Hi
I don't know if anyone might recall but I posted a few times about my 2 year old labradors hip problem.  Having taken her to an orthopaedic vet a few months ago he thinks that the problem is actually coming from her knee and put her on Metacam for 6 weeks to see if it would take down any inflammation.  The Metacam finished a month ago and I did not see a difference.  I am very careful with her and walk her on the lead and don't let her play wildly, run after balls etc etc.  It is really upsetting me though to see her when she is limping and her left leg is often raised of the floor.  She also finds it tricky to wee and if she has a crazy 5 minutes in the garden straight after she will limp also on resting when she gets up she hobbles around like an old lady.  I wondered if anybody else had experienced this with their labrador and what was done for it.  I am sure that on Thurs the vet will take another x-ray as the last one was a year old but I am worried that she may need an operation on her knee and if so what will recovery be like? 

Hi
Did the vet say it was patella luxation?  I only ask this as my GR suffered with hip dysplaysia and it caused him to have problems with his knees and he was diagnosed with patella luxation too.
Maria

Seems like you need to find out exactly where the problem is - hip or knee.  Metacam is only an anti-inflammatory & painkiller so would heal nothing.   I think I'd want to see a Homeopathic Vet or at least one who can work out what's actually wrong.  To find a Homeopathic one, try here

http://www.bahvs.com/

http://www.trusthomeopathy.org/trust/tru_over.html

Muriel Hi
Thank you so much for those links I will check them out.
I have not heard Patella Luxation mentioned but I called my vet this morning and he has mentioned a problem with the cruciate.  On Friday she has an appointment to go to the orthopaedic vet and hopefully it will all be sorted out but it is so upsetting to see her in pain and it really is breaking my heart right now.
Anyway fingers crossed all will be ok and I will post again once I know
Thank you for your kind posts though

Good Luck on Friday!

My Golden had a cruciate tear that had to be surgically corrected. He exhibited the same type of symptoms, limping, not putting his leg down etc. I found this site helpful for background knowledge but you'll have to wait until the vet on Friday can give you a definitive answer. I hope you find a solution soon. It is heartbreaking to see them in such pain isn't it.

Lori you are so right.
We took her to the vet this morning and he took a new set of x-rays and diagnosed a ruptured cruciate ligament.  She has just come round from theatre and we are going to pick her up later this evening.  I know that there will now be 8 weeks of recuperation.  How did your Golden Retriever cope with that?  How did you cope with it?
I am so upset that this has happened but also relieved that finally she will be made better and that we know what was causing the problem.

>I know that there will now be 8 weeks of recuperation.  How did your Golden Retriever cope with that?  How did you cope with it?<

Not very well, he was 7 months old, poor little guy. He couldn't have the surgery until he was fully grown at 10 months (height not weight) so he spent a long time limping. The muscles in his leg were very wasted. He had the surgery in early Feb and he is still not 100%. I think it has taken him longer to recover due to his young age and the length of time he was injured before surgery. Keeping him quiet was the hardest thing. He kept wanting to jump onto things like the sofa and our bed. Let's just say I built up a lot of muscle hefting 35 Kg of dog around.

One thing that IMO has really helped is hydrotherapy. I wish I had known about our local pool earlier I would have taken him soon after surgery. It was a great way for him to get some exercise and it did encourage him to use all four legs. At least you have an answer for you girl and from what I read, the success rate of TPLO is very high.

I did get some quiet toys to help him out. Buster cubes, mini pulling toys for tuggy games with both of us laying down. And I played games like the shell game with dog biscuits. I hope your girl is doing well and is back on her feet soon.

