15 weeks post TPLO

Wow, how time flies. It's 15 weeks since Dylan had his surgery. He is doing so well, he comes on our usual 1-hour walks without problem, though of course he is still on lead only.

He does well at the hydrotherapy every week and rehabilitation is going well. He now doesn't have to stay in the kitchen anymore when I am in, and he also does the stairs up and down without problems. In another two weeks, I will leave him out when I am out of the house too as by then he should be healed and strong enough for it. He will however stay on lead for another three months until February to make sure that his knees (both of them) can handle full on running and chasing which he will do once off lead again.

Graduation Trip

Yesterday, I had my BSc (Canine Behaviour and Training) Graduation at Beverly Minster. Karen, David and I drove up there in two cars as we took all our dogs with us! I thought it was going to be quite stressful, but in actual fact, the boys were all so good and well behaved, it was no problem at all!

Here's a picture of all the boys ready to go in the Travelodge room.

And here's Dylan knackered after the long drive home last night

13 weeks post TPLO completed

Dylan is still doing really well. He enjoys the 1-hour walks eventhough he is on lead! And he is always excited to go swimming too; it's not the treadmill he is looking forward to, but all the treats he gets there. LOL

Karen, David, I and all our dogs are off to Yorkshire tomorrow for my graduation! That'll be fun. Dylan will be travelling in Karen and David's car.

12 weeks post TPLO completed!

A huge milestone has been reached by Dylan today as it's the end of the first crucial 12 weeks! The main physio is now completed and it's only walks, hydrotherapy and chiropractic that remains now.

On Sunday I took Dylan for a walk together with Jesse in the country park. Dylan's face lit up when he realised where we were going! He missed going to the park.

On Tuesday I took him out with both Jesse and Flash for the first time. He loved it. He remains on lead of course for another 3 months, but just being with the others is heaven for him.

Fractured tooth

Last night, I gave the boys a bone. Troy had a marrow bone, Dylan and Jesse a venison marrow bone and Flash a couple of vegan chews.

When I checked their teeth afterwards (as I always do after chewing bones), I noticed that one of Dylan's large molars is fractured and a part broken off. I have no idea whether he is in pain or not, he doesn't react at all. But I remember how quickly my own tongue ulcerated when I fractured one of my teeth earlier this year, so I am going to get it checked out quickly. He also has one fracture line going all the way up into the gums...

I have no idea what they will do about it, whether they will try to fix it or extract it! I will take Dylan with me on Wednesday morning so Mark can have a look at it.

Week 11 post TPLO finished, first proper walk

We are now in Dylan's 12th week.

Dylan had his third hydrotherapy session yesterday. He is now on 12 minutes and the treadmill running slightly faster than before. I think it is excellent for him.

Today I took him for the first proper walk in 3 months. I took both Dylan and Jesse to the country park (still on lead for another three months though) for 50 minutes and Dylan was in heaven. It was lovely to see his happy face!
He wasn't tired at all after the walk, which is great.

Chiro treatment

Today, Dylan had his second chiro treatment and it went really well. He wasn't sensitive anywhere and Susan said that his muscle mass is improved in his thigh, so that's good.

2nd hydro therapy session

On Saturday, Dylan had his second session on the treadmill. It went very well and he now actually got to the point where he walked completely on his own. He did 9 minutes (3 x 3 minutes). He wasn't enthusiastic, but didn't seem too worried about it this time. He also walked into the hydrotherapy centre without problems and was very happy to go there.

10 weeks post TPLO

‎10 weeks post TPLO for Dylan now, starting week 11. Since having hydro therapy on Saturday, his slight limp when trotting has gone and he really enjoys all his exercise. Still walking stairs daily, a short jog a few times a week, and walking on hind legs (whilst front legs are on a bench) for a short distance, walking circles and figure of 8s and sit/stand squats... it's all fun. More hydrotherapy on Saturday, and chiro on Monday.

No problems after hydrotherapy

Today, Dylan wasn't lame or stiff either and had plenty of energy! It looks like he is fitter and stronger than expected.

Hydrotherapy

I was quite worried how Dylan would react to the hydrotherapy, but I needn't have.

It was explained to me that the best course of action would be the water treadmill for him. He got harnessed up, then walked through the open treadmill a couple of times. Then he got locked in. He was fine with it all.
It was then switched on, which made him panic a little, but he quickly recovered and started walking fine. Then the water was added.

He was obviously a bit stressed, but did a lot better than I thought he would. And towards the end, he visibly relaxed looking around every so often whilst walking.

The hydrotherapist (Gemma) said that his recovery was going really well as he is hardly limping at all now. She also said that he didn't look like a 9-year old, which was nice of course.

