OT: Help! Do you have a small dog with knee problems?

[Carol Ann]

My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery on
her knee because the ligament has been stretched out of place
which causes her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says
this is common for small dogs.

Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it, but
Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.

~Carol Ann

[Gary G]

Find an Orthopedic Vet and get another opinion...Do you have
health insurance on the little gal?...GG

--

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free...scanned by NAV
2002...Version
8.07.17C "Carol Ann" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote in
message news:Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.-
att.net...
> My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery on
> her knee
because
> the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
> her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says this is
> common for small dogs.
>
> Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it, but
> Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
>
>
> ~Carol Ann

[Castinnefo]

In article
<Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net>, "Carol
Ann" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> writes:

>My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery on
>her knee because the ligament has been stretched out of place
>which causes her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says
>this is common for small dogs.
>
>Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it, but
>Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.

Just as with people, don't have the surgery done without a
couple more opinions. See if you can find a vet who
specializes in small dogs or vet group that specializes in
orthopedics. As long as Charlie isn't overweight, he has a
chance of healing up on his own, according to my vet. This is
more common in small dogs just as hip dysplasia is more common
in big dogs but it still shouldn't happen if breeders have
their dogs checked for it before they breed them.

Kitty.

[Carol Ann]

Here's what is wrong with her:

Patella Luxation

Luxating is a fancy word for dislocating. The patella is your
Chihuahua's knee, the joint on her hind leg. So a luxating
patella is a dislocating knee, a knee that keeps slipping out
of its socket. This can happen in Chihuahuas with weak
ligaments, tendons, and/or muscles in the leg, or when the
bones of the upper and lower leg are out of alignment. It can
also happen in Chihuahuas whose kneecap groove (the trochlear
groove) is too narrow or shallow. The knee usually slips
inwardly, toward the body, and locks so that the dog can't
bend it's leg.

This is what the vet wants to do:

Surgery can alter both the affected structures and the
movement of the patella. The groove at the base of the femur
may be surgically deepened to better contain the kneecap. The
kneecap itself may be "tied down" laterally to prevent it from
deviating medially. The bony protuberance at the site of the
attachment of the quadriceps tendon on the tibia may be cut
off and then re-attached in a more lateral position.

The animal should respond quickly after surgery and is usually
completely recovered within thirty days, using its legs in
normal fashion.

If I do the surgery Wednesday, March 5th, it gives me
less than 2 week to care for her before my trip to Vegas.
I'm so upset.

If I wait till I get back, she may be in worse condition. I
guess a call to the vet is in order. Of course, they are
closed today.

~Carol Ann

[Janet]

My daughter's Papillon had to have the knee operation and so
did my son's miniature poodle. Guess it is a small dog
problem.....

--

"Carol Ann" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...
> My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery on
> her knee
because
> the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
> her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says this is
> common for small dogs.
>
> Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it, but
> Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
>
>
> ~Carol Ann

[Lizc]

On Thu, 27 Feb 2003 13:18:37 GMT, "Carol Ann"
<lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote:

>My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery on
>her knee because the ligament has been stretched out of place
>which causes her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says
>this is common for small dogs.
>
>Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it, but
>Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.

Sounds like luxating patella - we are involved with min pin
rescue and it comes up pretty frequently, in fact, we have a
little tiny guy in right now with a mild patella problem.
His won't need surgery, but many do. Here's a good article
on the subject:

http://www.geocities.com/pawfectchihuahua/LuxatingPatella.html

Liz 5'8" 215/181/135 lc started: Jul 9 '02 Feb 5lb
challenge goal: 178

[Angie Rose]

It is common for some dogs to have hip and knee problems does
your vet have Charlie on an anti-inflammatory like Rimydl?
they give it to dogs with joint pain/swelling if I were you I
would ask her about a chihuahua version.

the vet I work for has done many hip and knee surgerys (2
on my greyhound) and well the 2 other vets that work for
him do to.

if you feel you cant trust your vet or dont believe her take
Charlie for a second opinion

"Carol Ann" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...
: My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery on
: her knee
because
: the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
: her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says this is
: common for small dogs.
:
: Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it, but
: Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
:
:
: ~Carol Ann
:
:
:

[Julie E]

I am going through this right now with my dog. She is only 3!
Vet says it is very common with smaller dogs. A few weeks ago,
a simple chase of her ball resulted in a strained ligament,
not torn, which is a good thing.

