Its now 5 weeks post-op...
Is it normal for Cookie's walking to be better some days than others. :scratch: Sometimes, she walks almost normal, then others, out of the blue, she gets really wobbly. On her little walk today, she wanted to run after and bark at another dog. :rolleyes: I had to really hold the leash to get her to calm down and not take off running, but after that she looked drunk- she could not walk a straight line and her legs were really wobbly.
Other times, she seems more wobbly at night, and I attributed that to her being tired.
Is it normal for it to go back and forth like this? I worry sometimes that as soon as I think she is getting better, she seems to take a step back. :confused:
Just for fun, here she is looking out the door, wondering why I won't let her out to play and chase the lizards on the patio. :wink:
It is my opinion....and please, it is just an opinion....that you should keep Cookie on crate rest until 6 to 8 weeks after surgery. That is what I did with my Zoe. She had surgery last August and is totally back to around 95%now. I am just afraid that Cookie may be doing too much too soon and she may re-injure herself. Have you joined Dodgerslist? It is true that she may just be tired and start to wobble...but after I let Zoe off of crate rest after 8 weeks...we did not have that problem. When they come off of crate rest you have to re-introduce them to exercise a little at a time. She may be getting tired and maybe her muscles are getting sore. It is such a scary time....I hated to have Zoe crated but I felt she was safe in there....then I was scared when it was time to let her out. You just have to take things very slow and easy. Good luck with your baby....prayers and hugs are coming your way.... :pray: :pray: :comfort: :comfort:
Hi Valerie! I wonder if Cookie just isn't quite ready to be out walking (even though she thinks she is). Penny is about a week ahead of Cookie (and Penny also didn't go down completely) and seems to be doing well - although she tries to hop instead of walk). Maybe just try and keep her quiet still?? What does the doctor say?
I happen to agree about too much too soon not from a dog stand point worked Orthopedics as a Nurses Aide for 14 years,any kind of back surgery takes a long time to heal did your vet recommend walking her?
Papbouv
I totally agree with everyone else you need to keep Cookie in a crate for at least 6-8wks post-op this gives her body a chance to heal you may want to start some physical therapy to help her along - ask your vet about a under water treadmill this is great rehab after back surgery. :thumb:
Jen
Quote from: Jen on February 08, 2007, 06:18:31 AM
ask your vet about a under water treadmill this is great rehab after back surgery. :thumb:
Hi Valerie! If they happen to think that physical therapy is a good idea there is a great physical therapist at Animal Medical Center in El Cajon 619-444-4246 - I think her name is Renee. http://www.animalmedicalcenter.info/index_files/Page340.htm I'm not sure what end of the county you live in but it might be a good option :grin:
When Cajsa went down and had back surgery she was very wobbly for a little while. I do agree that it may be doing too much too soon making her tired. What I did was let her stand/take a few steps at a time then make her lay back down. (This was around 6 weeks or so.) That way she could strengthen her muscles and get better control, but she wasn't overdoing it and causing herself problems. By 6 weeks the vet said she could walk the few steps to go out and potty then walk back in if she wanted to. Cajsa was trying to stand and could hold her weight for a few seconds about a week after surgery to give an idea about how quickly she recovered.
Nearly a year post-op she's running around and still has wobbly times. They tend to be when she's first getting up after sleeping or resting or when she tries to go too fast. She's been known to sit down when taking a corner but she immediately gets back up and doesn't have any problems. I'd say she's about 95% on most days.
As for crating- we have not crated her through this experience as we have never crated her the whole time we have had her (about 2 years, we adopted her at around age 6). The vet told us that we did not have to crate her, as it would stress her, but confine her so we bought the playpen. Its easy to keep her confined as our condo is pretty small and she always sits in whatever room we are in.
At her 2 week check up we were told it was Ok to walk her and to slowly walk her more and more. We do not let her do any stairs at all. She has jumped off the sofa a couple of times (and boy did she get in BIG trouble). We only let her on the sofa when we sit there and when we get up we put her on the floor.
Last night she seemed OK again. I don’t know. Typically my husband takes her on the walks so I don’t know if he’s not noticing her being wobbly, or she was just wobbly for me yesterday.
I think I will take the advice here and slow down the walks for a bit.
Quote from: Jen on February 08, 2007, 06:18:31 AM
I totally agree with everyone else you need to keep Cookie in a crate for at least 6-8wks post-op this gives her body a chance to heal you may want to start some physical therapy to help her along - ask your vet about a under water treadmill this is great rehab after back surgery. :thumb:
Jen
Our vet did mention water swimming for rehabilitation, but when we mentioned how much she hates water, we decided it would be too traumatic for her. :2funny:
Quote from: Kari on February 08, 2007, 08:41:41 AM
Hi Valerie! If they happen to think that physical therapy is a good idea there is a great physical therapist at Animal Medical Center in El Cajon 619-444-4246 - I think her name is Renee. http://www.animalmedicalcenter.info/index_files/Page340.htm I'm not sure what end of the county you live in but it might be a good option :grin:
Thanks for posting that link... I'll keep it in mind if we need it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think Cookie proved to me today that she is doing too much. We had to leave her home alone (and confined) for 5 hours today. When i got home, her walking looked great! Well, I left the front door open when i was bringing in the groceries, and for the 1st time
ever, she decided to bolt out the door and take off running! :runaway: Eek! i chased her throughout the condo complex and finally caught her, then she came home and started killing all her toys like a complete spaz. After that she looked wobbly again. SO to me that says its too much too soon and its back to confinement for her.
Thanks again for all your words of advice and wisdom. I would feel so alone in this without this board.