Hi Lori
Thank you for your well wishes.  I am sad to learn that your little boy is still having problems.  I had not idea how hard this recuperation process will be.  I am absolutely exhausted today, we didn't sleep a wink last night worrying about her and how to get her out to the toilet.  As we live in a flat we have to take her in the lift and down to the gardens.  We have a large balconly but and have put turf all over it but she does not want to go there so I don't know what to do to convince her but she is very very heavy and we can't carry her it is really difficult and I think I may have to go and stay with my grandma for 8 weeks to use her garden.
Oh well.  Good luck with your boy and keep me posted I wish him well and a full recovery.  I am going to post a thread now about cruciate surgery.
Best wishes
Van

Oh that post has brought back memories, Goat.  My neighbour's dog, GSDx had her cruciate repaired last April.  He lives on the 2nd floor with NO lift!!  He covered the floor with newspaper and was prepared for the mess until the bitch recovered, but she wouldn't go!!  So after 2 days, all the neighbours turned out and carried Heidi up and down the stairs in a duvet cover, one of us at each corner!!  What a sight that must have been??!!:rolleyes:

Unfortunately just as the first one was getting better, the other one went and we ALL had to go through it all again!  He did go and stay with his Mother for the 2nd one, but left the dog there for 12 weeks.

At least you have a lift!! :D

Golly that must have been tough.  Is his GSDx fully better now though?  He has very nice neighbours, I never seen mine so I can't imagine them helping!  I spoke to the vet nurse this morning who told me that she can wander around out of the cage as long as it is not consistent and she lies down in one place so she can follow me into another room but must lie down.  I am confused cause I thought they had to be crated at all times after this surgery apart from toileting.
I can't believe his second cruciate went that poor poor dog imagine going through it all a second time.
The duvet is a good idea but I am frightened to squash her leg up in it and I can't carry her on my own so it is really tricky.
we did buy a wheely trolley which I think I will try tonight for her and then we can wheel her down to the lift and down to the garden I just don't know if she will fit on it!!!!
I might have to move to my mum and dad but they also have stairs going to the garden so it is a problem.

.

I feel for each and everyone of you who have gone through this very long process of recovery - our GR had 3 operations last year and 2 went drastically wrong, the 3rd saved his leg. 

What we found was the surgeon who operated the 3rd time was brilliant, he explained every single problem that we might have faced, he talked us through how important it was not to allow him to climb onto furniture, no stairs, no jumping, no walking, only hydrotherapy was allowed after 8 weeks, and it worked - it was a very long recovery and our boy coped with everything wonderfully.

We moved all our furniture out of one of the downstairs rooms and put a dog gate at the door, and that was his 'crate' we had patio doors on that room so it was relatively easy for toileting him, even though he was in a frame. 
We didn't allow anyone to visit as he used to get so excited and we didn't want him to jump - we changed our lives to help him; it was disruptive for the family, but it was worth it, and it worked - no regrets.

Be patient and good luck!
Maria 

Maria Hi
Did you let your dog walk around the home at all or was he totally confined?  What about going to the toilet?

Hi Goat
We let him walk around the lounge 'his crate' and he walked outside with the aid of his 'belly belt' to toilet, after a few weeks we allowed him in the other downstairs rooms as long as we were with him so that he didn't get over excited!
He wouldn't go to the toilet with his belly belt on so we removed it for that and then once he had finished, it was back on to help him in the house!
Maria

Hi Goat, toileting is a problem. Either my OH carried him on his own or we each took an end to get him upstairs to bed and down in the morning. Thank goodness we only had to do it once a day. My surgeon didn't recommend crating, just rest and to keep him as quiet as we could. But he said to let him walk around when he wanted to. He mostly just walked around on 3 legs. It's hard to balance their sanity with their recovery. It would have been easier if he was an adult! Once he could put some weight on the leg I used a towel under his tummy as a sling so I could take most of his weight. LOL, just thinking of the mommy-vator. I would sit on the stairs and get him to sit on my lap, then just bum my way down one step at a time. The weight isn't that bad unless you have to pick them up shoulder high to carry them. Slow, but safe and it worked. I could get him to shoulder height but it was hard and I was a little too unsteady to walk down stairs that way.

Unfortunately it is not uncommon for the second cruciate to go as the angle of the tibia has an effect on likelihood of tearing.

Good luck with getting her outside and with her recovery.

I've just seen Lori's idea about the towel under the tummy to help carry them!  Great idea, our vet gave us a tummy belt, ask if you can have one, if not pm me and I can send you mine Goat!
Maria