So far, Dylan isn't showing any sign of lameness etc yet at all, so I am hoping that it remains that way. He is doing so well.

9 weeks post TPLO - and hydrotherapy booked

Dylan is doing really well and we are starting our 10th week of rehab now. We are still doing 2 walks of about 30 minutes, the morning walk including 10 minutes stair walking (30 flights of stairs) and the evening walk including one round of gentle jogging on the green. I have also started an exercise where Dylan puts his front feet on the park bench and then walks along it on his hind feet slowly. This way he has to put full weight on the leg and he is doing it very well.
We are also still doing the sit/stand exercise (20 repetitions) and some curb walking.

I have booked the first hydrotherapy session this Saturday afternoon. We'll see how it goes. I must remember to bring the camera along.

Three more weeks now and then I'll switch Dylan to one 1-hour walk a day to the country park; I can then include hill walking too.

He is doing so well, no tiredness after the stairs/trotting, lots of energy, he's looking well and feeling well!

8 weeks post TPLO

Dylan is now starting week 9 post TPLO. He is doing so well and is now allowed out of the kitchen when I am around to watch him too. He loves that and really missed my company and the company of his three brothers.

He is now on 2 walks of 30 minutes. In the morning walk I include some figure of 8 walking and stair walking for 7 minutes (25 flights of stairs) as well as curb walking. In the evening walk I include a short gentle jog (around 2 minutes I would think, have never timed it - it's 4 diagonal length of the green) and curb walking.

I do 20 sit/stand repetitions at home and we are due to start swimming/water treadmill work soon. I have also taught him to put his front feet on a chair for a little while which helps him strengthen his back leg and can also be used to do a gentle stretch (it's very controlled, no jumping or jerky movements).

I am really pleased how he is progressing. He is such a star.

7 weeks post TPLO

Today, I increased the intensity of the exercise yet again (though still 2 walks of 30 minutes). We are now doing 15 flights of stairs (about 5 minutes) and 3 diagonal length of the green until the week-end when I will increase this to 20 flights of stairs and 4 diagonal length of the green.

I would also like to take him hill walking. I thought I could use the slope at the fitness centre, but I don't think that is steep enough. The hill in the Country Park would be ideal, but I don't want to go anywhere where there are dogs off lead that could pounce on Dylan. His leg isn't strong enough yet to take that.

Dylan's doing really well and I am hoping to start the hydrotherapy very soon.

Chiropractor

Dylan is now in week 7, and he came to the chiropractor with me this morning. Susan adjusted his spine and did a lot of massage too. She commented that all the muscles in his right hind have shrunk quite a bit. Well, hopefully with the exercise and the swimming (which I am hoping to start this week), this will soon change again.

Dylan enjoyed the treatment, though the lumbar part of his back was a bit sore (to be expected). He was a little sensitive on that leg after the treatment, but by the time we went home (after Troy and I had the treatment), he was walking fine.

We are also doing stairs and jogging for two diagonals of Woodside Green. I think we are getting there slowly.

6 weeks post TPLO and x-rays

Dylan and I went back to Fitzpatrick's yesterday for his 6-week x-ray! All went well and the x-ray showed that the plate and screws are still in place and the bone is healing well.

So we can now continue to increase the exercise and make it a bit more intensive.

I will cut down to two walks, but they will now be 30 minutes this week. I will also add in some stairs and hill walking. I'll see whether I can pinch the fitness centre approach stairs and ramp for this.

Dylan is also due to see Susan, our chiropractor, on Monday. And I will book him in for hydrotherapy once a week.

It's all good and I am pleased about his progress.

20-minute walks

As from yesterday, we are now on 20-minute walks. Dylan is still doing really well. Since the week-end, he has now also been off the Rymadyl and the antibiotics. He is very slightly more uncomfortable, but not as much as I thought. I am really pleased about his progress.

He is due for x-rays next Wednesday to assess the bone healing.

15-minute walks

As from today, I have increased Dylan's walks to 15 minutes each. He was doing very well this morning, however, I did see that his leg was slightly more uncomfortable - which is to be expected.

I have also only four tablets left of the Rimadyl. As from tonight, I shall half the dosage for the next four days and then stop alltogether. We'll see how Dylan will feel with that. If there's too much pain, I will obviously get some more. However, a little more discomfort wouldn't be a bad idea as he is trying to jump about too much at the moment and I have to constantly stop him.

