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We are about 4 months post surgery. Reina's left front leg limp has completely resolved (i still blame the cipro) and her back right leg (surgery leg) is GREAT! Dr. Hay said the dogs will have intermittent lameness post surgery after exercise ...Reina..NONE! He also said that most dogs only get about 70% use back after surgery...Reina...seems like 100%! He said at 6 months that they will be as good as they are going to get...if nothing more improves...I am OK with it! She is doing great. Watching her run, it seems like she is putting equal weight on both legs..and never favors the other leg. I still know that most dogs within a year will blow out the other knee...I am hoping that since she is doing so well, that Reina will be an exception! Time will tell..but for now we are unrestricted and going strong :)
Hopefully there will be no more posts on this blog :)

Ok...Maybe not....

So last week we were cleared for off leash activity on Wednesday. It rained Wed and Thurs and Fri I worked all day...so nothing really but potty off leash. Sat. evening Reina started limping on her left front leg upon getting up from her bed. No trauma. No injury that I knew of. Sunday morning, everything was great...Sunday night...major limping. Monday same thing...so not only is she limping on her surgery leg in the back..she is limping on front too. She looks pathetic :( I happened to do some research on Cipro and dogs and found some scary stuff as far as side effects and lameness...called my ortho vet just in case and he told me to take her off Cipro and monitor the small open area and apply antibiotic ointment. If she doesnt improve in a few days he wants to see her. Today is Tuesday and she's not improving yet...she is obviously back on REST and we wait and see what to do. Hopefully some good news soon!

8 WEEK CHECK-UP!!!!!!!

I stand to be corrected.Today marks the END of week 8, which is when we had our 8 week follow up appt with Dr. Hay in Tampa....They brough her (and me and misty) in for xrays and I thought it would be a 3-4 hour ordeal cuz they normally have to sedate the dogs...but REINA was such a great patient that she didnt need sedation...took the films..did some weight bearing studies on the leg and dr. hay met with me. He said she is doing GREAT and cleared to be OFF LEASH!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! He said the bone graft and plate and screws are going no where and the only issue we will have is periodic lameness from pain and discomfort. The next 6 months she should improve even more..She is putting 50% weight on her right leg, which he also said is great for just 8 weeks post op. He did notice some of the internal sutures are exposed through the skin and put her on Cipro for 14 days just to be safe. Because of this, he wants to see her in another 3 weeks to make sure all is well. Until then....she is allowed to be off leash starting slowly and working up to no restrictions...They say most dogs only get 70% function back in their leg after surgery. WE are shooting for 100%. So the next 6 months should be interesting. I do not want to go too crazy right away to put stress on the other good leg...cuz lord knows we do NOT want to go through this again....
I am still so glad this blog turned out to be pretty darn boring..and I hope it stays that way :)
Since it rained all day today...tomorrow after work is Reina's Day! OFF LEASH AT THE PARK!!!!!!!
Yay!

WEEK 8!

Tomorrow starts the beginning of week 8 post surgery for Reina. Which MEANS, Wednesday is our follow up vet appointment. They will sedate her and take some films. I am kinda nervous cuz I have had some scary twists and limp days. I will post Wed after the big check-up with the results. Reina is walking and trotting fine..still on the leash though. I do notice at times during the walk, her right paw drags and she almost trips about 1 to 2 times per walk. I also notice that she has adjusted her gait to not put as much pressure on the the surgery/bad leg..I hope this is just temporary..and if not..not wonder why a large percentage of dogs within a year have the other leg needing surgery. When standing still, she also has most of the pressure on the good leg..although weight-bearing on the other, she puts most of the weight on the good leg. When I slightly raise the good leg to allow all weight on the bad one, she doesnt seem to 'love' that very much. Hopefully in time she will strengthen.
So..will update on Wed. Until then, she is great..happy ...and not in pain. She just want to GO though. I hope we get some clearance to do more after Wed. We have 2 months of catching up to do! I didnt cut her food back b/c her weight seems to remain constant, even without exercise. Keep your fingers crossed for Wed!!!

WEEK 4 BEGINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well..this blog has turned out to be quite uneventful and I cant say that I am upset about that!!!!!!! Reina is doing great. She is putting weight on the leg while walking...if she tries to trot, she will do it on 3 legs still. For week four, it is pretty much the same as 3, but we can increase the 5 to 10 min walks to 10-15 min walks 2x a day. I must admit, I have been cheating. When we walk, I take her for about 15-20 min ...she seems to tolerate it well...Today we went to the dog park on Enterprise Rd. in Clearwater..Misty had a ball and Reina did too...she enjoyed walking around, even though she was on the leash!
Yup ...pretty uneventful. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 2.5!!!

Reina is doing well. She isnt bored, but I am! We are so used to going to parks...walks...dog beaches..etc...and having them in the house is tough. Reina is feeling really good. She puts weight on the leg...is off her pain meds....she still limps a lot and is still confined when I am not home. This wed. starts week THREE where we are allowed to take two 5-10 minute leash walks a day! I cant wait! The incision is healing nicely. She has slipped several times on the tile floor, which worried me, but she doesnt seem to be in any pain. Some friends brought over new toys which keep her occupied a lot. Not much to report really..just looking forward to week 3!

Day 3

Well...it's day 3 and it seems like day 20. Reina is doing better than I expected. Her right ankle is VERY swollen and her leg is bruised a bit. The rules for week one are to keep her in a pen or small room confined....Potty ONLY on a leash then back inside. These rules are pretty much for first 2 weeks. VERY strict. I have started gentle range of motion exercises on her and she is tolerating them well. When I leave the house I put her in my yoga room (empty room with a dog bed) and she has, each and every time, managed to get her e-collar off. I don't use the e collar when I am home...and probably won't when I am gone anymore because, thus far, she is not licking her incision site. She wants to use the leg. She still hops and limps, but puts weight on the leg occasionally. While on the leash she tries to pull to go run...not realizing she CANT DO THIS!!!!! Once she starts to feel really good....this will probably be the hardest part of it all.