Kiz's results

She hasn't got arthritis, her cruciate ligament has gone

I know a few peeps on here have had some experience of this, so if you wouldn't mind giving me the idiots guide I'd be grateful

Just as an aside, there is a guide to this in Dogs Monthly this month. It's got x-ray pictures and quite a good guide. I'm in a lecture at the minute but I can write it out or try and explain it myself when I'm done, if no one beats me to it.

Don't worry, and give her plenty of cuddles.

Sorry to hear about Kiz's injury.

Our Boots needed surgery for her Cruciate Ligament - she slipped on some wet grass one day - she went one way, her legs the other.

Not sure how much of a help I can be? The post-surgery aftercare we found quite difficult (for us at least - Boots was a bit of a g*t to look after). Very restrictive walks (only 5mins to allow for her to do her business), no climbing the stairs, no getting off/on the settee, lots of metacam, the cone of shame etc. Boots had a massively high pain threshold (even the vets were amazed) and the metacam made her think she was a puppy again, charging around the house. She managed to vault(!) the children's gate we put on the stairs to stop her going upstairs, as per the vets recommendation, and she paced so much in the house, she ended up walking far more than if we'd taken her out. She managed to remove the cone of shame (goodness knows how!) but never tried to lick or bite her stitches.

I hope Kiz isn't as awkward with you!

It's the keeping her quiet afterwards that worries me the most She loves her walks and will be gutted she can't go

My vet is brill so I'm not particularly worried about the op as such more the afterwards

OH NO..... poor Kiz...

Hope she gets the surgery and can cope with the recovery bit, I'm sure she will with your care.
xx

Sorry to be reading this, but in the long term it's probably a better outcome than if it was arthritis.

How big is she, and what type of surgery is she going to have?

My 20 kilo Pointer had a TPLO last June. I was really scared about keeping her quiet, but with lots of attention we managed it.

The first thing to do is prepare a space where Kiz can't get into too much trouble. We fenced off a part of our downstairs (all open-plan) and took out all the furniture, so there was nothing to jump onto. I put all the cushions we have on the floor, so that we could sit in with her. It soon became the cool place to be, so that the other dog and the cats were trying to break in!

The rest depends on what your vet advises. My French vet is an advocate of more motion than English vets seem to be.

There are several people on here who have been through it, and gave me great advice. Good luck for the op.

oh no, poor kiara. have they said when they are going to operate on her?

Zoe ruptured hers about a year after I adopted her, but my vet didn't recommend surgery as she is a small dog, and apparently they're so good at keeping the leg off the ground until it heals, that often the little ones dont need surgery. Something about the muscles being able to adjust. And they dont put as much stress on their knees. He didn't give any painkillers though, as pain would help her keep the leg up. Within 2 weeks, she was walking almost normally.

7 years after, there is a little scar tissue thickening the joint, but absolutely no outward signs of injury. My vet says that if he didn't know it had happened, he would never be able to tell. He also says that she would have been alot worse off if she had had the surgery.

Luckily she's been on a diet so she's down to 33kg which isn't far off her proper weight, she's going to have a wire attached to the bone above her knee, then through the bone underneath removal of knee cap to clean it up then replaced

Luckily she loves her cage and we now live in a bungalow so don't have to worry about stairs, the only issue is the chair that she's claimed as hers she spends all her time either on it or in the cage, she's gonna be upset when I block it off

My vet is a local orthapeadic guy and although he does everything this is his 'thing' so I'm in luck there, he says complete bed rest for a 3-4 days then very slow and steady walk around the garden and gradually build her up, he wants her to be moving about so it doesn't seize up. Evidently she'll be lame for a month or so maybe longer

In a way I'm glad it's this and not arthritis, it has a better long term outcome although she does have a small amount on her knee the vet doesn't think it'll bother her for years and will settle down when her knee is right again

Friday

Poor Kiz! Hope the op goes well and she makes a good recovery. What a worry for you!