Limping puppy

[lainacohen]

I think I am putting the words bed rest into her mouth. I believe she said, no jumping and keep her calm. But Winnie is a fire ball, if I give her an inch she will take a mile. She can also jump on or over everything. She is only five pounds and can jump 5 feet (obviously this is why we are in this situation in the first place, you would think she would have learned). I dont know how to let her off the leash without her jumping.

[lainacohen]

Thank you Tricia!

YT does help with the internal anxiety I have with her. I have no people babies. Winnie is my child,

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by lainacohen

I think I am putting the words bed rest into her mouth. I believe she said, no jumping and keep her calm. But Winnie is a fire ball, if I give her an inch she will take a mile. She can also jump on or over everything. She is only five pounds and can jump 5 feet (obviously this is why we are in this situation in the first place, you would think she would have learned). I dont know how to let her off the leash without her jumping.

Oh, okay. In that case, I'd be leery of her jumping on and off the bed, and try to keep her from jumping on and off couches. Strategically placed sheets of aluminum foil can help with that--many Yorkies don't like to jump onto aluminum foil. If it were my Bella, I'd have to ask to vet to prescribe a mild sedative, because she can easily jump on and off the bed and couches, does heroic leaps off the back of the sofa, and runs like a bullet-dog when I walk her outdoors.

[lainacohen]

They vet would do that? I asked her if the pain medication would make her sleepy but she told me no. I didnt think that the vet would give me a sedative.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by OwnedByJezebel

OUCH! Poor baby's knee cap was dislocated, so glad you took Winnie to the vet.

I may be the odd one out here, but this is my opinion.

If, indeed, the vet found that the knee cap was out of place and popped it back in, then I don't have a problem with the vet's advice. Luxating patellas (unfortunately) are often seen in toy breeds, and sometimes it is severe enough that it needs surgery. She could also have torn a ligament, but based on what you say the vet did, I don't think there was any way she could know if that was the case one way or the other. Letting it rest for a week and then sending you to the ortho vet if it is still bothering her would get you into the best hands to fix the patella and a possibly torn ligament (and waiting for a week and resting won't hurt her outcome).

Now, if there is a broken bone you would not want to wait. But the only way to tell that is with an xray. If I were you, I would call the vet's office and politely ask if they could go ahead and get you in to see the ortho surgeon. Then you can get the expert opinion and xray (sometimes a regular vet won't take the xray at the correct angle and the ortho will have to do it again).

These are the possibilities that you could hear from the specialist:
1. Exactly what your regular vet told you, only involving luxating patella and needing crate rest for a while with ongoing monitoring with no jumping to prevent worsening of the condition, or, in more advanced cases, surgery.
2. Luxating patella with a torn ligament, surgery is required.
3. Broken bone, surgery required.
4. Who knows, but I can't think of anything else.

I'm really thinking that it is going to be #1 or #2, especially since your vet had to pop the patella back into it's proper place. If they can go ahead and refer you to the specialist, you will KNOW exactly what you are dealing with.

Now, regarding keeping her on bed rest, they adjust easier than you would think, but they do have their "moments." This is what I did when mine had surgery and was supposed to be confined for 8 weeks:

I kept her in a crate or small ex-pen when I couldn't watch her. They can be large enough for a bed and a piddle pad, as she should be allowed to get up and go potty when she needs to.

Does she like being held or being in your lap? Do that when you can. I used a tether (actually an 18" loop from a grooming arm), with the clip attached to her harness and the loop end around my wrist. If I was at the computer, I would put her bed in my lap and tether her to my wrist, or I would put the bed on the floor next to me and let her lay there with the loop around my ankle.

The reason I used the tether is because if she hears the doorbell or a door knock (even on TV), she jumps up and bolts to the front door. I also put a sign on the front door asking people not to knock or ring the doorbell because there was a recovering surgical patient. The sign worked remarkably well -- dh had ordered a case of wine which requires an adult signature for delivery, and UPS left it without knocking or ringing the bell.

When you do take her out to potty, she must be on a leash. You don't want her taking off and chasing a bird or a butterfly.

