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Spencer had MPL surgery

Spencer'sMom

Well-known member
I’ve been reading a lot but haven’t posted in ages. I’ve followed Rudy’s progress the last couple of weeks with his knee surgery and thought I’d share our tale.

Spencer had his patella surgery Thursday morning. Our surgeon (the same one who did such a fabulous job with Pixie) operated on the right leg deepened the groove, tied down the tissue and something else I’ve forgotten. The right leg was graded a 3 and the left was 2-3.

He'll still only eat out of my hand and is drinking a little water. He finally went poop this morning (YEA!) and he’s peed a couple of times. Taking him outside is a two person job with me and my hubby. I carry him outside and then Dave puts the towel on the ground so we can put it under his belly to balance him. The good news is that he doesn't seem to be in any pain but he has been whimpering. Hopefully this is just b/c he wants to get out of his crate.

So far I think he’s doing well but I am still a nervous wreck. When I take him out of the crate he hops around but will then put his leg down after a few steps. He doesn’t seem to be putting a lot of pressure on it but it still worries me. And I feel like such a bad mommy and that I’ve done something wrong b/c one of his staples came out last night. Around 6:00 I noticed it was loose. Then around 9:00 I put the warm compress on him and noticed it was completely out. I called the vet this morning and said I can wait for them to look at it when we bring him in tonight (already had an appointment to take off the pain patches). They’ll see if it needs to be re-stapled (ouch!). I’m also going to ask if they’ll put the bandage back on. I really don’t like Spencer putting his leg down as much as he is.


Some photos when I went to visit him in the “hospital” on Thursday night.

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"I just knew you'd come see me Mommy."

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They took the bandage off before we picked him up but I wish they’d put it back on. He is trying to walk on his leg when we go outside and I think he may stop doing that if it’s all wrapped up.

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SLEEPY boy


Our first day at home

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The green and blue stripped "thing" is my husband. We both slept on the floor of our family room last night so we could be near him. As much as I complained about Spencer taking up too much of my pillow in bed I REALLY miss sleeping with him. Only 58 more days. :D

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Oh Spencer - hope you get better very soon - no running on that leg, give it time little boy and you will soon be running around again... lots of hugs and kisses from my boys.
 
Oh poor Spencer. It is really hard isn't it? Daisy Boo ate practically nothing for the first week either. She lost about 1.2 kilos in total but she's put a lot of it back on now. Things will be better once the stitches are out. That's a real shame about the staple coming out. The vet took Daisy Boo's dressing off but we covered them with a dressing pad (the non sticky ones), cut the foot off a sock and slid it over the leg. See picture below. You can secure it with some tape but keep the tape away from the skin. We covered it at nightime when we could not monitor licking etc. It worked out fine and the wound was clean after the stitches came out. Best of luck and hope Spencer feels better soon.
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Dear Spencer,

We are sending lots of love and many hugs for you. :lotsaluv: :lotsaluv: :lotsaluv:

Get well soon,

Alison, Wilts, U.K.
 
Hi Daisy Boo,

It's nice to hear that you are on the mend...

Sending you lots of love as well :lotsaluv: :lotsaluv: :lotsaluv:

Alison, Wilts, U.K.
 
My India was putting her foot down immediately following surgery (she was leaving a footprint in the snow when going out for potty), and I was alarmed and called the vet. He said that was fine for her to do that if she felt like it.

Hope your pup is feeling better soon! :flwr:
 
Isn't it great that we can share so much information here?! What did we do before the internet?

I love the idea of the sock with Daisy Boo. Very creative thinking.

As far as Spencer putting his foot down..that's fine. It's best if he use it a little. The main thing to watch out for it not pulling it out of its groove by jumping or running. Shelby had her foot on the ground after a couple of days. She'd hobble along on 3 with her other leg stumping along. Glad he's feeling better.
 
Poor babies :( It's just so unfair that it's our beloved breed taht gets everything under the sun wrong with them :(

Sending all the post op babies big hugs and lovey cuddles :l*v: :l*v: :l*v: :l*v: :l*v: :l*v: :l*v: :l*v:
 
Oh, I just remembered what I did to help get India to take fluids and to help get her appetite back. I bought plain strained beef baby food and mixed a little into lukewarm water. She really loved to drink that, so I gave her small amounts every two hours so she wouldn't get dehydrated. :flwr:
 
Thank you for all the good thoughts. And that's an excellent idea about the baby food. I've been giving him more canned food so he'll get the extra water.

We took him to the vet tonight to get the pain patches removed and the staple situation looked at. The incision was pulling a little so another vet in the practice (ours doesn't work on Mondays) re-stapled where it came out and added a few others as well. So he'll take the antibiotics for another week and we got a few extra days of Rimadyl since his leg's probably sore from the stapling tonight.
 
You're such a good mom! I think this is probably harder on you than him :D, he's healing and feeling better each day, but the worrying and extra work has to be hard on you. I'm sure he misses sleeping with you, too. Hang in there, it will get better! :flwr: :flwr:

ps...I love his little spotted skin on his leg :lotsaluv:
 
Well Spencer and Rudy should be roomates! :lol: Things seem so intense the first week but it gets easier quickly. I think as careful as you are being with Spencer I wouldn't worry about him putting too much weight on the leg. My vet assured me the dog has a sense at this point of what he can handle. It really sounds like you and your husband are a great team. My husband was terrified about touching Rudy so I had a solo experience. I still get nervous about Rudy over doing especially when he gets excited about someone at the door. He is still in the crate but gets real excited at the door bell ringing. As Spencer recovers you will be surprised at how things get back to normal and you don't mind his crate confinement.
NOW Spencer is going to need wheels to travel so he can keep up with Rudy :drivecar: :drivecar: I will keep you updated with Rudy's progress so you will know what comes next ,although my vet tells me every dog's experience is a little different. I'll take a picture of the Rudy mobile tomorrow so Spencer can get motivated :jump:
We can look at this experience as a very special time of bonding with our dogs. Rudy looks at me like I am his everything, now if I can get my husband and two grown sons to see me that way wouldn't life be great! I guess I'll order surgery and crate confinement for the three men in my life :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Pam - glad to hear Rudy is doing so well also. It's funny how easily it becomes routine. When Shelby got her freedom she just slipped right back into it....no issues no big deal!
 
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