Zeffie's non-surgical cruciate recovery
Here's how the first six weeks of non-surgical cruciate recovery can look. This lovely dog is Zeffie the collie. She'd injured the cranial cruciate ligament of her left stifle (knee). You'll see in the video that she can barely use that leg to start with, even at a slow walk.
By week 6, Zeffie is putting much more weight on this leg. Recovery is expected to be gradual, and she still has some way to go before we can build up her walks. But I'm delighted to say that Zeffie has made great progress and is right on track with her recovery! She even managed to cut her painkillers right down over the past few weeks.
By the way, you might notice that Zeffie sometimes wears a sleeve on her FRONT leg, and that she doesn’t bend that front leg normally. This follows on from a joint fusion operation she had last year, a ‘pancarpal arthrodesis’.
For the cruciate ligament injury, Zeffie's rehabilitation has been supervised over zoom by The Rehab Vet, plus she's had pain meds and hands-on assessment from her usual vets. Zeffie's rehab programme has mainly involved gentle exercises using a lead and harness, plus a lot of activity restriction. It's essential that she doesn't rush around on this leg until it's strong enough, so she's been set up in a large pen at home.
Stick at it Zeffie, you're doing really well! 🥰🐾🐶
For more information on helping a dog recover from cruciate ligament disease without surgery, see https://therehabvet.com/cruciate-ligament-disease/
#dogs, #collies, #caninerehab, #cruciate, #veterinary
Benny's aquatherapy
This is unusual! More than a year after having spinal surgery, Benny is continuing his rehab by doing some careful aquatherapy in the sea with his owner. You certainly wouldn't want to try this in the UK at this time of year but, luckily, Benny is in Australia.
To help keep Benny moving steady and straight, his owner is using paddle elastics designed for surfers. Here, the elastics are looped around the front of Benny's chest and through the side pieces of his harness. The sea has reached an amazing 28 degrees C, and the tides have been in their favour over the past few weeks.
This aquatherapy has been helping Benny to get stronger and more stable on his hind legs. And he really loves it! Two of Benny's favourite things are paddling and watching the fish 🐶🐠💕
💚💚💚If considering home aquatherapy for your own dog, take special care. It's not suitable for every dog! Even in the shallows, water can be dangerous for dogs with coordination problems.
Each dog is different. Have yours assessed first by a vet and hydrotherapist, and take their professional advice regarding safety and how to get started💚💚💚
Remy has a go at walking without a sling
It's amazing to see Remy starting to walk without a sling! He went down with severe IVDD (disc extrusion or 'slipped disc') about four weeks ago. His neurologist gave him a less than 5% chance of walking again. At that point, both of Remy's hind legs were paralysed and one of them had lost deep pain sensation.
This super little dog didn't have an operation. Instead, his family have been caring for him at home. This has involved pen rest, painkillers and some home exercises. For the first few weeks, they used a sling to support Remy during toilet breaks. Now Remy is just starting to manage without. It's a pleasure to see him doing so well. Keep it up, Remy! ☺🐾🥰
Is your vet or therapist happy for you to start letting your IVDD dog start walking without a sling? Here are some top tips:
💚Slow your dog down using a harness and lead. Slowing their front end will give their hind paws a better chance to step.
💚Don't be too ambitious. Aim for just six foot or so of walking at the first attempt.
💚Get them motivated! Try putting one of their favourite people on the finish line, or perhaps some food. Be ready to use the lead as brakes though, as they might surprise you and dash forwards!
For a more complete guide to helping your dog to walk without a sling, see pages 152 to 154 of The IVDD Handbook.
Benny's recovery from IVDD
Long after an episode of IVDD (disc extrusion or ‘slipped disc’), dogs can still get stronger and steadier on their paws.
Benny came home from spinal surgery unable to walk. He had physiotherapy and hydrotherapy sessions early on, but his initial recovery seemed a bit disappointing. He learned to walk a bit, but he got to the point where he seemed to stop improving. He kept falling over and injuring himself by dragging and scuffing his paws.
Eight months after his surgery, I started supervising Benny’s rehabilitation over zoom. After each consultation, his family would send me videos of his latest exercises (their ‘homework’). Then we’d get together again online and discuss the best way forward.
Benny loves to be active, and he lives in a beautiful part of Australia, so we made a point of getting him outdoors as a big part of his recovery regime. We’ve mainly focused on lead exercises using a harness and fixed-length lead. Improvement is expected to be very gradual so long after his initial injury, but Benny is now right on track with his recovery.
Benny is a very well-loved chap who enjoys spending time with his family. He’s got the potential to continue getting stronger than this. Looking ahead, we all wish him every success!
Do you have a dog with a back or neck problem such as IVDD? You’ll find general recovery advice in The IVDD Handbook. It’s available from the UK at http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BFTWP9H5 or from the US at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFTWP9H5 , or try searching for ‘The IVDD Handbook’ on your country’s Amazon site.
This is great to see! Look at Pine the dachshund having a happy time here. Pine had completely lost the use of her hind legs due to IVDD (disc extrusion) back in April.
Instead of having an operation, Pine recovered at home. Pine's family kept her safe in a recovery pen, used a lead, harness and sling to help her whenever outdoors, and helped her do exercises to build up her strength and coordination. This whole method is described and illustrated in The IVDD Handbook.
Well done Pine, and a huge 'well done' too to Pine's family who put in so much care and dedication to get her through this! 🥰🐾🥳
Information on The IVDD Handbook is available at https://therehabvet.com/the-ivdd-handbook/
Bator barking
Does your dog stop and bark like this when they see another dog? It can feel like a tense situation, especially if they’re recovering from a spinal issue and are supposed to be taking things easy.
