Dog not walking after TPLO - supplements ?
Discussion
Hi All,
About two and a half weeks ago, my Ridgeback had TPLO treatment.
Unfortunately, she still isn't putting down her rear passenger side leg, which is a bit of a worry. She doesn't seem to be in any pain and is actually moving very well on her single leg. {The Vets are a little worried and they've sent a video to the specialist who carried out the op, to see what he recommends}.
We'd like to get her walking correctly again, and I was wondering, if I should give her some sort of supplements in her food ?
Even before the operation, we were giving her doggy glucosamine tablets with most meals, but I was wondering if she needs something else - on Amazon, I can see that there are loads of choices. Given her size (38-40kg) she's going to require more than most dogs, so tablets/capsules in larger size containers would be preferable.
I've seen tablets containing glucosamine, green-lipped mussels, black pepper, turmeric etc, but it would be good to have opinions from others, especially those with larger dogs.
Our Ridgeback will be 9 in November; she's probably lost some weight, as we have strictly regulated her weight after the op - to minimise any stress on her joints.
Any suggestions as to how we might get her walking on all legs would be hugely appreciated as would any recommendations for suitable supplements
Thank you !
About two and a half weeks ago, my Ridgeback had TPLO treatment.
Unfortunately, she still isn't putting down her rear passenger side leg, which is a bit of a worry. She doesn't seem to be in any pain and is actually moving very well on her single leg. {The Vets are a little worried and they've sent a video to the specialist who carried out the op, to see what he recommends}.
We'd like to get her walking correctly again, and I was wondering, if I should give her some sort of supplements in her food ?
Even before the operation, we were giving her doggy glucosamine tablets with most meals, but I was wondering if she needs something else - on Amazon, I can see that there are loads of choices. Given her size (38-40kg) she's going to require more than most dogs, so tablets/capsules in larger size containers would be preferable.
I've seen tablets containing glucosamine, green-lipped mussels, black pepper, turmeric etc, but it would be good to have opinions from others, especially those with larger dogs.
Our Ridgeback will be 9 in November; she's probably lost some weight, as we have strictly regulated her weight after the op - to minimise any stress on her joints.
Any suggestions as to how we might get her walking on all legs would be hugely appreciated as would any recommendations for suitable supplements
Thank you !
Edited by pubrunner on Thursday 15th September 14:58
Our Bulldog had both knees done with TTA rather than TPLO but I guess the recovery is the same.
As for supplements I had her on Cosequin as soon as it happened and before we'd even done the surgery, she was already on good quality Salmon Oil for the Omega-3's for her skin/coat conditioning as well. (Both available at Costco)
Post the first op she was a stiff little lady for weeks as she still had the one bad leg, glad we showed the patience as eventually she came good and we had some good weeks before the second op - this time 2 days post op she was in my raised planters and all sorts (obviously felt good) and it didn't take that long for her to be walking about normally again. Once the scarring had healed up on the second leg we booked her in for Hydrotherapy, I think it was beneficial in that they looked at how she walked, measured her muscle girth and worked at building the weaker leg up to the standard of the other one - she also got lots of gravy bones through this process which made her happy!
From the web -
While the broad use of joint supplements is not indicated in veterinary science, there is evidence that diets supplemented with Omega-3 fatty acids and administration of polysulfated glycosaminoglycans may have a positive impact. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish contain eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). There is evidence that dogs who get 69mg EPA+DHA/kg daily may experience improvement in discomfort, lameness, and severity of joint disease. Unfortunately, Omega-3 supplements are not regulated by the FDA, so review the ingredients for high doses of EPA and DHA (at least 20mg per pound) from a trusted brand.
