Cruciate Ligament & Separation Anxiety

[mysticalblues]

I am very worried and upset about Bosco. In August, 1 month before he turned a year old, he had knee surgery for a torn cruciate ligament. Yesterday, he was laying outside chewing on his rope toy when I walked towards him and he sat up and screamed. Now he is walking funny, almost high stepping with that leg. I am so upset. I can't afford another surgery at $1400 a pop. It hasn't even been six months. I'm still paying my mother back for this surgery. I got pet insurance, but they will not cover it for six months after the origianl surgery.

And to top everything off, this past Friday he started taking meds for separation anxiety. Saturday night, he shattered the bottom of his crate. I am really at my witts end with this problem. Does anyone know how long it takes for this medication to kick in? He has a radio left on, he get a bone stuffed with peanut butter in his crate, and Brody is in the same room as him. He has even bent the door to his crate and broke out the corner of it. He is only 50 pounds. This all started AFTER the knee surgery.

I will take any suggestions on how to deal with all this. Thank you for listening.

Pam

 

[nanabear]

Any chance he is on Rimadyl?
Mack is recovering from C-L surgery (his was ruptured - not torn) and was on Rimadyl for quite awhile. He had a bad reaction so I read everything I could (on the net) about it and one of they symptoms is hyper-vigilance and nervousness. He is a *very* mellow dog, not a worrier at all - but he seemed more worried about things going on around him and frightened by sounds than he ever had before.
But his reaction was continuous vomiting and explosive diarrhea.
I know how you feel, going through this surgery is emotional and worrisome and then to think something might have gone wrong, so soon........

I think you should call your vet and have the joint examined.

 

[Krikkit]

I'm sorry about Bosco :( Please let us know what the vet says about his knee.

Is he on Clomicalm for the seperation anxiety? It is quite good but does need to be used with a program of systamatic desensitisation. Have you got the book 'Culture Clash' by Jean Donaldson? That has an excellent section on alone training and seperation anxiety and the advice is well worth following. There is a bit about Clomicalm here http://www.ah.ca.novartis.com/product/clomiclm.htm There are a few good links on seperation anxiety here http://boxerworld.com/links/Training_and_Behavior/Separation_Anxiety/ The book 'I'll Be Home Soon!' by Patricia McConnell might be worth reading. Seperation anxiety is hard for everyone to deal with - thinking of you - hope it gets better soon.

We have been using a Homeopathic remedy for anxiety and fear, along with a Bach flower remedy for rescue dogs and are very happy with these....mind you it could be the rescue babies we have had lately...they seem to settle in much better.

Hugs to Bosco.

 

[mysticalblues]

Bosco has not been on any medication for his knee since the surgery. They said if he was in any pain, he could take asprin.

Krikkit, he is on Clomicalm. I will have to take a look at that book and the rest of those links.

I called the vet yesterday and she said to give it until Thursday to kick in and if it doesn't she will give him a little valium until it starts working. He is so sleepy right now, but its hard to tell if it is from the meds or if he is in pain with his knee. I have an appointment tomorrow with our vet so she can look at the knee.

Thanks,
Pam

 

[tingoddess]

You might want to consider a wire crate,(heaviest gage you can get )
We had a problem with our dog we got in August. He could bust out of the plastic molded crate in seconds flat.
I had a metal crate from when I had my greyhounds. At the time it was the largest/heaviest gage the made. He did manage to bend the wire on the door area a bit but it kept him in. He seems more comfortable in the wire too, more ventilation, he can see what's going on too. We always made sure to give him his special kong toy with treats in it and now all we have to do is say "kennel" and he runs and waits inside for us to give him his toy and close the door. He hasn't drooled in it in weeks. He used to literally soak himself, the blanket and the pan always had a puddle. Oh we also keep the radio on now and we noticed he isn't barking as we walk up to the house and let ourselves in too. So that's great also.
I hope he's feeling better soon. If he was fine before the surgery, retraining maybe all he needs along with a little patience.

 

[Tom]

My Kobo went through both of theses problems. Knee surgery and separation anxiety. Knee surgery took a long time to get over even now after more than a year there are days when she will favor that leg. But get her mind on something else and you would never know she had knee surgery.
Separation anxiety was another issue. We went through crates, doors, carpets and sofas. We bought a 10 x 10 chain link fence enclosure for the basement. She would drag it all over the place and even bent the door and fencing material. When we got Kiki, a mail that is one year older than her, she calmed down and the destruction ceased. Is your other dog crated as well? You might want to try giving your dog free reign and see what happens. not promising anything, and it could be a disaster.

 

[mysticalblues]

Bosco has a wire crate. Its one of those colapsible kinds. Somehow he had managed to unhook the from from the side and squeeze out there. The crate had a plastic tray and he shattered that by stepping on it and pulling it up with his mouth. Brody was loose, but locked in the kitchen with Bosco.

When Bosco is loose, he usually jumps over the piece of wood locking them in the kitchen (not the best thing for his leg). The wood is about waist high.

He is doing better today. He was loose yesterday and today as he started to crack the tray in Brody's old crate. Yesterday he broke out, but today he seems to be staying put and hasn't chewed any furniture.

I will let everyone know what the vet says about his leg tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I really appreciate them.

 

[maria Comella]

I was just reading that your dog was operated of a broken ligament. My boxer is 2 yrs old and trying to jump a 6' fence he broke the ligament. I took him to his vet for x rays and I went to a second opening. No being happy , went to a surgeon that only does knees. He also suggested that I should do it as soon as possible to avoid arthritis. Now Leo is not even limping and runs and is happy. Should I have him operated ???? And tell me about the recovery. What type of operation your dog got?
Please tell me because my boxer is a very especial place in my life.
Thanks

 

[VTbxrFan]

I would suggest having him examined by an orthopedic surgeon and see what they recommend. My 2 yr old is also recovering from knee surgery now. From what I have read and learned from my vets, sometimes the ligaments will heal on their own, but often they are at high risk to be ruptured again. If the orthopedic specialist recommends surgery, I would go ahead and do it. It isn't fun, but it is important to try to prevent or minimize the arthritis that is likely to develop -- especially for a young dog. Unfortunately my Dallas had already developed some arthritis in his knee before I got him. There really isn't anything they can do to reverse the arthritis -- hopefully the surgery will stabilize his knee to slow the progression of arthritis, but it really bums me out knowing that his knee will always bother him.

By the way, I also noticed that Dallas's knee showed a great deal of improvement from the time he actually ruptured the ligament until he had surgery (about 2 weeks), but I'm still glad that I went ahead with surgery.

 

[mysticalblues]

Bosco's cruciate ligament was not fully torn. It was hanging on by a string, but they could only tell that for sure by opening him up. Before the surgery, he would have good days and bad days. When we took him to the surgery, you could barely tell he was having a problem. The vet had said that once it tears completely, arthritis starts immediately.

After the surgery, he only walked on three legs. This was a little desturbing because I really wasn't expecting him to hop into the room, but instantly, I could tell he was nolonger in pain. After 2 weeks, Bosco was allowed to start swimming. A few weeks after that, he was allowed to start going for walks, as far as he would go, bu more specifically up hill. Walking up hill makes him use the leg more.

It has now been 5 months since the surgery, and he is doing good. He still limps sometimes, mainly in the morning or when it is cold. The vet said this should get better, that it takes a long time to heal.

Just an FYI, the surgery is expensive, but well worth it. With one knee injured, it is highly likely that they will injure the second knee. We have invested in pet insurance for that reason.

*************
BTW Bosco's medicine has started working and he is doing much better. Also, his knee is fine. He had hurt his front leg in one of his fits. Pam