Anyone's dog had a cruciate repair? How did you cope?!

[shufflebum]

My lovely boy is having an op today to repair his cruciate ligament. He is having the TTA repair which is less invasive and a shorter recovery time but I am still worried about the rehab process. Although he is 8 he is a very active dog, he has on average 2 hours exercise a day and comes with me everywhere. Any tips on how to make 6 weeks cage rest more bearable for everyone?

We had to investigate this a little bit, and our nearly 2 year old collie was climbing the walls for a while. A kong lined with peanut butter is quite fun to play with, if you're a dog. There are a few people here who have been through this with their dogs. Sorry, I don't really know much, but I do know what a cruciate ligament is!

Our lab who was 18m at the time had this.

It is shit tbh. :(

But you must make sure he has proper cage rest because after a few days he WILL feel better enough not to want to be in there any more.

Only thing to suggest are lots of kongs, raw bones etc.

In the end our dog had to have doeses of ACP (sedative) because he was becoming so agitated and flinging himself about.

You have to be so careful because they other side is put under pressure from coping with all the weight... in the end our dog did the other one too, about 5m after the first. (we later disocered he actually had a serious problem with his spine that was probably the cause of both cruciates going).

Good luck. It is worth it in the end, but hard at the time. Hopefully becasue your boy is a lot older it won't be so hard.

Sorry to tell you but our greyhound went through all that&it failed,she ended up having her leg amputated&she suffered alot of pain,she was on a high dose of tramadol daily&lost loads of weight.
But since she had her leg off she is a different dog.
Hope it's a success for your dog.

ddog had it in February. He was in a fairly firm bandage for three days - he was very confused looking, as if he thought the vet had replaced his leg with a fake leg. He wore the cone of shame for about 2 weeks, then at night or a week to avoid nibbling at stitches, and I slept downstairs for 10 days because he was able to get the cone off. It was midterm, so he had a family member with him at all times (we are fairly soppy). Lack of exercise wasn't really a problem, he was hobbling about the house and garden only for a couple of weeks and we built up walks slowly - he was limping for about 6 weeks, then started to use his leg more... we were considering hydrotherapy. He took about 4 months to get back to full scale activity, in his case racing against all comers in the park, and jumping onto any wall in sight. He was skidding a lot on ice last year before he started limping, he is fine now but I keep an eye on him. Good luck with your doggy.

Thanks for all the well wishes. The op went well, vet was really pleased. I picked him up at 5 and he's hardly lifted his head since being home due to the Pethidine!
Have stocked up on raw hide chews, will try the kong with peanut butter. He's going to be the size of a house by the time his 6 weeks are up!

Well he had a good night and has eaten this morning, haven't managed to convince him to wee yet and no idea how his is going to poo but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it I guess.

How is he getting on now? Toilet visits are a delicate operation, and it is quite some time before one can lift one's leg easily .

Much better thanks, I was worried as he was refusing to lie down but he seems to have it sussed along with the toileting issues. I went and got him some more Pethidine as I don't think the Metacam was cutting it and he's alot happier. Amazing really how well he's doing considering the level of trauma to the bone, I'm sure if it was me I'd be doing a hell of a lot more complaining!

Has he a cone on? Mine seemed more upset by that than his very sore leg. They are very brave!

My Westie had this op done in December 2010, during the operation her bone actually snapped in half so she also needed plates and pins :0(

Today, she runs like a whippet and has never been happier!!! It was all worth it in the end :0)

Our springer had this op. Very successful. Managed the cage ok as we had it in the lounge so there was always someone around to pass him nibbles and have a chat etc. He coped very well. He has to have 3 monthly cartrophen injections (cnt remember why) but would certainly recommend it. And thank the lord we were insured as it was a grand with the follow ups and medication.

yeah, insurance....
Because of that operation and another one for a slipped kneecap on the same leg, our insurance went up to £60 a month. Could not afford that, so what i did was take out insurance with another firm, for much cheapness but means her rear legs are not covered.