So sorry to hear that you have to go through this. Our Mia went through the FHO surgery on BOTH hips last October. She's a rescue, so we know nothing about her breeding. She had very bad hip dysplasia, that that given her almost crippling arthritis. She was just short of 2 years old when she had the surgery done. I had thought about doing some kind of little blog to document her progress, but just never got to it. Please excuse the long post, but here's what we went through:
The idea scared the living daylights out of us. How the heck can she even support herself, let alone walk or run or play, etc without hip joints?! We went to an excellent speciatly vet, who gave us 3 option - some kind of stem cell therapy (expensive and had to be repeated every 6 - 8 months), total hip replacement (also expensive, and apparently can have issues if she got ANY kind of infection later in life) and the FHO surgery. The vet told us it was exactly what he'd do if she were his dog, or that of a family or friend. We really didn't have a choice. We set up the surgery on the way out of the consult.
Five months later, the only way you'd know that Mia's had surgery is that her fur is still growing in. We were told not to overdo her movements for the first 2 days after we had her back. We had just gotten home and settled her on her pillow, when she decided to get up on her own and walk across the room to look out the door! We immediately called the vet, who kind of laughed at us... don't force her, but if she wants to do it, let her.
I will say, the incision area and staples aren't for the squeemish...I called her "fraken-puppy." She wasn't herself for about a week. She didn't really have an appetite, which is very off for her - we just kept trying different things and hand-fed her. Going to the bathroom was fun - We carried her down the 3 steps to the back yard (SCARED STIFF that we'd somehow hurt her!) and used a towel looped around her middle to help support her back end.
Rehab as we were instructed, was walk, walk, walk, walk and walk some more. When you think you've walked enough... walk more. In all honestly, I don't think that we walked her as much as we should have - the weather didn't always cooperate, and she didn't really seem to have the endurance. Her muscles had already atrophied from the arthritis, and needed to be built back up.
Mia pretty much told us when she'd had enough. We'd start with walking around the yard - she'd have enough and would sit down. I'd give her a short rest and then push her a little more. When she was sitting down every few steps, it was enough. In the beginning, all walking was supported by the towel, but very quickly was only for balance. As we went on to longer walks, I'd start with her walking on her own, and the more she started dragging behind me (Mia's normally a puller...) I'd use the towel to support her.
We have 3 other dogs...our vet said that they'd be her best rehab. We were given the ok for regular exercise after about 14 days (and we did inform the vet of the "horses" that we have...) That being said - we would cringe every time the other three started tearing around the yard. When they got extra crazy, I'd just stand over Mia for a little bit of a block. Her walking was wobbly, but she wanted to play. Most of her play ended up being just a couple steps in the direction of the ones running. Then one day, after about a month and a half, we saw her take a couple running steps!
After about 2 months, Mia was running a few steps - no where near what she'd done pre surgery, but still progress. I'd say about 3 months or so in, she's pretty much been back to normal. She's been TEARING around the yard now, for well over a month. She tries keeping up with our airdale, but he just outruns her - pretty much always has, but she tries her hardest! She does her sit up/beg - but with a little support on my leg. She'll "dance", jumping up on her hind legs, though only for a second or two. I'd say the only thing she doesn't do anymore is take a flying jump into the back of our SUV, though she will jump out ;o)
All in all, we're VERY happy with how the surgery turned out. It's a very scary thought - it does seem drastic, but somehow, it really works. I had found this site:
http://topdoghealth.com/home-rehab-guid ... omy-guide/ and signed up for the weekly rehab tips. While I didn't follow directly, it gave me ideas of how to help Mia. Actually, I think she ended up being a week or so ahead of the tip emails.
We wish you all the best with Conrad, and that he had a good recovery!
...Mia and Kodi's Mom