Yesterday, I also allowed him into the sitting room whilst I was watching TV. I asked him to settle next to me, which he did. Then I didn't pay attention to him for a few seconds (I swear that's all it was) and when I look up, Dylan is on the sofa! What a cheeky chappy. I carried him off the sofa and back into the kitchen.
I will allow him into the sitting room again occasionally, but in future it will be on lead, so I feel when he is sneaking off. LOL

Oh dear, oh dear... Dylan's birthday this year

Amidst all the chaos I have just realised that I never did a birthday post for Dylan on 23rd June! How bad is this.

So here's a very late birthday wish for my baby boy... and some pictures to go with it taken on the day.

10-minute walks

Dylan has been doing really well with his 5-minute walks for a week. Today is the first day with 10 minutes! I did a longer walk this morning with him which turned out to be about 8 minutes, so slightly longer this evening! He is pleased to have some different scenery.

He is doing really well. He walks nicely, still a little with a limp, but certainly without problems.

Since this morning, he is also on new antibiotocs as Ceporex only covered one of the two bacteria that caused a the infection. So he's now got another two weeks worth of antibiotics.

Walks going well

We do three or four walks a day and they are going really well! Dylan enjoys going out, though he doesn't understand why the walks are so short. LOL But it's better than being stuck in the kitchen all the time!

First walks

I took Dylan out for the first time last night for a 5-minute walk and again this morning. He is really enjoying it, though doesn't understand why they are so short. LOL
I have to make him walk really slowly as well to make sure that he puts weight on the leg, but he walks nicely overall and hopefully his recovery will continue to be good.

Stitches out

When I called Fitzpatrick's yesterday, I was told that I could have the stitches removed at my primary vets to save me a long journey.

So off Dylan and I went this morning to Mark's who took the stitches out. Two were harder to removed as they burried themselves during the infection, but we got there in the end.

Dylan is still wearing the buster collar until I am 100% sure that he will leave the wound alone and it is healed over enough.

Back on track

Dylan is perfectly fine again, leg only very slightly swollen now, not too hot anymore either and Dylan is very bouncy again (had to stop him from jumping again this morning). So glad this episode is over.

I shall call Fitzpatrick's today to schedule another appointment for the stitches to come out.

Dylan much better

Last night, Dylan turned the corner and he is back to his usual self. The leg is still swollen a bit and warm to the touch, but he is bouncy again, walking on all four and generally much happier! I am so glad this episode is over.

A set back

Up to Friday, Dylan was doing so well: walking almost normally, happy, almost too bouncy in fact (had to stop him a few times from jumping up) and I was so pleased that all went well. He was due to have his stitches out on Monday.

However, on Friday evening, when I came home, he looked very sorry for himself, wasn't putting weight on his leg at all and the leg felt quite warm. By Saturday morning, he didn't even want to get up to go out to toilet (I lifted him up in the end) and the leg was quite hot now. I called Fitzpatrick Referrals and they called me back an hour later to bring Dylan in.

Natalie Watson, who saw him, said it was an infection and put him on Ceporex antibiotics, but also too a swab to find out what bacteria exactely it is.

Today, Dylan is feeling a bit better, though far from back to normal. But he is putting his leg down again (limping a bit more than before, but not too badly), he has eaten well (I added a lot of water to keep him hydrated)and he got up without much hassel to go into the garden. He was also much more interested again when I prepared the food (though again, not as much yet as he was before).

I am going to get a bigger buster collar for him today as he has somehow worked out how to get to the leg even with the collar on... That's how he got the infection into the wound.

Day 6 - Dylan's doing very well

Dylan is doing very well indeed. In fact, I had to stop him from jumping up on me yesterday. He is starting to put quite a bit of weight on his leg now and actually walks without a limp when he walks slowly.
The leg is also returning slowly back to normal colour, so the bruising is disappearing.

I have noticed this morning that the "bump" (the bone sticking out a bit on the inside of his knee) has decreased on the operated leg. I will have to ask Noel whether that was a symptom of the problem in the knee. The other knee has still got a larger "bump".

And here are some pictures that I took yesterday.

Day 2 post surgery

Dylan is feeling much better. He was fine when I came home from work. He doesn't understand why he has to stay in the kitchen all the time and can't join us on the sofa, but he is for the most part settled and happy on his duvet in the kitchen.

He very occasionally lets the foot touch the ground, so it isn't as painful anymore.

So far, I am happy with his progress. I have got half days until Tuesday (back full days on Wednesday), have also cancelled all my training commitments so I have a few days ahead of me that I can look after him and relax a bit. I need it!

Surgery went well

I was really stressed yesterday waiting for that call from Noel. But he finally called just after 5, and I was able to pick Dylan up last night. I got there at 8.45 pm, the vet (Kristian) talked me through the next steps and then brought Dylan out. Dylan looked very sorry for himself, a quick wag of the tail...

