8.5 by Dr. Lozier’s standards and a 9 by mine, Kaz’s 17 week check-up was a victory.  Before the surgery, Lozier said she was at a 6 or 7 and he predicted her to be between an 8 and 9 after the surgery.  Hearing him rate her at an 8.5 was such a relief.

After Kaz’s disheartening 8-week check up, we were really dedicated to building the muscle up on her lame leg.  We were committed to taking 2, 1/2 mile walks every day.  Each day she seemed to get a little stronger.

At 11 weeks we went in for another check-up and Dr. Lozier said there was a noticeable difference and was pleased with the improvement.  He scheduled us for another check-up 6 weeks out.   We were cleared for unlimited leashed walks and so we started walking her up to 3 miles every day.

We still took it kinda easy.  No running, no jumping up on the couch, no real explosive movements.  We kept her on the elk velvet supplements but no pain medications.  Just a lot of controlled movements to gradually increase the range of motion and muscle.

All our hard work has paid off though.  Kaz’s surgery was successful.  There were times when I thought the stress, pain, and financial burden wasn’t worth it, but today Kaz is playing with other dogs, running off leash and in no physical pain.

Well, the good news is that Kaz’s bone has compeletely healed.  The bad news is that Dr. Lozier thinks her femur might need to be straightened.  She is still showing signs of lameness in her left leg and Dr. Lozier attributes it to her slightly bowed femur.  Of course, when they initially x-rayed her for the TPLO, she was 1/100th off of their measurements for suggesting femur straightening.  We opted against the extra surgery because it sounded like she probably didn’t need it.

There is still the possibility that after a few weeks of light walking, we will be able to build up the muscle and she will be strong enough to not need the femur straightening surgery.  I’m not even 100% clear on what will happen to her if we don’t get the surgery.  It was a very frustrating visit to the vet after having so many good experiences.

My plan is to keep her on a muscle building program with 1/4-1/2 mile walks twice a day and an egg with her breakfast for added protein.  We have another appointment with Dr. Lozier in 3 weeks and we will re-evaluate then.  At this point, even if he suggests surgery, I think we will pass.  As long as she’s not in any pain, I don’t think Kaz will mind if she has a funny gait.  Currently, she is walking with a slight limp, but Dr. Lozier says she doesn’t show any signs of discomfort when he extends her leg.

I think we would all be happier with a little bit of a limp instead of another invasive surgery with a 4 month recovery period and $1,500 price tag.

It’s getting tougher to keep Kaz confined to her pen and designated area in the yard.  She is ready to go!  We stopped giving her all pain medications on week 4 and she is feeling fine.   If she looks like she’s limping more than usual or if she seems like she’s hurting, we’ll give her a half of a pill.  But by the way she acts when we take her outside, you’d think she never injured her leg.

The hard part is not letting myself be convinced that her leg is healthy.  She seems so strong and healed, that I have to continually remind myself that she’s not.  I learned this the hard way after I heard her scramble across the hardwood floor into the kitchen to watch me prepare dinner.  Fortunately she didn’t fall and I’m hoping that the 12 foot sprint will only leave her sore for a day.

She’s been a good sport through all this but seems to be getting quite bored with us, her toys, and the Christmas tree.  As soon as we get her outside she power walks to the sidewalk in hopes that her strength can pull me for a walk.  Hopefully the holidays will bring more visitors for her and allow the next few weeks to pass by quickly.

This first clip shows how we use the sling to get her down the one step out of our house.  I think we are technically supposed to use it for support whenever she walks, but she refuses to try and go to the bathroom with it on.  So we use it on the step and when we go to the vet for her check ups.

We teased Kaz a little bit to get this footage.  We started walking our old route down the sidewalk and I’m sure she thought she was finally going to go for a walk.  We had to force her to stop and turn around because we still have to wait another 4 weeks before we get the go-ahead from the vet that she’s able to start seriously walking again.

I feel very fortunate that Kaz is recovering so well.  After reading so many negative stories about TPLO surgeries, I finally feel like ours is going to turn out successfully.  We just need to continue with her restricted movement schedule for another 4 weeks and then we can slowly start reintroducing walks again.  Let the countdown begin!

Week 3 has flown by and there isn’t too much to report since Kaz is doing great.  Even though I can sense Kaz’s impatience at her recovery, she is a trooper and continues to be as mellow as she can.

She is now power walking during her potty breaks and is using her bad leg as well as she was before the surgery.  She knows that these breaks are the only time she has to be outside, so she has begun to walk us all around the yard before doing her business.

The incision is almost invisible.  She stretches the bad leg out on her own and likes us to massage it.

We’ve been trying to find good toys to keep her occupied while she’s cooped up.  One of her favorites is the Kong filled with canned pumpkin (we freeze it overnight to make the pumpkin harder).

Kaz was a little disappointed when then Oregon Beavers lost this week…

…but Mister Bill consoled her…

We are headed into week 4 and hope that is flies by as uneventful as week three.  Thanks for all the support!

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