10 year old having surgery

[AnSionnachGlic]

Our 10 year old Bichon/ terrier mix, has torn his cruciate ligament and has to have surgery in few weeks. Our vet says we must start confining him in a crate for few weeks as he'll have to after surgery. Looking from advice from anyone whose dog has had similar surgery. Our dog is used to have full run of house ( and couches!) and can't imagine how he'll take to this sudden confinement. Attaching a picture of our 10yr old and our puppy!

My Lab had a TPLO for a torn cruciate. We didn’t crate him, we were able to leave him in one, quiet, small living room at DM’s.
Vet said it would be hard to confine him, we were lucky - if I’d had no choice I would’ve confined him. It’s absolutely crucial the dog doesn’t move much to ensure the surgery works. Should only move for the loo. DM had carpets and no steps either so it was agreed he would recuperate there. It’s a long process.

Thanks Suzi for your reply. I'm afraid we'll have to crate him or at least corden off a part of the kitchen, as he loves mooching around and usually only relaxes when he hops up on couch. He likes to hang out wherever we are! It's hard to change habits of a 10 year old!

Aww poor boy! The picture is adorable.

Our dog had surgery for a complex fracture on his hind leg and we found it impossible to crate him. He was crying and actually getting on his hind legs to claw at the crate, which was completely counter-productive. We ended up keeping him on a lead and carrying him around in our arms a lot

A filled Kong toy is useful to keep them amused. Hope all goes well😊 it’s a worthwhile op to have.

Hi @Suzi888 my lab has just had a TPLO, almost two weeks ago. He's crated and seems resigned to it but still a long way to go. Did it work out well for your dog? I hope so

@leChatEstBoingBoing hi- yes it went very well-thank you. Not as well as it could have as he had arthritis in the joints BUT he got another 5/6 years out of his legs and boy did he use them! Meant he could carry on with beach days and holidays etc.

He is now 11 and has unfortunately torn the other, due to age, weight, arthritis it’s conservative management only. So days out are out of the question and he can only go in the garden and for short ten minutes walks. We put down lots of runners and rugs as we have wood flooring. They are not to slide about. Only short walks initially and build up.

Hope your dog makes a full recovery.

Thank you for your replies. Hope your doggies are doing well. I brought my dog to another vet( who specialises in this type of surgery) and he feels that we should hold off with surgery at moment as scar tissue can form and stabilise the leg. My dog has started weight bearing on the leg and does not seem to be limping as much. The vet says to continue antiinflamatories, start 10mins walk daily ( on house arrest at moment? ) and do gentle physio on his leg. He will review again in July and if still in difficulty will operate then. He said he may well be fine by then and not need surgery...fingers crossed🤞🐶🦮

Fingers crossed OP!

Your vet sounds good. If you're anywhere near Hitchin and need another vet, we had an amazing experience with Davies Vets. They specialise in orthopaedic surgery and were superb. We asked for a referral to them from our normal vet.

@AnSionnachGlic fingers crossed for you!

@Suzi888 very glad to hear the surgery was a success. My pup is still young, so even though it seems awful putting him through this now I'm desperately hoping that it will be worth it in the long run for him to be able to run around pain free (and that he will forgive me for his confinement in the meantime!)