He does like to play fetch for a few throws, so that helped. When my neighbor's dogs were out, I let him out to run the fence with them.
My dog had extrapsular repair in December 2010, and had the other knee done five weeks ago. So far, so good. The surgeon does all three types and he said TPLO or TTA are just asking for trouble. She has been fine with the traditional with the suture.
I agree 110% with PP. Sounds exactly the same. We had an "oops" five weeks into the first surgery. She got out the door (my fault) and chased a fox. Hard. It set her back three weeks in recovery but it all healed fine.
Recovery seems easier this time, like PP said. Second time around, I got rid of the crate after two weeks and gated off the stairs. She does hop on the couch, but she isn't limping so all is good.
The dog with surgery will be on pain meds for awhile, then probably won't feel up to moving around for a bit after that. But if he gets restless, you can teach him mind tricks, like you say "what does the big dog say?" then he barks "WOOF!" then you say "what does the little dog say?" and he barks small "woof". You can find all kinds of things with a google search. Also, when he is feeling better but still restricted, you can put his meals in a puzzle toy. When he can start moving little bits at a time, it will wear him out! My dog is high energy and did well on crate rest, surprisingly. When we could devote all attention to her, she was allowed to snuggle with us, so she was still included in the "pack" and that helped her a lot.
As for the other dog, can you toss a ball around? Play fetch? Can you send DH out with a ball if you can't? He also will enjoy his meals in a puzzle toy too. Doggie day care is a great idea if you can afford it, even if it is only one or two days a week, it often wears dogs out for a couple of days depending on the dog. Can a neighbor kid walk him?
Also, I think the surgery you are doing is fine! Some coworkers have labs who had that surgery done, and they do just fine! Since he isn't a working dog, it'll be a good choice, and cheaper too. Just remember that he will never be back at 100% before he tore his ACL, but his quality of life will be so much better! Realistically, he will recover about 90%, and if he's like my dog, that won't stop him from doing anything!
This is a tough surgery to get through, but it is so worth it, and remember that you are a good doggy mommy!