As for supplements I had her on Cosequin as soon as it happened and before we'd even done the surgery, she was already on good quality Salmon Oil for the Omega-3's for her skin/coat conditioning as well. (Both available at Costco)
Post the first op she was a stiff little lady for weeks as she still had the one bad leg, glad we showed the patience as eventually she came good and we had some good weeks before the second op - this time 2 days post op she was in my raised planters and all sorts (obviously felt good) and it didn't take that long for her to be walking about normally again. Once the scarring had healed up on the second leg we booked her in for Hydrotherapy, I think it was beneficial in that they looked at how she walked, measured her muscle girth and worked at building the weaker leg up to the standard of the other one - she also got lots of gravy bones through this process which made her happy!
From the web -
While the broad use of joint supplements is not indicated in veterinary science, there is evidence that diets supplemented with Omega-3 fatty acids and administration of polysulfated glycosaminoglycans may have a positive impact. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish contain eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). There is evidence that dogs who get 69mg EPA+DHA/kg daily may experience improvement in discomfort, lameness, and severity of joint disease. Unfortunately, Omega-3 supplements are not regulated by the FDA, so review the ingredients for high doses of EPA and DHA (at least 20mg per pound) from a trusted brand.
We use umove, no idea if it works or not,. Doesn't do any harm bjt more of a long term thing aiui.
Hydrotherapy works, + doggo loves it, bizarrely we've also had some success from cold laser therapy. Sounds like hogwash but if it helps, it helps we approached this in a "its not going to any harm kinda way"
Hydrotherapy works, + doggo loves it, bizarrely we've also had some success from cold laser therapy. Sounds like hogwash but if it helps, it helps we approached this in a "its not going to any harm kinda way"
Hi,
Whilst neutraceuticals and other adjunctive medications can help with the arthritis your dog will experience in medium to long term, I don’t think they will make a great deal if difference immediately post op. I assume yours is in an NSAID, paracetamol and perhaps tramadol?
A TPLO surgery involves making a curvilinear cut in the bone, this is rotated to level the tibial plateau and is held in place with a plate. Post operative complications include infection, meniscal tear non-union of the osteotomy (cut in the bone). Given you are fairly soon after surgery and your dog has not used the leg I imagine there is something ‘not quite right’ with the surgery or a meniscal injury.
The specialist I refer to are very good with the patients they operate on and will see any post operative checks back asap. I would be getting yourself back to them and some imaging and arthrocentesis (joint tap) done.
Hope this helps
Tom (GP vet who does some cruciate ops and orthopaedics)
Whilst neutraceuticals and other adjunctive medications can help with the arthritis your dog will experience in medium to long term, I don’t think they will make a great deal if difference immediately post op. I assume yours is in an NSAID, paracetamol and perhaps tramadol?
A TPLO surgery involves making a curvilinear cut in the bone, this is rotated to level the tibial plateau and is held in place with a plate. Post operative complications include infection, meniscal tear non-union of the osteotomy (cut in the bone). Given you are fairly soon after surgery and your dog has not used the leg I imagine there is something ‘not quite right’ with the surgery or a meniscal injury.
The specialist I refer to are very good with the patients they operate on and will see any post operative checks back asap. I would be getting yourself back to them and some imaging and arthrocentesis (joint tap) done.
Hope this helps
Tom (GP vet who does some cruciate ops and orthopaedics)
Mr Tom said:
Hi,
Whilst neutraceuticals and other adjunctive medications can help with the arthritis your dog will experience in medium to long term, I don’t think they will make a great deal if difference immediately post op. I assume yours is in an NSAID, paracetamol and perhaps tramadol?
A TPLO surgery involves making a curvilinear cut in the bone, this is rotated to level the tibial plateau and is held in place with a plate. Post operative complications include infection, meniscal tear non-union of the osteotomy (cut in the bone). Given you are fairly soon after surgery and your dog has not used the leg I imagine there is something ‘not quite right’ with the surgery or a meniscal injury.
The specialist I refer to are very good with the patients they operate on and will see any post operative checks back asap. I would be getting yourself back to them and some imaging and arthrocentesis (joint tap) done.