Two weeks after surgery, mine was allowed to go on walks 2-3 times per day. They started out 5 minutes in duration and increased 5 minutes each week until they reached 20-30 minutes in length. This not only helped with rehab, but also really helped to burn off some energy.

After 6 weeks had passed, I figured I had been taking her on multiple walks per day for 4 weeks, so I gave her a little more freedom and no longer used the expen. (During the 8 weeks one of us was always home, we did not go anywhere together, but if we had to, she would have gone back in the expen while we were gone). She could get up and go look out the window, go from one bed to the next, follow me around, etc. But you know how they are, they spend a lot of time sleeping anyway. I put empty cardboard boxes on all of the furniture so that she could not jump up or down. She was still allowed on the furniture when one of us was using it, but still tethered so that she couldn't jump down.

Good luck, I hope you get positive news and one week's rest is all that is required.

[ladyjane]

My most active pup, Cookie, had surgery for a torn CCL about 3 weeks ago. I was dreading her recovery because she is so active; but she has actually done very well with it. I use a stroller for her and attach her to it with a leash. She travels from room to room with me ..when I have to go out for short periods, I do crate her. At night I have her crate next to my bed .. she has enough of a leash to be able to get on the bed if she wants or remain in the stroller.
This has worked wonderfully for Cookie! She has to be like this for 5 more weeks. I was thinking today what she will be like when she is finally free. haha

[lainacohen]

Thats actually a big fear of mine. That Winnie will change in personality or heaven forbid be angry at me after the week is up.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by lainacohen

Thats actually a big fear of mine. That Winnie will change in personality or heaven forbid be angry at me after the week is up.

This will not change Winnie's personality. I cannot tell you how many pups I have been through this with...they all go back to being themselves! They don't get angry with us either.....no chance. They don't carry grudges like people...all about that unconditional love!

[cummins]

She won't be mad at you.she may not understand but she'll still love you after all your her Mom

[lainacohen]

Thank for all the support guys! I'll let you know how she is coming along though my gut feeling is that she will end up needing surgery. To think she has fallen so many times and it takes just one more fall.

[OwnedByJezebel]

Laina:

How is Winnie now? Is she walking better since the kneecap was popped back into place?

Just to clarify ... I have no idea if what your vet wants during this next week, as far as rest goes, is as structured and inflexible as what I did with Jezebel after her surgery. I just wanted to let you know what we did to cope with the situation for 8 weeks to give you some ideas. If you can just confine her when you can't be right with her, leash her when there is a possibility that she might take off running, and prevent her from jumping (up or down), that will go a long way.

Jezebel had a torn ligament and Winnie may not, and a good week of rest will make it clear what you do next. They don't all need surgery.

I actually like your vet's "rest for a week" conservative approach. Even if a ligament is torn and surgery is required, resting for a week isn't going to change how successful the outcome is, and it just might show that surgery isn't needed at all.

Regarding how they change after surgery, Jezebel is the same. Last week, 3 months post-op, I realized she was running around the back yard, having a great time, as fast as ever. She still has the same spirit. The only restriction I still impose on her indoors is that she is tethered when she sleeps in our bed, it is extra high and I don't want her jumping on and off of it.

Leashing her every time we went outside during her recovery has also come in handy. I normally don't leash her when she is in our fenced back yard, I just go out with her. But a couple of weeks ago, one night, she wanted to go out so I turned on the outside light and went out with her. She saw the skunk before I did. We avoided disaster, but not before I probably woke up the neighborhood with all of my screaming. She just would not listen, and had a great time chasing the skunk around to the dark side of the house where the light didn't shine. All the while, I'm trying to get her to come back, sniffing the air ... finally got her back and she will never go out with me at night off-leash. If she wants to go out, I grab the leash, and sees that and gets excited knowing that she is about to get what she wants ... she looks for the skunk, for a frog that is usually in the same spot, etc., but really doesn't seem to care that she is on-leash.

No, their personalities don't change, but it is a good opportunity to get them used to some new habits.