The vet described it the same way as yours, the ridge is too
small and the kneecap pops out of place.

My vet is doing something I have never heard of, and I am a
little skeptical but we are trying it. We are doing injections
of a "doggie" version of Synvisc. It basically puts the good
fluids back into the joint. I'm not sure what all of this has
to do with anything, except for $300 poorer - lol. But, we are
giving it a try. This is our 3rd week of injections (which she
and I both hate) and she is doing remarkably well.

Whatever you and Charlie decide to do - best wishes. I hate
when one of my "furry ones" are in pain.

Julie E.

"Carol Ann" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...
> My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery on
> her knee
because
> the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
> her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says this is
> common for small dogs.
>
> Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it, but
> Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
>
>
> ~Carol Ann

[Carol Ann]

No, no insurance. I could take her to Specialists in Atlanta.
Hmmm.....The vet here says she performs quite a few of these
surgeries safely.

I'll do a search for Orthopedic Vets in the area. I believe
Auburn also has a few.

Thank you.

~Carol Ann

"Gary G" <mrhiggins00@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:b3l6au02d7@enews3.newsguy.com...
> Find an Orthopedic Vet and get another opinion...Do you have
> health insurance on the little gal?...GG
>
> --
>
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free...scanned by NAV
> 2002...Version
> 8.07.17C "Carol Ann" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote in
> message news:Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp-
> .att.net...
> > My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery
> > on her knee
> because
> > the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
> > her knee to
pop
> > out of the socket. She also says this is common for
> > small dogs.
> >
> > Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it,
> > but Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
> >
> >
> > ~Carol Ann
> >
>

[Carol Ann]

I think that you are correct, a second opinion is in order.
Her father (not in reality) asked me to do the same thing. He
was concerned that we were jumping into it too quickly.

I WILL get another opinion. He is building her a ramp to
get onto the bed. Apparently the jumping onto and off of
the bed (via a cardboard box with lots of towels for
padding) is not helping.

This happened after a day of lots and lots of running.
She (Charlie) just went nuts one day running for about 10
mins straight.

~Carol Ann

"CAStinneford" <castinneford@aol.comremove> wrote in message
news:20030227100102.02178.00000082@mb-cr.aol.com...
> In article
> <Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net>, "Carol
Ann"
> <lowcarber@mindspring.com> writes:
>
> >My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery on
> >her knee
because
> >the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
> >her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says this is
> >common for small dogs.
> >
> >Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it,
> >but Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
>
> Just as with people, don't have the surgery done without a
> couple more opinions. See if you can find a vet who
> specializes in small dogs or vet
group
> that specializes in orthopedics. As long as Charlie isn't
> overweight, he
has a
> chance of healing up on his own, according to my vet. This
> is more common
in
> small dogs just as hip dysplasia is more common in big dogs
> but it still shouldn't happen if breeders have their dogs
> checked for it before they
breed
> them.
>
> Kitty.

[Carol Ann]

Liz,

Thank you soooooooooo much!!!

When I took Charlie in last week, she was at Level 1. Now, I
believe she is passed all that. Sad!!!

~Carol Ann
163/155/129 www.lowcarblosers.com ~ Home of the ASDLC Monthly
Challenge "LizC" <harkon@inxpress.net> wrote in
message news:3e5e467e.15271128@News.CIS.DFN.DE...
> On Thu, 27 Feb 2003 13:18:37 GMT, "Carol Ann"
> <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> >My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery on
> >her knee
because
> >the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
> >her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says this is
> >common for small dogs.
> >
> >Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it,
> >but Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
>
> Sounds like luxating patella - we are involved with min pin
> rescue and it comes up pretty frequently, in fact, we have a
> little tiny guy in right now with a mild patella problem.
> His won't need surgery, but many do. Here's a good article
> on the subject:
>
> http://www.geocities.com/pawfectchihuahua/LuxatingPate-
> lla.html
>
> Liz 5'8" 215/181/135 lc started: Jul 9 '02 Feb 5lb challenge
> goal: 178

[Carol Ann]

Charlie is/was taking the medication. She's still taking a 1/4
tablet 2 times per day.