Bator the beagle gets a bit anxious with other dogs and tends to bark and pull on the lead when he sees them. It can make his walks feel a bit stressful. This video shows his owner successfully guiding him away from this situation. Now using a double-ended lead, it’s a relief to Bator’s owner that she can now help him get through a tense moment like this.
NB: Bator is a gentle boy. He’s only wearing a muzzle here because he is on a special diet – he loves food and tends to eat anything that he finds on the ground!
For owners of anxious dogs, here are a few tips on what to do when faced with an approaching dog:
🧡If you spot the other dog in time: avoid walking your dog in a straight line directly towards the them. They don’t like making direct eye contact when they meet! Instead, steer your dog slightly away – try crossing the road or, if that’s not possible, at least guide them slightly to one side of the path.
🧡Use a fixed-length lead instead of an extending one. A double-ended lead gives excellent control.
🧡A well-fitting harness keeps them safe without you having to pull on their neck
🧡If you’re with a friend, ask them to position themselves between the two dogs. Or you might be able to do that yourself.
🧡‘Lead-stroking’ can help your dog to calm down (if you’re already confident with that technique)
🧡Keep your voice positive and calm
🧡Remember to breathe!
For more tips on keeping your dog calm and confident during their recovery, see Chapter 6 of The IVDD Handbook, available at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BFTWP9H5
Jack the Kokoni dog, non surgical cruciate recovery
It's great to see Jack the Kokoni dog making a great recovery after injuring his cranial cruciate ligament. He hasn't had an operation. Instead, he's following a rehabilitation programme supervised by The Rehab Vet.
The video shows him at 6 weeks into the programme. He's no longer on painkillers at this stage. His trot looks pretty good here!
At this stage, Jack still has very subtle reduced loading over his affected left hind leg. It's only noticeable when he turns, occasionally when he comes to a standstill, and when his leg gets tired. But this is important - it means he isn't yet safe enough when turning at high speed. So Jack just needs to stick with the programme for a few weeks more before eventually running off lead.
Good luck with the rest of your recovery Jack! 🥰🐶🧡
Chilli before and after recovery (no surgery!)
Really happy to see Chilli doing so well! Here she is before and after her three-month course of rehabilitation for a damaged cruciate ligament. Supervised over Zoom by @The Rehab Vet, Chilli has had a programme of lead walking exercises, a calorie-counted diet regime, and bespoke advice on keeping her safe and quiet at home. We’re all very pleased to see this super little dog out enjoying herself again.
Eva non-surgical cruciate recovery
We're delighted to see Eva the German shorthaired pointer enjoying herself on walks again. She had been very lame with cranial cruciate disease. Here she is at six weeks into her non-surgical recovery programme supervised over Zoom by The Rehab Vet.
A sensitive-natured character, Eva prefers to avoid veterinary whenever possible. Eva’s vets are lovely, but the clinic has somehow never been her favourite place.
Non-surgical recovery can be challenging for these long-limbed dogs, but Eva and her family were determined to give it a try, and she is so far making great progress.
Recovery involves plenty of standing and slow walking to help key muscles get stronger. Once strong enough, the muscles and attached fascia hold the injured joint stable as the dog moves, giving the joint “dynamic stability”. Most of each walk still has to be at Eva’s walk speed. In this video, she is trying out some trot and doing very well.
Eva continues to build up her walks bit by bit. Eva’s postural muscles need to be that bit stronger before she’ll be safe to go at faster speeds. We wish her well with her ongoing recovery.
Chilli's non-surgical recovery from cruciate disease
This super little terrier, "Chilli", is doing very well with recovery from cranial cruciate ligament disease. She has not had an operation. Instead, we are using exercises, prescribed lead walking, an adjusted activity regime and a calorie-counted diet.
The video shows Chilli just before starting treatment, and then six weeks into the programme.
Chilli is continuing for now with more exercises. She will eventually try going off lead on walks once assessed as being ready for this. Her muscles need to be strong enough to keep the injured joint stable. Stick at it, Chilli!🥰
Well done Frankie!
Meet Frankie the dachshund. This super little dog is making great progress following a very severe episode of IVDD (intervertebral disc disease/back disease).
Frankie had an operation for grade 5 IVDD back in February. He’d arrived at the hospital with his hind legs and tail completely paralysed and had lost all feeling in his toes. At the 4 week recheck, the neurologist said that Frankie would not walk again.
We have since been helping Frankie with a programme of exercises, sling walking and home entertainment (a comfortable recovery pen and lots of things to do and supervised playtime). It probably helps that some of Frankie’s favourite things in life are pushchair rides, soft toys and chewing on his antler. Plus he’s a friendly boy and gets enthusiastic about food rewards at exercise time!
Frankie has gradually learned to push himself up and to do a few steps at a time. He’s often up and standing in his pen, he steps with his hind legs during sling walking every day, his tail wags brilliantly, and he does little sets of unsupported steps very regularly now. Frankie went back to the hospital for recheck last week and the neurologist was delighted both to see him so happy and with his functional progress! Frankie even stood up for the neurologist and showed off a bit of fancy footwork.
As predicted, the deep pain sensation has not returned to Frankie’s paws. That means that the original nerve supply from the brain to the hind paws is completely cut off. His body is nevertheless finding a way to walk again. This is called “spinal walking”. It’s reported to happen starting from 4 to 9 months after a severe IVDD incident, so Frankie is right on track and is doing really well.
He’s going to continue with exercises to help him learn to walk even better. The best that we can hope for is a purposeful but rather wobbly walk. At this point, we’re now also getting Frankie fitted with wheels so that he can have the chance to enjoy moving about at a more
Bean the dachshund: A progress video
Bean's first two weeks recovering from IVDD
Baxter stands again after IVDD
Quick spinal recovery without surgery
