Puppy Troubles

I have some sad news. Zoe has elbow dysplasia. Yesterday she had surgery at Veterinary Specialist of CT. We set out for Hartford in the morning. I rode in the back seat with her and knit while Mike drove. She napped and minded my yarn. (BTW, she loves when I knit; the soft click of needles and occasional tug at the yarn tell her exactly where I am and what I'm doing without her opening her eyes).

Hartford is a long ride from Shelburne but our consult with our local canine ortho-expert, Dr. Benson (Veterinary Emergency & Speciality Hospital of South Deerfield) and the xrays he took of her elbows last week pointed us in this direction, the sooner the better, in his opinion.

So getting her there took pretty much all day.  After a long consultation with Dr. Berzon of Veterinary Specialty of CT, we left Zoe in his hands. Dr. Berzon confirmed the diagnosis of elbow dysplasia and some serious degeneration of her right elbow. He performed arthroscopic elbow surgery to relieve painful joint yesterday afternoon. 

I know this news must feel out of the blue, but we have had some suspicions about her legs since November when we noticed lameness on and off. I was waiting for x-rays and a first and second opinion before commenting saying anything about it. It sucks. Sorry. But that's it, in a nutshell.

We have two beautiful puppies who love to romp,  fetch, "fence" with sheep and ramble the woods and fields. Farley seems robust and healthy. Zoe has an inherited joint disease that will seriously impair her freedom to do almost everything puppies love do. It's just not fair.

There are things we can do to make her feel better, but it is not a fixable problem. It will get worsen as she ages. I found this little bit of info, if you're interested in learning more about elbow dysplasia.  We are heart sick.

 

Dr. Berzon called at dinnertime last night to say Zoe's surgery went well, she's resting comfortably. We pick her up later this morning. She's going to be sore for 4-6 weeks and will need to stay calm for two to four months for healing to take place. Physical therapy starts for her next week.

In the meantime, Farley is staying with friends, so Zoe can take it easy when she gets home today. Our friends have two goldens, so Farley is having a great time.

It will be really interesting to see how we can make this all work when he comes home this weekend. I'm not sure how we're going to do this. Have you ever been in this situation? Do you have tips for raising two puppies while keeping one from running, jumping, rough housing, climbing stairs, etc.?

I'd love to hear from you.

Sorry for such a bummer of a post to start the new year, but we have our work cut out for us. She is a super-sweetie and we will do whatever it takes.

Comments

[megacrafty]

So sorry to hear about Zoe. Glad her surgery went well. We have a dog who is 13 now but has always been very energetic. We used to have two dogs and whenever the energetic one was injured it was always to hard to keep her quiet. We used a leash a lot more in situations where we'd normally let her run free. We also used gates for things like stairs (although she could jump them it seemed to at least make her think twice about it). If we were doing something that required trips up and down stairs we'd even put her on a lead inside to keep her from following us like she normally would. I also know someone who used a playpen like gate system to help keep an injured pup quiet. It's not easy but it was sort of like baby proofing the house and watching her all the time to stop behavior that might keep her from healing well.

[Jody]

I feel sad for Zoe but also happy that she has you to love her for always :-) I wish all pet owners had such devotion for their animals.

[Cindy in un-Happy Valley]

So sorry to hear about Zoe. I have no advice on how to "contain" such youngsters. She is a beauty.

[Laura]

So sorry to hear about your pup. I know how heartbreaking it can be to find out that one of your family members is in pain. My beagle has a luxating patella and went through some really rough times. While I didn't have a second puppy to deal with, I did have a toddler that was just as active as another puppy. I had to keep our pup at rest for six weeks for healing to occur, no jumping, running, stairs, etc. The running was the hardest to stop since she was either at rest, or running...that dog has never just walked anywhere in her life! I carried on stairs and used baby gates to keep her from doing them on her own. I also had to pile the couches and chairs with pillows and boxes to prevent her from jumping. By putting up a lot of these "obstacles" her mobility was put at bay and a lot of the restrictions were indeed followed. Perhaps if you put up some of these barriers it will naturally subdue some of Farley's enthusiasm as well....at least while in the house and in the company of a resting, healing Zoe. Hope this helps....sending healing thoughts your way.

[Konna]

So sorry to hear about lovely Zoe's health issues. Not easy at the best of times but with another energetic pup in the house, even harder. No suggestions here for what to do.....some of the other suggestions sound good. Good luck! She IS lovely!!!

[Marcy]

So sad to hear that Zoe will have to suffer through this, but sounds like she's with the best possible people to love and care for her. I'm sorry I have no suggestions for you but I'll keep you all in my thoughts.

[Lori]

Barb and Mike, I am so sorry to hear about Zoe. She is blessed to have you both to love and care for her. We have used baby gates and extra leash time indoors as well - 2 German Shepherds are difficult to keep quiet no matter what the injury. I know even "doggie gates" have come a long way and can be used indoors and out. We are using extra carpet squares for slippery corners on wood and tile floors too - better traction for our older "son".
My heart goes out to you - you will be kept in our prayers! Give her a kiss for us!