~Carol Ann

"Angie Rose" <der-ang@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:hv-
v7a.4450$M85.469810@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> It is common for some dogs to have hip and knee problems
> does your vet have Charlie on an anti-inflammatory like
> Rimydl? they give it to dogs with joint pain/swelling if I
> were you I would ask her about a chihuahua version.
>
> the vet I work for has done many hip and knee surgerys (2
> on my greyhound) and well the 2 other vets that work for
> him do to.
>
> if you feel you cant trust your vet or dont believe her take
> Charlie for a second opinion
>
>
> "Carol Ann" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...
> : My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery
> : on her knee
> because
> : the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
> : her knee to
pop
> : out of the socket. She also says this is common for
> : small dogs.
> :
> : Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it,
> : but Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
> :
> :
> : ~Carol Ann
> :
> :
> :

[Carol Ann]

Following the surgery, the vet did indicate that Charlie would
need 1 shot per week for 5 weeks to help in rebuilding the "I
can't remember what it's called".

Charlie is only 16 months old. She is however, a bit chubby.
So, I do want to put her on a diet to get her to at least
6lbs. That should alleviate a bit of the stress on her joints.
She's like me, short and stout! LOL!

~Carol Ann www.lowcarblosers.com ~ Home of the ASDLC Monthly
Challenge "JULIE E" <JULIEENEWS@PRODIGY.NET> wrote in message
news:sDv7a.434$Tq.32015499@newssvr15.news.prodigy.com...
> I am going through this right now with my dog. She is only
> 3! Vet says
it
> is very common with smaller dogs. A few weeks ago, a simple
> chase of her ball resulted in a strained ligament, not torn,
> which is a good thing.
>
> The vet described it the same way as yours, the ridge is too
> small and the kneecap pops out of place.
>
> My vet is doing something I have never heard of, and I am
> a little
skeptical
> but we are trying it. We are doing injections of a "doggie"
> version of Synvisc. It basically puts the good fluids back
> into the joint. I'm not sure what all of this has to do with
> anything, except for $300 poorer - lol. But, we are giving
> it a try. This is our 3rd week of injections (which she and
> I both hate) and she is doing remarkably well.
>
> Whatever you and Charlie decide to do - best wishes. I hate
> when one of
my
> "furry ones" are in pain.
>
> Julie E.
>
>
> "Carol Ann" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...
> > My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery
> > on her knee
> because
> > the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
> > her knee to
pop
> > out of the socket. She also says this is common for
> > small dogs.
> >
> > Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it,
> > but Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
> >
> >
> > ~Carol Ann
> >
>

[Lizc]

On Thu, 27 Feb 2003 09:58:12 -0500, "Carol Ann in Atlanta"
<lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote:

>No, no insurance. I could take her to Specialists in Atlanta.
>Hmmm.....The vet here says she performs quite a few of these
>surgeries safely.

Most family vets don't see very much of this, your vet may
have different practice patterns due to the population of your
area, and thus have more experience with this particular
surgery. I trust my own general practice vet with a surgery
like this, but usually would recomend a specialist.

>If I do the surgery Wednesday, March 5th, it gives me less
>than 2 week to care for her before my trip to Vegas. I'm
>so upset.
>
>If I wait till I get back, she may be in worse condition. I
>guess a call to the vet is in order. Of course, they are
>closed today.

The usual treatment is two weeks of crate rest, by which time
the dog should be resting the foot on the floor. By 6-8 weeks,
full function should be restored. Were you going to board
Charlie with a kennel facility while you're gone or have a
friend look after her? She would still be on a crate rest
period while you're gone, so if you have someone that can make
sure she's kept quiet and doesn't run or jump at all - leash
walks ONLY, she should be o.k. with the March 5 surgery.

>When I took Charlie in last week, she was at Level 1. Now, I
>believe she is passed all that. Sad!!!

Grade 1 means there are very few visible signs without
physical manipulation of the knee joint.

Grade 2 is occasional lameness, but the patella returns to a
normal position with little to no sign of pain.

Grade 3 is frequent skipping episodes, the dog might not want
to jump up onto things and there is some evidence of pain.
Also, if the patella is pushed out during physical
manipulation, it doesn't go back in easily.

Grade 4 means the dog shows persistent lameness, chronic pain,
refuses to jump, and the leg cannot be straightened properly
during manipulation.

