Luxating patella surgery

[weevil]

Does anyone have, or know of dog who has had surgery for LP and can give me an idea of what the recovery is like?
My little dog is booked in for surgery in a couple of weeks time The vet will go through the aftercare etc with me then, but any personal experiences would be good.

Also, any ideas on how to entertain a high-energy low attention-span dog while he is on restricted exercise etc gratefully recieved - he is crate trained so at least I don't have to worry about that but I suspct that he will get bored very quickly...

 

[CorvusCorax]

No exp of the surgery but just give him loads of brain work to do, if he's short-attendion span this is an ideal time to do focus work, identifying/discriminating objects, (low level) basic positions (sit/stand/down) (low level) heelwork, directional changes, if he's foodie you could feed him his dinner this way if you don't already.

 

[Caramac71]

Yes my little terrier x had this a few years ago.

Initially after the op he was very subdued - in fact, I made a bed up downstairs and slept with him the first night because he was really disorientated and just kept crying. But I think that was more the effect of the anaesthetic than the actual op.

After that, I kept him crated whenever he needed to be left alone. Frozen kongs are really good as they take ages to eat so keep the dog busy. Other than that, his leg was well strapped up and he got around really easily. Although he is an active little dog, I dont remember any problems with him doing anything he shouldnt.

The biggest problem I had was stopping him eating the stitches once the initial heavy duty bandaging came off. He ended up wearing a dressing, then bandage, then babygrow (put on upside down), then another bandage, a sock on top and a "lampshade" collar. And I'd still hear him chewing on his stitches at night! He would position the collar directly over the wound so it did nothing by way of prevention. He was a horror and I was immensely relieved when the stitches came out.

The vet has warned that the other leg may need doing at some stage in the future, and he may be prone to arthritis when he is older, but at the moment he is doing great and the op is just a distant memory.

Good luck, I hope he makes a quick and full recovery.

 

[weevil]

Thanks for the replies, doesn't sound as bad as I was expecting!
CC - I was thinking lots of brain games, which I try to do anyway as they help calm him down in the house (and stop him looking for mischief). He usually gets his dinner in a kong/kong wobbler/puzzle ball but I will freeze some extra kongs to keep him entertained. His basic heelwork can always use a bit of practice as well...

I know he will be more likely to develop arthritis later in life, but then that was the risk of leaving it as the movement of the bone/inflammation will increase the chance of arthritis anyway. It was marginal whether he would need surgery and we have left it for a year but his leg has been bothering him lately and so, having discussed it with the vet, decided to go for the surgery

Fingers crossed he won't be too bad at trying to eat the stitches, my main worry will be when he starts to feel better and I have to try and stop him leapng around too much!

 

[CorvusCorax]

I tip the dog's daily kibble allowance or the allowance for one meal into the front pockets of a training jacket (I can PM you links if you want but it's as easy to use a fishing jacket, camera jacket, old bodywarmer etc) and feed by hand for training. So he has to work for his dinner. Doing, like I say, the basic positions, heelwork, spinning in either direction (you might want to avoid this) reverse heeling (you probably don't need to do this!!) going between my legs (forwards and backwards), going through them like weave poles etc etc etc.
By the end of the rest period, you should have damn good focus and heelwork

 

[weevil]

By the end of the rest period, you should have damn good focus and heelwork

I would probably settle for semi-decent focus and heel work

 

[cremedemonthe]

My dog hasn't had LP surgery so can't comment on restricting the dog's exercise for that but my dog is in his third week after TPLO surgery which is Tibial-Plateau-Leveling Osteotomy and trying to keep him calm and contented is hard work!
I wish you luck with a speedy recovery for your dog, Oz

 

[weevil]

I wish you luck with a speedy recovery for your dog, Oz

Thanks, I hope you dog's recovery is going well. I'm wondering if I can persuade the vet to give me some Valium (for me, not the dog )

 

[cremedemonthe]

Thanks, I hope you dog's recovery is going well. I'm wondering if I can persuade the vet to give me some Valium (for me, not the dog )

Could you get me some too!
Oz

 

[EAST KENT]

The hardest thing..cage rest and ignore ,three weeks total except for out to pee on a short lead,then cage rest for a further three weeks but letting the dog have ON LEAD exercise a bit more,after that ,sill restricted but building up on roadwork on lead.Long long rest period but it ensures success

 

[weevil]

The hardest thing..cage rest and ignore ,three weeks total except for out to pee on a short lead,then cage rest for a further three weeks but letting the dog have ON LEAD exercise a bit more,after that ,sill restricted but building up on roadwork on lead.Long long rest period but it ensures success

Yes, not looking forward to long rest period, but I am now more pleased than ever that I have worked so hard on his lead walking!

We're going on holiday tomorrow for a week and then he is having his op when we get back so at least he will have a bit of fun beforehand