Hope this helps
Tom (GP vet who does some cruciate ops and orthopaedics)
Hi Tom,Whilst neutraceuticals and other adjunctive medications can help with the arthritis your dog will experience in medium to long term, I don’t think they will make a great deal if difference immediately post op. I assume yours is in an NSAID, paracetamol and perhaps tramadol?
A TPLO surgery involves making a curvilinear cut in the bone, this is rotated to level the tibial plateau and is held in place with a plate. Post operative complications include infection, meniscal tear non-union of the osteotomy (cut in the bone). Given you are fairly soon after surgery and your dog has not used the leg I imagine there is something ‘not quite right’ with the surgery or a meniscal injury.
The specialist I refer to are very good with the patients they operate on and will see any post operative checks back asap. I would be getting yourself back to them and some imaging and arthrocentesis (joint tap) done.
Hope this helps
Tom (GP vet who does some cruciate ops and orthopaedics)
First, many thanks indeed, for giving a professional opinion.
The operation was carried out by an orthopaedic vet who traveled to the surgery to operate specifically on our dog. The local vets said he was 'a bit of a geek' and specialised in such operations. It appears to have healed very nicely - there's just a very neat scar to be seen. We can't see any (obvious) sign of infection - she doesn't seem interested in licking the wound.
We took the dog to the vets on Friday; they videoed her walking and sent the file to the specialist - we hope to have his thoughts on Tuesday or Wednesday.
I should mention, that because of a previous (entirely unrelated) condition, our dog had been having steroids. As the condition appeared to have cleared up a good few months ago, rather than just halt her having steroids, we were told it would be better to have a gentle wind-down to get her off them - to the extent that she had her last 5mg steroid tablet on Friday (she'd been having them every other day).
Because of her steroids, they said that they couldn't give metacam/meloxidyl (their preferred treatment) post op. After the op, she was on a short course of gabapentin and she is still on pardale.
We have been advised that we can start her on meloxidyl 48 hours after her last steroid tablet, so she'll be starting on that tonight. It'll be interesting to see if that changes things.
The optimist in me is hoping for a similar outcome as @scdan4 had with his dog - which looks very similar to ours and the same weight. His dog also took her time to recover, as described below :
scdan4 said:
A bit late (missed it first time round) but you called?!
To add some closure to that thread the dog took a lot longer to recover than was hoped (or should that be hopped?
)
She had a few extra visits to the specialist who was very concerned, very nice and really couldn't see why recovery was taking so long.
Then she suddenly got better. We think that she was just too thick to realise that she was mended for a while (who knows, she's not the brightest and the vet really did have a good look and couldn't find anything wrong).
Now, a year on, she is absolutely fine and dandy and can pelt round the 8 mile walk with her friend (running pretty much flat out all the time) again, which is lovely to see.
She put some weight on whilst not exercising that much during recovery (which was extended as we were unsure whether she was recovering) but she has now lost that and is a fighting fit 39.5 kilos - something we rigorously maintain as the bills go up when she goes over 40kg! (Officially becomes a big dog, rather than a medium). The only time she is slightly 3 legged is after she has been in the car for a good while (3+ hours) - we think there is just not enough room in there for her to stretch, but that clears within 10 paces when she is 'released'. She favours it still when sitting (leaving it stuck out to the side) but that may just be habit.
The money was salty for us. She will forever be known as the dog that ruined christmas but we have no doubts as to the effectiveness of the procedure.
Hope all goes well. :-)
/stock image/
To add some closure to that thread the dog took a lot longer to recover than was hoped (or should that be hopped?
)She had a few extra visits to the specialist who was very concerned, very nice and really couldn't see why recovery was taking so long.
Then she suddenly got better. We think that she was just too thick to realise that she was mended for a while (who knows, she's not the brightest and the vet really did have a good look and couldn't find anything wrong).
