I thought I'd blog about my dog and her up coming surgery. This has been a haul getting to this point, but it started not too long ago when her leg problems became more pronounced. Lucy is a 10 year-old, spayed female of unknown origins. Perhaps Aussie, perhaps Border Collie, maybe some Springer Spaniel or Brittany, definitely some kind of sight hound—when she could run, she ran like a greyhound.
This winter, on walks, I noticed she was periodically dragging her toes. I was alerted to that behavior because our first dog went lame and it had started the same way. But Lucy is young, only 10, so I chose to ignore it. She's always been a bit clumsy so I chalked it up to that.
In February, we took her mountain biking in the snow. It wasn't very deep—a couple of inches—and wasn't very far, maybe 5-6 miles. The previous fall she was running 15 miles at a stretch. At the end of the winter ride, her thighs were quivering and we thought it was because she was out of shape. Another ride several weeks later, was shorter with more dramatic response from Lucy. And several weeks after that, after running barely two miles, she couldn't maintain a standing position.
A vet's visit was in order and our vet thought it might be arthritis. However, she didn't improve at all under a "arthritis" regime (a change in diet and supplements). She had x-rays done of her back end and they showed no arthritis or bone damage. The next test was for myasthenia gravis and that too proved negative.
Our next choice was an MRI. She went through that on Thursday of last week and sure enough, she had a herniated disk right above her tail. The vet said this was a common spot for older, larger dogs and that surgery could be very effective. (The success rate for the surgery is 85%; those that don't improve, stay the same.) The recovery period can take anywhere between 4-8 weeks. During that time the dog must be kept quiet and cannot do stairs or run. I also understand the first couple of weeks, there are a slew of pills she must take.
So for the time being, this blog will chronicle this chapter in her/our life. Surgery is in 2 days. If you'd like to know more about the surgery itself, check out this link: http://home.gci.net/~shem/Our_Pets/Trapper/Trapper_s_Surgery/trapper_s_surgery.htm If you and your dog have gone through this type of surgery, let me know how it went.
This winter, on walks, I noticed she was periodically dragging her toes. I was alerted to that behavior because our first dog went lame and it had started the same way. But Lucy is young, only 10, so I chose to ignore it. She's always been a bit clumsy so I chalked it up to that.
In February, we took her mountain biking in the snow. It wasn't very deep—a couple of inches—and wasn't very far, maybe 5-6 miles. The previous fall she was running 15 miles at a stretch. At the end of the winter ride, her thighs were quivering and we thought it was because she was out of shape. Another ride several weeks later, was shorter with more dramatic response from Lucy. And several weeks after that, after running barely two miles, she couldn't maintain a standing position.
A vet's visit was in order and our vet thought it might be arthritis. However, she didn't improve at all under a "arthritis" regime (a change in diet and supplements). She had x-rays done of her back end and they showed no arthritis or bone damage. The next test was for myasthenia gravis and that too proved negative.
Our next choice was an MRI. She went through that on Thursday of last week and sure enough, she had a herniated disk right above her tail. The vet said this was a common spot for older, larger dogs and that surgery could be very effective. (The success rate for the surgery is 85%; those that don't improve, stay the same.) The recovery period can take anywhere between 4-8 weeks. During that time the dog must be kept quiet and cannot do stairs or run. I also understand the first couple of weeks, there are a slew of pills she must take.
So for the time being, this blog will chronicle this chapter in her/our life. Surgery is in 2 days. If you'd like to know more about the surgery itself, check out this link: http://home.gci.net/~shem/Our_Pets/Trapper/Trapper_s_Surgery/trapper_s_surgery.htm If you and your dog have gone through this type of surgery, let me know how it went.
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