Dog CCL surgery
April 12, 2019 9:57 AM Subscribe
My dog is going for surgery on Wednesday for a CCL surgery- the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy procedure.
I understand he's going to be fairly immobile for about 2 weeks, and then gradually gaining mobility after that.
Im wondering if anyone has experience with this? Any tips or ideas for making it easier.
Spencer is 8, about 28kgs. We postponed surgery by a week as he had a bad case of gastroenteritis. He's recovered well. He generally sleeps upstairs with us, but we are planning on crating him overnight to restrict movement. We can close off staircases up/down, but have two rooms with step downs into them, and no real way to close them off. Will that one step down/up cause issues?
Its been a rough few months for all of us, my mum passed away and then her dog. Both of them lived with us. Spencer hasn't been walked since January because of the knee injury so while doing better than expected, I'm worried about him with more pain and immobility.
Obligatory Photo
Im wondering if anyone has experience with this? Any tips or ideas for making it easier.
Spencer is 8, about 28kgs. We postponed surgery by a week as he had a bad case of gastroenteritis. He's recovered well. He generally sleeps upstairs with us, but we are planning on crating him overnight to restrict movement. We can close off staircases up/down, but have two rooms with step downs into them, and no real way to close them off. Will that one step down/up cause issues?
Its been a rough few months for all of us, my mum passed away and then her dog. Both of them lived with us. Spencer hasn't been walked since January because of the knee injury so while doing better than expected, I'm worried about him with more pain and immobility.
Obligatory Photo
My 70 pound coonhound had to have surgery to remove a tennis ball from his stomach and the vet prescribed some trazodone which really helped him stay calm while he was on crate rest without turning him into a complete zombie dog. Hope Spencer is feeling better soon!
posted by fancypants at 1:35 PM on April 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by fancypants at 1:35 PM on April 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
My dog has had this surgery twice over the past five months. His last surgery was in February. The most helpful things were:
1) An inflatable donut collar instead of the cone you get at the vet.
2) The trick of squishing a pill in bread and coating the bread with peanut butter to get him to take his pain meds.
3) We requested an anti-anxiety med for the first couple of weeks the second time around. It made things much easier.
4) Puppy pads or garbage bags under his bedding. Our dog was drugged up and reluctant to walk and would. not. pee. He’d hold it until he’d just pee all over himself in his bed.
The first two days were really rough, but after that it gets better. Feel better soon Spencer!
posted by ilovewinter at 6:49 PM on April 12, 2019
1) An inflatable donut collar instead of the cone you get at the vet.
2) The trick of squishing a pill in bread and coating the bread with peanut butter to get him to take his pain meds.
3) We requested an anti-anxiety med for the first couple of weeks the second time around. It made things much easier.
4) Puppy pads or garbage bags under his bedding. Our dog was drugged up and reluctant to walk and would. not. pee. He’d hold it until he’d just pee all over himself in his bed.
The first two days were really rough, but after that it gets better. Feel better soon Spencer!
posted by ilovewinter at 6:49 PM on April 12, 2019
Our dog had ACL surgery, but I think it was the same idea. He was about 7 and 60lbs, very healthy Aussie. He was chasing a ball and stepped in a hole and snapped it.
One of our biggest fears was that he would snap the other during the recovery because of all the stress that puts on their other leg, so be careful with that!
He was on pain medicine for a few weeks I think, and we started physiotherapy the second day or so. The vet told us what to do, but it had to so with sitting and standing, and then us stretching and flexing the joint while he laid down.
For a few days we would carry him down the stairs to get outside, but he was fairly fine to walk VERY short distances, like just for his business and back inside.
Seconding peanut butter, bread, and suggesting cheese for the pills, too. And fish oil for joint health (and softer hair!).
posted by Snowishberlin at 10:01 AM on April 14, 2019
One of our biggest fears was that he would snap the other during the recovery because of all the stress that puts on their other leg, so be careful with that!
He was on pain medicine for a few weeks I think, and we started physiotherapy the second day or so. The vet told us what to do, but it had to so with sitting and standing, and then us stretching and flexing the joint while he laid down.
For a few days we would carry him down the stairs to get outside, but he was fairly fine to walk VERY short distances, like just for his business and back inside.
Seconding peanut butter, bread, and suggesting cheese for the pills, too. And fish oil for joint health (and softer hair!).
posted by Snowishberlin at 10:01 AM on April 14, 2019
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To get outside from our house there is a step down and she used it okay without any negative effects. Also since the surgery I've worked extra hard to keep her weight under control, as our vet said that was likely what caused her to get injured in the first place.
Good luck!
posted by Poldo at 12:36 PM on April 12, 2019