After I had paid the bill (over £4300... wow) I carried Dylan out to the car and managed to get him into the crate carefully! He cried all the way home, I think perhaps because the roads are quite rough and in my old car that causes quite a bit of vibration.

Anyway we got home, Dylan did the longest wee ever, and then I settled Dylan onto his duvet in the kitchen. I decided not to crate him but to have him in the kitchen instead with a baby gate. This way he has a bit more room to manoevre with the buster collar on.

The leg looks good on the outside, but is very bruised on the inside. The homeopathic tablets should help with that.

Dylan had a comfortable night after he had a bit of food. I slept on the sofa, less relaxed, but over the moon to have my baby home again. I am tired today, but much less stressed. Now that everything is organiesd, I feel much better. Work has been great too with giving me time off, I have this morning off too and Dylan will be fine in the afternoon.

Now that he's had his painkillers this morning, he is more comfortable again and is resting on his duvet.

I paid the remaining £844 this morning as I didn't have enough credit left on the card I took with me last night. But they will now process the insurance claim. I still have to pay 20% of the total bill (because Dylan is over 9 years old), but that's better than 100%...

Dylan at Fitzpatrick Referral Centre

Yesterday morning, I had an appointment with Noel Fitzpatrick to look at Dylan. He watched Dylan walk and he examined his spine and back legs. He said that he thinks the problem is in the spine.

At 4 pm yesterday I got a call from him saying that they can't do the MRI because their machine broke down. So they kept Dylan in for today.

Today at 5 pm, Noel called me after they had done the MRI. He said that it was actually not Dylan's spine, but his cranial cruciate ligaments in both knees. There is a partical rupture. He said that there are some dry discs in his spine, but that those weren't the ones causing the problem. It's the knees that are causing the pain in the spine.

He said that one option is permanent medication, the other is surgery. I asked what he would recommend - and he recommended surgery. So tomorrow, Dylan is having surgery on his right knee as that is worse than the other. He is having TPLO surgery (Tibia Plateau Levelling Osteotomy).

So at this moment in time, Dylan is still at the referral centre. I miss him terribly and am of course worried and nervous about the surgery. However, I am also very relieved that it is not his spine after all!

Tomorrow morning I have to send them Soloxine tablets as they haven't got any there.

MRI

Noel Fitzpatrick had a look at Dylan's x-rays and is very concerned. Dylan has a spur in his lumbar region of the spine and needs an MRI. He is booked in for Monday, 2nd August.

Dylan is definitely more uncomfortable now. He will lay on the floor a lot more rather than on the sofa, he grumbles occasionally when the other dogs bump into his back/legs and he just looks uncomfortable. Though he still runs a lot and is generally happy and energetic, which is good.

Here is information about Noel Fitzpatrick:



http://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/staff/clinicians/noel-fitzpatrick

Dylan x-rays

As the chiro improved things, but didn't seem to address the underlying issue, I took Dylan back to see the vet. Ian examined him thoroughly and found his back to be extremely sore and stiff (Dylan yelped too). So Flash had x-rays on Friday, 16th July. The result is that he has a lesion on the lumbar part of his spine that causes muscle spasms and quite some pain.
The x-rays have been sent to the Fitzpatrick Referral Centre and we should have an answer as to our next step by the middle of the week.

In the mean time I have put Dylan on Green Lipped Mussle Extract and Devil's Claw and he seems more comfortable. He shows no pain anymore in every day life, though I will of course not take him to agility anymore as I don't want to aggravate the lesion/damage in his spine.

Vaccination and limping

Dylan had lepto vaccination on 8th June. I decided to put him on a three-yearly schedule for the rest of the vaccs and as he was done last year, I didn't repeat it again.

Dylan has also been limping occasionally after getting up and has become reluctant to sit down and jump up, and he refused the jumps at agility. Mark had a look at his right hind and his back and couldn't feel anything. He asked me to take him to see the chiropractor, so we are off to Sue next Tuesday.
Since I have put him back on salmon oil again though (I run out for a week or so), he seems a lot more comfortable again. I shall test him at agility on Sunday.

Thyroid Levels OK

Got the results today when I went to see Mark with Benji. Dylan's value was 39, which is upper end of normal, so perfect. So glad that we have him stable as well now. He was so bouncy and happy this morning on our walk, it is great to see that I have got my Dylan back.

Thyroid Test

Dylan's thyroid test was due, so he came to the vets with Troy on Friday. Results are back, but I haven't had a chance yet to talk to the vet. I'll call Mark on Monday.