[Jean]

I was so sorry to hear about your Zoe. She's a lucky puppy though to have such caring parents. My Emma - an 8 yr old yellow lab - was diagnosed at 4 months with lameness and a similar problem in the very narrow part of her hocks on both back legs. They ruled out an operation as too risky. It IS a very devastating diagnosis.
Emma has always lived with another dog - our latest puppy a bit more challenging to keep her relatively calm - but she's had a good life thanks to medications and good care and she knows how much she's loved. We can't let her run (she'd love to chase a ball) and periodically we've needed a ramp up the 3 deck steps but she understands when we tell her something is slippery or to be careful. She gets a mile walk on a leash most days, and she enjoys it. Her life is very limited, but it's still a good life. You'll give Zoe a good life and she knows she's loved.
You're all in my thoughts - Zoe is a beautiful puppy.
Understanding your sadness, Jean

[Jean]

Just a thought after I sent my comment - Emma required tendon surgery last winter on her back leg. It's not an easy surgery and requires a long recuperation period and therapy. At the time we had a 3.5 month old Havanese puppy (Lily). She's a little pup with lots of energy. Emma and Lily already were great friends and hated to be separated. So, we put up a lot of baby gates but we'd allow them supervised time together - especially nap time or quiet time after Lily had had some exercise. We also put down lots of rubber-backed rugs so Emma wouldn't slip on the floor.
Now that Emma is healed, she loves to roll on her back with all her feet in the air and she and Lily will play like that. They have a great time. Emma is 60lbs, Lily 15lbs.
We had to make sure Lily got lots of attention too. It was very time consuming, but it was worth it. Emma is a great dog. Zoe will be too.
Thinking of you - Jean

[Madeline]

This is heartbreaking. Your love and tender care will bring her through; now she'll always be your extra-special girl. Perhaps Farley will sense her special needs and be gentle.

[Barb]

I agree, it is a lot like baby proofing. We've used ex-pen panels to create a little "ward" for Zoe in the breakfast nook. Gates at the steps are a good idea. thanks!

[Barb]

I can see that we'll need plenty of obstacles to keep her from jumping onto the sofa and window seat (where she likes to watch the birds and squirrels!). She loves to run, so needs to be leashed whenever we take her outside.

thanks for sharing your beagle story.

[Barb]

Hi Lori,

Good idea - extra carpet squares. We have hw floors and with the wintry weather, they can be slippery. Thanx for the suggestion.

[Barb]

Hi Jean,

Thanks for sharing your experience with Emma; it helps to know you were able to find a way to make it work. I think we will need to add more rugs to cover our wood floors. And it's important to remember that Farley will need lots of attention too.

I know we have our work cut our for us, but they are lovely dogs and Mike and I are determined to give them good lives, no matter what.
Thanks again for your kind thoughts and suggestions.

[Manise]

Oh Barb! My heart goes out to you. Sounds like you've got some good suggestions above and have implemented a few already. Our labs have fortunately been spared elbow and knee issues. You might want to take out Puppy dog insurance on Zoe to help cover further surgical costs and vet bills. Not sure whether this would qualify as an existing condition, but may be worth looking in to. Zoe and Farley are both very lucky to have you and Mike for parents and are getting the very best in vet and parental care. Hugs to you all.

[Stephanie B.]

So sorry to hear this news. When one of our pups needed surgery, the biggest problem was keeping him calm on his own, the other one seemed to know that he was injured and was uncharacteristically gentle with him while he healed. That said, we had lots of gates as well and used the leash in the house just to play it safe in the beginning. Good luck!

[Cheryl]

I'm so sorry to hear about Zoe. I'm glad she has great "parents". I've only had children with broken bones, never an animal. At least with children you can verbalize the issues and concerns. I'll keep all of you in my prayers.

[barb]

do the rest, do the rehab, I had a 14 month old lab who had to have bilateral elbow surgery, he's 6 now and sound as a rock competing in agility , rally and obedience... and the great thing about dogs, they don't know they are broken

the rest part is hard, crates and pens will be your friends, but in the end, they do very very well...

[Diane H K]

The breeder owes you a refund, and needs to take the dog's dam or sire out of the breeding program. Pronto.

[twinsetjan]

I'll echo the comments -- so sorry for Zoe to have this condition, but so lucky for her to have you. I agree that she will need her contact with Farley, so would think the baby gates or portable fence panels would be the way to go so they can still "reach" each other through them. I bet Farley will be key to keeping her spirits up while she heals.

Lots of positive engery heading your way!

[Torre in MD]

Aww, poor Zoe - I hope she feels much better soon after the surgery! Thank goodness she has you all to make sure she gets the best, wonderful care there is! So many would just give up.

Such sweet pictures of her babysitting the yarn! she looks like she's keeping the yarn from rolling all over the place!

I can't really offer real-life examples since I've mostly had cats and it's been years since I worked for a Vet. But many of the comment suggestions sound very practical - with the gates and the leash outside. Maybe if you have her and Farley on the leash for some daily excursions she won't feel so left out? Farley can then have his own run time separately while Zoe rests inside?

You all are so great with your animals - you know she will be as pain free as possible and have as full a life - just different activities than she might otherwise have.

[kathy b]

Zoe is adorable. After our Huck got injured we taught him to do tricks while laying down. For example, I put a dog cookie in an old book and taught him to READ the book. HE would nose the pages until he found the cookie . He caught on fast, it made him think etc.