Therapy advice for post posterior & anterior surgical operation?

[Ironwood]

Nearly 20 weeks ago a young 15-16 month old BLF was doing a straight line drill over a plank when it miss judged the distance and srtuck it's knee against the plank and tore it posterior and anterior ligaments. The dog was operatted on for the knee injury. After 18 weeks of being restricted initially to the crate then graduating to a comfortable room in the owners workshop followed by daily limited distance walks on a lead the young dog is still favouring the leg. Tearing around the mowed short cover farm yard for a single thrown bumper. The young dog gets only one bumper then it goes back on lead for controlled walks. Most other times young female is showing she is favouring the rear leg by moving about on three legs.

When the owner took the dog in on the 4th of October the Veterinarian said to give it a month before returning for assessment of the dogs progress.

The owner is a medical doctor and is thinking that his hoped for field trial dog may become a companion dog on his hobby farm.

Is there any advice I can pass on as far as therapy to improve the prospect of the dog running as a trial dog?

[frontier]

Nearly 20 weeks ago a young 15-16 month old BLF was doing a straight line drill over a plank when it miss judged the distance and srtuck it's knee against the plank and tore it posterior and anterior ligaments. The dog was operatted on for the knee injury. After 18 weeks of being restricted initially to the crate then graduating to a comfortable room in the owners workshop followed by daily limited distance walks on a lead the young dog is still favouring the leg. Terroring around the mowed short cover farm yard for a single thrown bumper. The young dog gets only one bumper then it goes back on lead for controlled walks. Most other times young female is showing she is favouring the rear leg by moving about on three legs.

When the owner took the dog in on the 4th of October the Veterinarian said to give it a month before returning for assessment of the dogs progress.

The owner is a medical doctor and is thinking that his hoped for field trial dog may become a companion dog on his hobby farm.

Is there any advice I can pass on as far as therapy to improve the prospect of the dog running as a trial dog?

If the owner is a MD I am surprised he has not done some sort of formal rehab on the dog or put the dog with a facility for rehab especially if she is a field trial prospect. "terroring around a mowed yard even for a single fun bumper" may not be an adequate rehab program. Would certainly be worth a call to VOSM for rehab advice. http://www.vetsportsmedicine.com/reh...ces/index.html\
http://www.vetsportsmedicine.com/index.html

[Thumbs Up]

i dont post on this site very much but this is a area i may be able to help you. The best rehab for the dog is swiming. There is less presure put on the joints an the dogs get excirse and birds.It is cheaper than paying for a under warter threadmill. Here in the PNW it can cost up to 60.00 Per hr. I have rehabed lots of them for my clients in the past and found long blinds with birds to keep attitude up works. I use a hunting vest on Max who belongs to Mark Medford last year and he is running with the best of them now. I am thinking about getting a tank of my own to have here as the winters make it hard to get them in h2o for enough time. PM me with your # and lets talk. Tellus

[JusticeDog]

If the owner is a MD I am surprised he has not done some sort of formal rehab on the dog or put the dog with a facility for rehab especially if she is a field trial prospect. "terroring around a mowed yard even for a single fun bumper" may not be an adequate rehab program. Would certainly be worth a call to VOSM for rehab advice. http://www.vetsportsmedicine.com/reh...ces/index.html\
http://www.vetsportsmedicine.com/index.html

Definitely not adequate. need to find a rehab doctor. The dog needs to get her leg underneath her. Tellus is correct in that swimming is a great tool, and if he can help you out, that would be great. She obviously had a more extensive injury since she lost both the cranial cruciate ligament and the caudal cruciate ligament, she is still far behind. She should be doing leash walks for at least 40 minutes per day, figure 8s, sit-to-stands against a wall, balance exercises on a balance board or bosu ball, etc. There are many TPLO protocols on line, if that is the procedure she had. Or, if you need one, I can email it to you.

[EdA]

Definitely not adequate. need to find a rehab doctor. The dog needs to get her leg underneath her. Tellus is correct in that swimming is a great tool, and if he can help you out, that would be great. She obviously had a more extensive injury since she lost both the cranial cruciate ligament and the caudal cruciate ligament, she is still far behind. She should be doing leash walks for at least 40 minutes per day, figure 8s, sit-to-stands against a wall, balance exercises on a balance board or bosu ball, etc. There are many TPLO protocols on line, if that is the procedure she had. Or, if you need one, I can email it to you.

I must respectfully disagree about swimming, dogs can and do guard the surgically repaired limb by swimming with three legs only. Once full weight bearing is achieved swimming is good exercise to build back muscle mass but prior to full weight bearing it is of much less benefit than leash walking or the underwater treadmill.

To find a veterinarian who is a Diplomate in the newly recognized American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation visit the ACVSMR website
http://vsmr.org/diplomates.lasso

[JusticeDog]

I must respectfully disagree about swimming, dogs can and do guard the surgically repaired limb by swimming with three legs only. Once full weight bearing is achieved swimming is good exercise to build back muscle mass but prior to full weight bearing it is of much less benefit than leash walking or the underwater treadmill.

To find a veterinarian who is a Diplomate in the newly recognized American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation visit the ACVSMR website
http://vsmr.org/diplomates.lasso

Some people use underwater treadmill, but what has popped up in this area is small pools for rehab in addition to, or in place of, the underwater treadmill. I have seen dogs on 3 legs in the treadmill, also. They put a floatie on them or a small light weight, just like in the pool. So, you're right in the fact that it should be done under the guidance of someone who knows what they are doing and can make sure that all limbs are moving effectively. What is nice about the rehab pools or the treadmills are that the water is clear enough you can see what is going on. The people that I work with, the techs actually are in the tank, and/or pool with the dog.

[Sabireley]

I used a cone cavaletti for post TPLO rehab as well as swimming and a dry treadmill. The dog did favor the bad leg when swimming early on in the rehab.

http://dogkneeinjury.com/cavaletti-exercises-video/

[jenbrowndvm]

There are a lot of details I am sure we are missing in regards to the injury, surgery, and rehab. I definitely agree with most of the posts in that in order to optimize the dogs recovery that you want to consult with a veterinarian that specializes in rehabilitation in athletic dogs. You can find certified rehab therapists by state and country at www.caninerehabinstitute.com and www.utcaninerehab.com. There are a couple of good rehab people in the PNW. Not all rehab therapists will have a lot of experience with FT dogs and the expectations, so you may want to query them about their experience with FT/hunting dogs and the specific injury your dog has.