Grade 5 is the highest grade, where the dog will not use the
leg at all, or the leg is permenently fixed in one position
because of the patella displacement.

Napolean, our min pin rescue is a Grade 2. He's about 6-8
years old, possibly older and weighs about 4 pounds. Because
of his size we probably won't do the surgery on him unless his
patella appears to worsen. his adoptive home will be warned of
the possibility that he might need surgery, but he appears to
be dealing with it well. If he were a Grade 3 we'd want to do
surgery right away.

Hope this helps, sorry Charlie is feeling so bad :(

Liz 5'8" 215/181/135 lc started: Jul 9 '02 Feb 5lb
challenge goal: 178

[Mary Sue W]

"Carol Ann in Atlanta" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote in
message news:<b3l9oj$rgj$1@slb6.atl.mindspring.net>...
> I think that you are correct, a second opinion is in order.
> Her father (not in reality) asked me to do the same thing.
> He was concerned that we were jumping into it too quickly.
>
> I WILL get another opinion. He is building her a ramp to get
> onto the bed. Apparently the jumping onto and off of the bed
> (via a cardboard box with lots of towels for padding) is not
> helping.
>
> This happened after a day of lots and lots of running. She
> (Charlie) just went nuts one day running for about 10 mins
> straight.
>
> ~Carol Ann

My dogs have had that kind of problems, but recovered. If she
does have to have surgery, be very sure of the vet you choose.
The smaller the dog, the greater the risk of death from
anaesthesia. I met a woman last summer whose dog passed away
during a teeth cleaning.

Mary Sue
> "CAStinneford" <castinneford@aol.comremove> wrote in message
> news:20030227100102.02178.00000082@mb-cr.aol.com...
> > In article
> > <Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net>,
> > "Carol
> Ann"
> > <lowcarber@mindspring.com> writes:
> >
> > >My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have surgery
> > >on her knee
> because
> > >the ligament has been stretched out of place which causes
> > >her knee to pop out of the socket. She also says this is
> > >common for small dogs.
> > >
> > >Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about it,
> > >but Charlie is hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
> >
> > Just as with people, don't have the surgery done without a
> > couple more opinions. See if you can find a vet who
> > specializes in small dogs or vet
> group
> > that specializes in orthopedics. As long as Charlie isn't
> > overweight, he
> has a
> > chance of healing up on his own, according to my vet. This
> > is more common
> in
> > small dogs just as hip dysplasia is more common in big
> > dogs but it still shouldn't happen if breeders have their
> > dogs checked for it before they
> breed
> > them.
> >
> > Kitty.

[Carol Ann]

> Most family vets don't see very much of this, your vet may
> have different practice patterns due to the population of
> your area, and thus have more experience with this
> particular surgery. I trust my own general practice vet with
> a surgery like this, but usually would recomend a
> specialist.

My vet seems competent. She is well known in the community and
has a couple Chihuahuas that also had the surgery. I would
hope she would be good.

> The usual treatment is two weeks of crate rest, by which
> time the dog should be resting the foot on the floor.

Charlie has never seen the inside of a crate. I'm afraid I did
her an injustice by bringing her with me everywhere I go
(including work). She is toted around in a large bag with a
bed inside of it. She also has a nice bed at the office.
Charlie sleeps with me or my mother (or her father when she
stays at his house). So, I suppose I could start sleeping on
the floor for a couple of weeks until she healed to prevent
her from trying to get onto the bed.

>By 6-8 weeks, full function should be restored. Were you
>going to board Charlie with a kennel facility while you're
>gone or have a friend look after her?

No, I have my mother who can care for her during the day
(along with all the other employees) and her father who
will care for her in the evenings and overnite (he lives
above the liquor store, so it is convenient for him to come
up and down).

>She would still be on a crate rest period while you're gone,
>so if you have someone that can make sure she's kept quiet
>and doesn't run or jump at all - leash walks ONLY, she should
>be o.k. with the March 5 surgery.

Leash? Yet another injustice I've done for her. I tried to put
a leash on her early on, but she was terrified. She walks near
me and runs around in the yard without straying too far. When
I go out for walks, I carry her in my strap on baby carrier
(the kind she sits in, not the one where her legs and tail
dangle from below).