Dylan finally fine again

It is such a joy to see Dylan run again on walks! He is full of energy again and is enjoying himself! I am so happy!

Dylan is better

It has taken quite a while for Dylan to start feeling better. I have also found that the CSJ Senior/Lite food didn't help... in fact, that's what seemed to take his energy away. I have switched him back to the adult CSJ he was on before and he is much brighter, more energetic on walks and his coat is looking better. And now that his thyroid is sorted out, he is not putting weight on anymore by just looking at food... In fact, I have put his amount up a bit as he got to skinny.

Increased dosage

Now that all the blood tests are back (T4 lower than expected, but not that low anymore, no antibodies), Mark increased the Soloxine from 0.5 mg a day to 0.8 mg. We'll see whether that makes a difference! If not, then I think we will need to start looking further again.

Dylan still gets too tired on walks. On Monday, he went for a fox chase with Flash and was so knackered afterwards, I had to cut the walk short!

Follow-up Blood Test

Dylan has been better since being on Soloxine, however, not as great as I hoped. Today we went to get the 1-month blood test done to see what his T4 is doing. I asked for a comprehensive test as I would like to see whether he has the same type of hypothyroidism as Jesse, though I suspect he hasn't. But the antibody reading in the results will tell us. I also suspect that his dosage will need to be put up.

Feeling better, but not perfect yet

Dylan is now pretty much back to normal indoors, though still a bit sluggish on walks at times. He's been on Soloxine for two weeks now, it's another two weeks until we will do blood tests again. I suspect that we will need to up the dosage, but we'll see.

Talked to Mark

I talked to Mark this morning and he confirmed the dosage of 0.25 mg twice a day for Dylan. So I am on the right track and we'll see how we get on. Dylan was very playful last night when I came home, but still tired on the walk this morning. But it will take about a week or so, though he looks happier overall already - might just be my imagination though.

Soloxine

I haven't heard back from Mark yet regarding Dylan's medication. So I have made the calculation myself for now as Dylan really isn't feeling great. Jean Dodds said that sighthounds need 0.1 mg/20 pounds (sighthounds apparently need only half the dose of a normal dog). Dylan is 23kg/50lbs, so he would need the exact same dosage as Jesse is on, which is 0.25 mg twice a day. So I have decided to start Dylan on Soloxine using Jesse's tablets last night. And I hope that Mark will get back to me tomorrow on whether that is correct.

Jean Dodds does say to also do a free T4 test, however, looking at all the symptoms that Dylan is showing, I doubt it is necessary. He gets tired on walks, moulting excessively, ear infections, not feeling 100%... all points towards thyroid, so I am happy to just treat him without further tests.

Hypothyroidism

Well, I took Dylan to see Mark on Thursday. The urine didn't show anything exciting, so a comprehensive "senior" blood test was done. The results came back today and Dylan has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. His result was 5.7 when the normal range is 18.0 - 58.0, so well below! It's not good news, but on the other hand, it is perfectly manageable and Dylan will be able to lead a perfectly normal life with a normal life span.

At least I know now what the problem is now and Dylan will feel a lot better again once on medication.

Chiro session

I took Dylan and Troy to see Sue, the chiropractor, today. Sue couldn't find anything major that was a problem, but Dylan kept looking round and moving way when Sue went over his middle/lower back. She said that the slight manipulation that was necessary didn't warrant his reaction around that area.

That would tie in with the fact as well that Dylan was fine at agility... He was much better after TTouch too, however, has been funny again during the last couple of walks.

Off to the vet we go again... it might well be a problem with the kidneys or something else going on in there. Something definitely isn't right.

I have also seen him drinking again a couple of times, and he seems to wee a bit more... Not good.

TTouch

Jacqui came round last Tuesday and gave all the boys some TTouch. Dylan has been pretty much back to normal since then. I do still think he doesn't always walk 100%... But having said that he was fine at agility.

The chiro appointment is now next Monday, 8th February, as I had to move it. We'll see what Sue has to say.

Dylan is certainly running lots again on walks and is nowhere near as wingy as he was before Jacqui came.

Something is not quite right...

Over the last couple of weeks, Dylan has not been 100% right... I can't quite put my finger on it, but it is similar to how he was in the months running up to his kidney problem! Just not quite as energetic, he growled at Flash the other day when he tread on him accidently, something he hasn't done for a long time, and sometimes I think he doesn't walk evenly, he also seems a little bit more whingy in general.

I have booked him in with Sue on 1st February for chiro treatment. I am wondering whether the lump on his back foot is unbalancing things, or perhaps causing some kind of discomfort. If I don't see an improvement after chiro, I will get Mark to have a look at him! I just know something isn't quite right...