Re: Milly is limping again. Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Ollie is on a little holiday with my mum while he recovers (this was pre-planned as she's on holiday from work and absolutely dotes on him, we live 2 hours away so she doesn't get to see him as much as she would like and it means he's got company all the time!). Her reports are good, yesterday she said he limp was much less pronounced and he's having his stitches out this morning so just waiting for her to update me on how it went. Annette, we didn't crate train Ollie so didn't crate him when he was resting or now that he's recovering from his op. We felt it wouldn't be fair for him to try and understand being in a crate as well as the reduced exercise, all the pulling and prodding at the vets etc. We just made sure to discourage him running and jumping around and kept to the exercise guidance from the vet. And stairs were a no no obviously. One thing to be aware of is Milly's food intake. We reduced Ollie's during the first rest period but found it wasn't enough and were told by the first (horrible) vet that he was extremely overweight and that we were doing him damage. It's very difficult in situations like this to find the balance point, we knew he wasn't as slender as he had been and so had reduced his food anyway. In contrast the second vet just said that he doesn't really want to be any heavier than he is now and so to try and maintain. We used small treats quite often for training purposes but have cut those out completely for the time being. He's been on the lead for such a long time that we're not doing as much training as we used to but it will no doubt pick up again. Plus if they do put on a bit then once they're back up to normal exercise then I think they're bound to lose it again as long as it's not a ridiculous amount! The other tip I have it to try one of the inflatable collars instead of the cone. Ollie kept bumping into things and I didn't like that his vision was so restricted. As it was his elbow and probably difficult for him to reach anyway (even without the cone) we bought an inflatable one from Amazon (about £10) to try and that seemed a lot nicer for him. Probably wouldn't be much use for hind leg ops or neutering but it worked for us in this instance so might be worth a try for Milly if you're that way inclined Make sure you keep us updated on Milly's progress. Katie x
Re: Milly is limping again. Thanks Katie I hadn't even thought about the cone at all. So many things to organise and think about.
Re: Milly is limping again. Hope everything goes well with the op. Our last lab Max had keyhole surgery on both elbows at quite a young age (i think around 3/4), sounds like the same op, they also shaved the bone to encourage it to start lubricating again. He made a full and fantastic recovery, (even digging a hole in the plaster wall at the back of his cage at the dog hospital!!) He never suffered with it again and he lived to 11 and a half, ironically we lost him to lung cancer, and he was active and very mobile right til the end thanks to the ops. Lou x
Re: Milly is limping again. Little update for everyone. Milly's surgery went well today. They didn't find anything extra or worse than expected. They have removed the extra cartilage and cleaned up the joint. They didn't need to cut the bone so I'm very happy with that. Specialist said she was resting well and hopeful that she will recover very well. We have to ring at around 10 tomorrow to see if she is ok to go home. We are missing her terribly. On the upside oh and I have done some great shopping in Sydney while we are here waiting. Matt's Dad is at home with all the kids so we are making the most of our time here still can't wait to see my baby tomorrow though.
Re: Milly is limping again. Great to hear Milly is safely through the op - I'm sure you're longing to see her. Hope the recovery period goes well.
Re: Milly is limping again. Oh bless, so pleased that all went well , I can thoroughly recommend the inflatable collars for post surgery , I bought one for Millie and she didn't seem to mind wearing it at all x
Re: Milly is limping again. Good news the op went well. Wishing you all the best for the recovery. Please do let us know how things are going. Hugs and warm wishes.
Re: Milly is limping again. Glad everything went well, fingers crossed for a quiet and speedy recovery
Re: Milly is limping again. What a relief for you and your family. Enjoy the reunion and good for you getting that bit of shopping in !! Lots of hugs from us xx
Re: Milly is limping again. Glad everything went well. ;D Nothing like a bit of retail therapy to keep your mind occupied the shopping will have done you good. ;D
Re: Milly is limping again. picking her up in 25mins. Vet just called to say she was cleared to go home. Yay! Can't wait to see my girl.
Re: Milly is limping again. Thanks for dropping a line Annette,glad she's come through well,good luck for the next bit. Let's us know how she and you are doing x
Re: Milly is limping again. We are home and Milly is great. She was super excited to see us. Well too excited actually. She was given a very stern talking to from the vet about staying calm and resting I'm not so sure she listened though. She is very unimpressed about the crate. She has to stay in for a couple of days then we can put her in her play pen but only if we put a lid on it. So it will be roof constructing for Matt over the weekend. It's quite a long and slow healing and rehab time but she should handle it very well. She seems to be in less pain than before the op or she is too full of adrenalin after seeing us hardly a limp at all. A bit of swelling after the drive but less than I had expected. Overall she is doing great. Thanks every one for you thoughts and support.
Re: Milly is limping again. Glad things are going well. Yes, Charlie wasn't able to be trusted in a full height kennel for a full 6 weeks for jumping up. :