The first month or so after I adopted her, I carried her in my
shirt (under my breasts and close to my body) or laid her in
her bed on the counter while at the store. After she became
accostomed to being here, I created two places for her to find
comfort on the floor. Now she is the owner of this joint!
Everyone comes in and plays with her. She's brought allot of
joy to so many customers!

> Grade 2 is occasional lameness, but the patella returns to a
> normal position with little to no sign of pain.
>
> Grade 3 is frequent skipping episodes, the dog might not
> want to jump up onto things and there is some evidence of
> pain. Also, if the patella is pushed out during physical
> manipulation, it doesn't go back in easily.

Sounds like 2 or 3. She seems to be in no obvious pain. Just
the hopping. She still wants to play and jump and run.

> Napolean, our min pin rescue is a Grade 2. He's about 6-8
> years old, possibly older and weighs about 4 pounds. Because
> of his size we probably won't do the surgery on him unless
> his patella appears to worsen. his adoptive home will be
> warned of the possibility that he might need surgery, but he
> appears to be dealing with it well. If he were a Grade 3
> we'd want to do surgery right away.

What can I do to help her to feel better now without doing
the surgery?

> Hope this helps, sorry Charlie is feeling so bad :(

Thank you! Actually it is I who feels so miserable. She seems
to be okay with it.

~Carol Ann

[Carol Ann]

Wowee!! I have decided to hold off on the surgery and rather,
create a living area that is conducive to her leg healing as
best as it can.

If the problem worsens, I will take her to the specialists in
Atlanta. Their office is one block from the condo.

Thank you for your advice!!

--
~Carol Ann www.lowcarblosers.com ~ Home of the ASDLC Monthly
Challenge "Mary Sue Williams" <marysuewilliams@hotmail.com>
wrote in message
news:3dec50ef.0302271254.5efa2af2@posting.google.com...
> "Carol Ann in Atlanta" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote
> in message
news:<b3l9oj$rgj$1@slb6.atl.mindspring.net>...
> > I think that you are correct, a second opinion is in
> > order. Her father
(not
> > in reality) asked me to do the same thing. He was
> > concerned that we
were
> > jumping into it too quickly.
> >
> > I WILL get another opinion. He is building her a ramp to
> > get onto the
bed.
> > Apparently the jumping onto and off of the bed (via a
> > cardboard box with lots of towels for padding) is not
> > helping.
> >
> > This happened after a day of lots and lots of running. She
> > (Charlie)
just
> > went nuts one day running for about 10 mins straight.
> >
> > ~Carol Ann
>
> My dogs have had that kind of problems, but recovered. If
> she does have to have surgery, be very sure of the vet you
> choose. The smaller the dog, the greater the risk of death
> from anaesthesia. I met a woman last summer whose dog passed
> away during a teeth cleaning.
>
> Mary Sue
> > "CAStinneford" <castinneford@aol.comremove> wrote in
> > message
> > news:20030227100102.02178.00000082@mb-cr.aol.com...
> > > In article
> > > <Neo7a.288331$Ec4.288851@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net>,
> > > "Carol
> > Ann"
> > > <lowcarber@mindspring.com> writes:
> > >
> > > >My vet says Charlie (my Chihuahua) needs to have
> > > >surgery on her knee
> > because
> > > >the ligament has been stretched out of place which
> > > >causes her knee to
pop
> > > >out of the socket. She also says this is common for
> > > >small dogs.
> > > >
> > > >Have you had the same experience? I am nervous about
> > > >it, but Charlie
is
> > > >hopping on 3 legs. Poor girl.
> > >
> > > Just as with people, don't have the surgery done without
> > > a couple more opinions. See if you can find a vet who
> > > specializes in small dogs or
vet
> > group
> > > that specializes in orthopedics. As long as Charlie
> > > isn't overweight,
he
> > has a
> > > chance of healing up on his own, according to my vet.
> > > This is more
common
> > in
> > > small dogs just as hip dysplasia is more common in big
> > > dogs but it
still
> > > shouldn't happen if breeders have their dogs checked for
> > > it before
they
> > breed
> > > them.
> > >
> > > Kitty.

[Angie Rose]

At least for dogs there is blood work that can be done that
can help them learn how safe the anesthesia can be and please
don't forget that as in people age has a big part in it. The
vet should offer the tests when you sign the release forms but
the fist vet I took my greyhound to didn't.

