Zeus is doing really well! I'm VERY happy that since his operation he hasn't once limped or favored his leg, things only seem to get better and not worse! The last couple of days I've started to take Zeus to this park which is offleash, but I take him on his retractable so he's got about 25 feet to go back and forth and sniff around. He's really loving it! We go where there isn't a ton of dogs and so far so good! Yesterday, the first day we went, he tried to play with one dog but I just got him to lay down and the rest of the walk he was very good, only sniffed dogs and no play! Today was the same thing.
We are due for his re-re-check this week, just have to book him in for his appointment. They'll do another x-ray, and then we'll decide when to do his right knee.
So right now in his Physical Therapy, this is the plan:
Weeks 12-16
1. Faster walks, as tolerated. You may start walking your dog on a longer lead to allow some back and forth activity. Distance is more difficult to judge, so it is important to determine your dog's comfort during and after activity. Again, don't overdo activity. If your dog experiences discomfort go back to the previous level of activity and gradually increase as tolerated.
2. Gradually increase the speed of activity to include short runs on a long lead.
3. Discontinue any activity that causes pain or lameness.
Here is some video I took of Zeus today on our walk. His left knee seems to me like it's turning out a bit, not sure what that's all about. It doesn't seem to be causing him any pain, he doesn't hold it up when he stands or anything, but I just noticed it turning out today when I was taping him in the middle of our walk.
1 comments:
Just wanted to let you know that Zeus's recovery blog was most helpful to me. First of all, he is a darling. My late husband and I had three Irish wolfhounds (all at the same time) so you know that I'm a lover of big dogs. After the last one had to be put down at age eight because of cancer, my husband said that he just could't bury another one, and I respected his feelings. After he passed away, and I was alone, I decided to get a mixed breed that needed a home. By chance, or God's divine intervention, the neighbor of a friend of my sister had taken in a lab mix that had been running loose. Their dog did not take kindly to the addition to the family, and they were looking for a home for her. Well, to make a long story short, Molly is 90 pounds of rough and tumble love. She's probably more than I can handle at age 64, but what the heck, it was love at first sight. She started limping in September after a particularly rough play session with my sister's dog. I tried the conservative management for three months, but she would get a little better, then worse, then a little better, then worse, etc. I had read some bad things about TPLO on the internet, but felt I had no choice at this point. It's been about five weeks since she had her surgery and she still limps a bit when she first gets up. Your experiences were so helpful in that they gave me an idea as to what to anticipate. I have to say that I was a little less nervous after reading about and seeing Zeus.
Thank you so much,
Laurie McCabe
North Port, FL
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