Happy Saturday All!
Ten years ago Norman went through ACL surgery to repair a ruptured cruciate ligament (ok the surgery was just before Turkey day the year before), and in March 2005 Norman went to physical therapy to build the muscle back up in his back leg. I thought this was very important for any animal going through such a extensive surgery but more so for Norman as he was a competing athlete and I needed to get his leg back in working order so he could train and compete again with no set backs.
With the TPLO surgery, the surgeon actually cuts through the tibia and re-positions it to the correct angle. They then insert a metal plate to hold the bones together until they are healed. The plate will stay in unless it is causing a problem. The dog needs to be caged rested for 2 months then they are allowed to do more and more to build the leg back up again. You can read more about the surgery here.
Xray’s of Norman’s leg right after surgery. I took Norman to a specialty clinic in Madison, WI who had a physical therapist working with them. The physical therapist had a water treadmill which would be the best therapy for getting the leg muscle built back up. Norman loved the treadmill, Kris went into the treadmill with Norman to help keep him steady. She put peanut butter on the front wall to keep Norman focus, he thought that was pretty good but he really didn’t need it as he was just happy to be in the water with someone. You can see by the photos how happy he was.
After the treadmill therapy he then worked on strength exercises. Now I have the memory of a gnat but I think Norman was suppose to go under the rails and get the treat on the wooden steps.
Norman loved his visits with Kris. She did amazing work getting his leg back in shape. He was back training for hunt tests that April and never had a problem with that leg or his other leg. Some dogs will rupture one cruciate ligament and then will rupture the other one mostly due to poor conformation of the back leg and strain put on it from the other leg being fixed. Normans rupture was caused by a training injury that I saw so we were lucky he never did rupture his other one. The trainer was amazed at how well he did that next summer training, he thought his leg was better with the plate in it then it was before ;). If you have a big dog I highly recommend the TPLO cruciate surgery for the best results afterwards, especially if they are athletes.
We picked up Nellie right after Norman had surgery.
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We are also joining The Pet Parade.
You were lucky to find such a good combo of first class surgery combined with superb physio therapy. Only way to go!
We hope none of us ever have to go through that, but Norman was lucky to have such good care.
It’s great what you did for Norman and it’s great that such things are possible now and we can heal so much things. And I’m so glad the surgery went well and his leg was like new – oh or even better :o)
Hi Y’all!
You were so lucky to have a specialty clinic to treat Norman.
So many people either cannot afford, or choose not to have, physical therapy after surgery, even when the surgery was on themselves. It almost always proves to be a huge mistake! Physical therapy is the most important commitment you can make after a surgery, human, equine or canine.
Y’all come on by,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Again, can I return as your dog?? Hugs ♥
I’m so glad it all went so well for Norman! You were lucky to find such good care for him. I hope we never have to go through it, but I know it’s a concern if we don’t get Luke’s luxating patellas fixed. that’s one of the reasons we should fix them.
Beautiful sepia pics. I’m glad Norman did so well through recovery – and enjoyed his therapy visits! Thanks for sharing your experience, definitely helpful information for others.
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Wow, Norman was impressive in his recovery! Love the photo of him with new little pup!
What an awesome recovery, that surgery is so difficult for some dogs and Norman proves that a total recovery is possible!! Great photos and love that baby Nellie one!!
So happy to hear that Norman bounced back after his injury. I bet he liked the water therapy. 🙂
I’m not sure I ever knew this, but thanks for sharing. Our road from ACL injury was long and tough, but it is worth it to see my puppy run and play again.
Norman did an excellent job of getting back into shape after the surgery. Obviously he wanted to make sure he would not be left behind during training:)