"Mary Sue Williams" <marysuewilliams@hotmail.com> wrote in
message
news:3dec50ef.0302271254.5efa2af2@posting.google.com...
: "Carol Ann in Atlanta" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote
: in message
news:<b3l9oj$rgj$1@slb6.atl.mindspring.net>...

: My dogs have had that kind of problems, but recovered. If
: she does have to have surgery, be very sure of the vet you
: choose. The smaller the dog, the greater the risk of death
: from anaesthesia. I met a woman last summer whose dog passed
: away during a teeth cleaning.
:
:

[Lizc]

On Thu, 27 Feb 2003 14:43:23 -0500, "Carol Ann"
<lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote:

>My vet seems competent. She is well known in the community
>and has a couple Chihuahuas that also had the surgery. I
>would hope she would be good.

It's not a terribly terribly difficult surgery, and with some
small dogs it's best that they have it done in a place they
are comfortable with.

>Charlie has never seen the inside of a crate. I'm afraid I
>did her an injustice by bringing her with me everywhere I go
>(including work). She is toted around in a large bag with a
>bed inside of it. She also has a nice bed at the office.
>Charlie sleeps with me or my mother (or her father when she
>stays at his house). So, I suppose I could start sleeping on
>the floor for a couple of weeks until she healed to prevent
>her from trying to get onto the bed.

The idea behind crate rest is to keep her off the leg as much
as possible. As she's never been in a crate, that would upset
her and make things worse, so she'll probably need to be
carried around and held a lot :) You definitely don't want her
jumping on and off a bed during recuperation. Will she sleep
in her carry bag with you or woudl she try to get out and jump
off the bed while you're asleep?

>No, I have my mother who can care for her during the day
>(along with all the other employees) and her father who
>will care for her in the evenings and overnite (he lives
>above the liquor store, so it is convenient for him to come
>up and down).

As long as she's not allowed to run around and *really* rests
almost all the time she shoudl be o.k.

>Leash? Yet another injustice I've done for her. I tried to
>put a leash on her early on, but she was terrified. She walks
>near me and runs around in the yard without straying too far.
>When I go out for walks, I carry her in my strap on baby
>carrier (the kind she sits in, not the one where her legs and
>tail dangle from below).

Can you get a temporary fence set up to make your yard smaller
so that she can't run quite as much?

>What can I do to help her to feel better now without doing
>the surgery?

I've had some luck using very gentle massage techniques and
arnica gel. Arnica is a homeopathic product that is supposed
to help with athletic injuries. I've found that it helps me
with bruises and muscle strains, and it does seem to help dogs
as well. It's non-toxic, so it won't matter if she licks it,
it's usually in an aloe based gel. Chihuahua's, like min pins,
are usually too small to take over the counter pain and joint
remedies that larger dogs can take like aspirin and
glucosamine.

>Thank you! Actually it is I who feels so miserable. She seems
>to be okay with it.

I know the feeling :)

Liz 5'8" 215/181/135 lc started: Jul 9 '02 Feb 5lb
challenge goal: 178

[Carol Ann]

She did very well after her hysterectomy. The vet assured me
she should be fine. However, I still think I'll wait.....

~Carol Ann www.lowcarblosers.com ~ Home of the ASDLC Monthly
Challenge "Angie Rose" <der-ang@earthlink.net> wrote in
message news:qGv7a.4459$M85.465513@newsread2.prod.itd.earthl-
ink.net...
> At least for dogs there is blood work that can be done that
> can help them learn how safe the anesthesia can be and
> please don't forget that as in people age has a big part in
> it. The vet should offer the tests when you sign the release
> forms but the fist vet I took my greyhound to didn't.
>
>
> "Mary Sue Williams" <marysuewilliams@hotmail.com> wrote in
> message
> news:3dec50ef.0302271254.5efa2af2@posting.google.com...
> : "Carol Ann in Atlanta" <lowcarber@mindspring.com> wrote in
> : message
> news:<b3l9oj$rgj$1@slb6.atl.mindspring.net>...
>
> : My dogs have had that kind of problems, but recovered. If
> : she does have to have surgery, be very sure of the vet you
> : choose. The smaller the dog, the greater the risk of death
> : from anaesthesia. I met a woman last summer whose dog
> : passed away during a teeth cleaning.
> :
> :