Now, a year on, she is absolutely fine and dandy and can pelt round the 8 mile walk with her friend (running pretty much flat out all the time) again, which is lovely to see.
She put some weight on whilst not exercising that much during recovery (which was extended as we were unsure whether she was recovering) but she has now lost that and is a fighting fit 39.5 kilos - something we rigorously maintain as the bills go up when she goes over 40kg! (Officially becomes a big dog, rather than a medium). The only time she is slightly 3 legged is after she has been in the car for a good while (3+ hours) - we think there is just not enough room in there for her to stretch, but that clears within 10 paces when she is 'released'. She favours it still when sitting (leaving it stuck out to the side) but that may just be habit.
The money was salty for us. She will forever be known as the dog that ruined christmas but we have no doubts as to the effectiveness of the procedure.
Hope all goes well. :-)
/stock image/
A couple of times, our dog has momentarily put down her repaired leg; she never yelps or lifts it quickly - as if in pain, but she does always raise it again. It's almost as if she's keeping it lifted through habit. Curiously, she seems perfectly able to use her repaired leg to scratch her ears.
We have been very careful with regard to giving her exercise - I wonder if we've given her too little, rather than too much.
Most importantly, she seems to be in very good shape and condition and in excellent spirits - she's just been rolling on her back in happiness, with all legs in the air.
If we can just get her going on all legs again, that would be brilliant.
'Thank you' to all who have taken the trouble to make replies - my best wishes to all of you.
Edited by pubrunner on Sunday 18th September 09:35
Edited by pubrunner on Sunday 18th September 09:50
Pubrunner,
The odd occasion some dogs do just take longer to use the leg and will make a full recovery regardless. Fingers crossed this is the case here.
Leaving a gap between steroids and NSAIDs (Meloxidyl) is a good idea. Giving them close together can cause gastrointestinal upsets. I like to give either a drug called omeprazole or famotidine (both human drugs used off license but will be available from your vet) to give another layer of protection. Perhaps ask your vet if they would consider? (Note: different vets have differing opinions - just be aware that theirs might be different than mine, so if you do ask and they refuse its their prerogative)
Cheers,
Tom
The odd occasion some dogs do just take longer to use the leg and will make a full recovery regardless. Fingers crossed this is the case here.
Leaving a gap between steroids and NSAIDs (Meloxidyl) is a good idea. Giving them close together can cause gastrointestinal upsets. I like to give either a drug called omeprazole or famotidine (both human drugs used off license but will be available from your vet) to give another layer of protection. Perhaps ask your vet if they would consider? (Note: different vets have differing opinions - just be aware that theirs might be different than mine, so if you do ask and they refuse its their prerogative)
Cheers,
Tom
Mr Tom said:
Pubrunner,
The odd occasion some dogs do just take longer to use the leg and will make a full recovery regardless. Fingers crossed this is the case here.
This ^^^ seems to be the case; she is walking on all legs now.The odd occasion some dogs do just take longer to use the leg and will make a full recovery regardless. Fingers crossed this is the case here.
We live in a hilly area and I've noticed that she uses all legs going up slopes, but sometimes reverts to three when going down hill. It's all progress though, so hopefully in a couple of months she'll be close to a full recovery.
Thank you for your advice and guidance.
pubrunner said:
This ^^^ seems to be the case; she is walking on all legs now.
We live in a hilly area and I've noticed that she uses all legs going up slopes, but sometimes reverts to three when going down hill. It's all progress though, so hopefully in a couple of months she'll be close to a full recovery.
Thank you for your advice and guidance.
Sounds good - ours would walk fine (I was obsessed at watching her walk for anything stand out) but then when she came to stand she would take the weight off the healing leg - did this for weeks and then one day it must have stopped!We live in a hilly area and I've noticed that she uses all legs going up slopes, but sometimes reverts to three when going down hill. It's all progress though, so hopefully in a couple of months she'll be close to a full recovery.
Thank you for your advice and guidance.
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