[OwnedByJezebel]

What a sweet picture!

My pup was 3 when she had surgery. LadyJane and I are both in the Houston area.

If you get a second opinion that is the same as the first (i.e. you need to wait until the growth plates close), we need to start talking about strategies for preventing that knee from getting any worse over the next 4-5 months.

With the LP, her knee was already unstable, but add a CCL tear to that and it is even more wobbly. There is a structure in the knee (meniscus) that provides cushioning in between the femur and the tibia / fibula. The instability of the joint will damage the meniscus and wear it down. Once it is gone, there will be bone on bone, arthritis, pain, and the surgery won't help. Do everything you can to protect that meniscus over the next 4-5 months.

Some precautions I took during Jezebel's confinement period after surgery might be helpful to you:

1. No walking except for going to use the bathroom. If you take her outside to go to the bathroom, she must be on a leash. You don't want her trying to chase a bird or something.

2. My dogs get excited and run to the front door when someone knocks or rings the doorbell. I put a sign on the front door asking not to ring the door bell or knock, that there was a recovering surgical patient inside and to feel free to call instead.

3. She needs to be crated (or you can use an x-pen) when you are gone and also when you can't give her your undivided attention. You can't risk her jumping on and off furniture, and you know how quickly they can do that if you just turn your head.

4. To leave NOTHING to chance, when she was not in her x-pen, I tethered her to me. I used groomer's loop, which has a clip on one end and an adjustable loop on the other end. I would clip it to her harness and I could put the loop around my wrist (if she was on my lap) or around my ankle or a chair leg (if I was on the computer and she was in her bed on the floor next to me. I also tethered her (and still do, since the other leg still has LP) in bed at night. I tethered her to me when she was sitting next to me on the sofa. I really did not want to leave anything to chance.

I think LadyJane used a stroller when her pup was not confined, so that's an option for you. You can also buy one of those sling things to carry her around.

5. You need to think about everything that gets her excited an avoid those things at all costs. No play dates, for example. Jezebel is one of those dogs that jumps and jumps and jumps at meal time. The x-pen she was in didn't prevent that and tether wouldn't either, so I would hold her before hubby put her food out and then put her down.

Good luck. If you can get her to the point where a successful surgery can be done, you'll already have a good routine down that she will be used to for post-surgery care.