Chobe - Elbow Dysplasia

[kim&tania]

Our little guy Chobe is almost 5 months old and is currently recovering from surgery for bi-lateral elbow dysplasia. Its been a tough 2 weeks for all of us, but the stitches come out tomorrow and we have certainly come a long way since those first few days post-op.

Assuming all goes well tomorrow then we have to get through 2 more weeks of confinement before he has his check xrays. He is getting very frustrated and bored....doesn't quite understand why his front legs aren't working like they used to and why we wont let him out of one corner of the living room! It's a full time job watching he doesn't over do it and just trying to keep him entertained.

Have attached a photo of Chobe taken this week so you can put a furry face to the name. The hair is growing back pretty quickly on his little chicken legs!

Will post more after our visit to the vet tomorrow.

[Laura]

Oh my goodness that is a face! So adorable! Just want to hug him.
I can't imagine trying to keep a pup confined. It's so hard and they don't understand. Bless him!
I've been through ACL surgery and Chloe was 6. It was a VERY long 12 week recovery with 6 of it in major confinement. It's tough but you and your little fellow will make it through.

[kim&tania]

We think he's adorable too...but we are fairly biased. Stitches are out and we are now counting down to our next milestone.....hydrotherapy and physio on 10th Jan. Surgeon was happy with his recovery and told us he should be back to normal activities in about 6 weeks. Mobility will be limited for the next 4 weeks but then we should start to see a big improvement. Fingers crossed!!!

Does anyone have any tips for keeping a 5 month puppy entertained without too much activity?

Before the elbow dysplasia ordeal we had planned on having Chobe neutered at 6 months. He's been through a lot lately though and we now feel we are going to have to put that off for a bit. He is now 5 months old. How long can we wait? He was already lifting his leg to pee before the surgery and marking (not sure if that has anything to do with it). Vet suggested we might wait till he was 8-10 months....is that too long?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[Laura]

My understanding is there is no problem waiting on the neuter. I had planned on waiting until Shug was a year old because I wanted all of his hormones active while he grew and matured. Some people even say wait 2 years for full development. Unfortunately Chloe went into heat early so he got a quickly neuter at 10 or 11 months.
No clue how to keep a confined puppy entertained other than love and long lasting toys such as kongs. I remember my two at that age being all play and rough housing so I know it has to be so hard. They don't understand either so it makes it so hard on you! Hopefully others will have some ideas.

[Cindy J]

We give our dogs raw marrow bones or knuckle bones to gnaw on to keep them busy for long periods of time. We get them at the meat markets; large butcher shops.

Do not give the processed bones that you find at pet stores as they can splinter. Make certain it is RAW bones. The dogs love the bones that still have little bits of meat on them. If you give a marrow bone, you will need to scoop out some of the marrow. Too much beef marrow will give a dog the runs if his system is not used to it.

Bonus* The bones help keep their teeth clean and tartar free.

[kim&tania]

Thanks for the suggestions. Have discovered that a raw carrot will keep Chobe entertained for quite a while so we are giving him a small one every few days to keep him entertained – it’s good for his teeth too. The other thing that seems to work when he is really bored is to hide small treats in crumpled up paper (Christmas wrapping paper or junk mail catalogues are ideal) and then stuff it all in a box. He will pull out each bit and snuffle through it to find the treats. Keeps his mind active.

We are now 4 weeks post-op and he is improving slowly. He has become a lot more mobile in the last week and at the surgeons suggestion we are out walking about 80-100m every morning - it gets him out of the house for a bit and is definitely helping with his boredom and frustration. He is still confined to the living room as we have polished floor tiles throughout downstairs and they are just too slippery for him. We've increased his area slightly but have kept it small enough that he isn't tempted to run around (occasionally he seems to forget his troubles and we see glimpses of the old puppy who loved to zoom around on the polished tiles!) Our living room floor is currently an interesting patchwork of nonslip matting and flannelette sheets!!

Xrays in 10 days and then his first physio & hydro therapy appointment. We are hopeful that the hydro will really assist in getting him back on his feet properly. Till then we will continue to take it one day at a time!

[Cindy J]

Oh My Goodness! I love this picture of Chobe! I am so happy that his healing is coming along so well.

[kim&tania]

Just a quick update for those that are interested....

Chobe is doing really well (9 weeks post-op on Monday). If you ignore the shorter hair on his front legs, you wouldn't know that only 8 weeks ago that he was struggling to stand up! He is a tough little chow baby and hasn't required any pain relief or anti-inflammatories for the last 8 weeks. He has hydrotherapy once a week at the moment and most days he is out for a 15-20min walk in the morning and a 30min walk in the afternoon. He is a little stiff sometimes after a long sleep on the hard tiles (his favourite place to sleep) but he hasn't limped in a few weeks now and is a much more playful puppy.

I have attached a pic so that you can see the cheeky little man for yourselves!

Whilst the first few weeks after surgery were definitely tough (for us and for Chobe), and it isn't a magic cure, we are definitely pleased we decided to have the surgery done. He is moving a lot better than he was before the surgery and is a much happier puppy. If anyone wants some more information on the surgery, recovery, or on his symptoms prior to being diagnosed, feel free to ask....we are more than happy to share all that we have learnt.

[Laura]

Thanks for sharing your story and updates. I'm sure others who will face the same surgery will find it inspiring and helpful. I'm glad that little love bug is doing do well!