Day 12 - Stitches are out!

Milo's stitches came out today. I completely forgot to ask why they used stitches over staples. Hopefully at his 4 week checkup I will remember.

The vet said Milo is doing great and he was happy with his movement in his leg. He did the PROM exercise to see how far he'd stretch back and he was surprised to see how well he's been doing. Finally, I feel like I'm doing something right!

We ran out of tramadol after about a week (maybe a little longer). After this point I started noticing him not using the leg as much. I guess the 'doggie narcotics' really helped mask everything. He's still doing good, but you really have to slow down and tell him to 'use his leg'.

Weeks 2 through 4 are supposed to show less progress than weeks 1 through 2. The vet told us that this is because of the scar tissue and just working through it. This is something everyone needs to know if they are doing an FHO, as you get so worried that something is wrong.

I'll be calling the swim center this week to set our first appointment. I'm thinking we will do 2 times a week for 5 weeks again. Milo is not a big fan of swimming, but it's the best form of exercise for him. He needs something to help wear him out and keep him calm.

Also - we invested in a BiteNot collar for this surgery. During his last FHO we went through 3-4 cones as he would spin them and chew the overlap. The other night we put the BiteNot on and found out he could still lick himself. Great.. we had been using this thing already for a week. Thankfully his leg looked great. I think it stopped him for licking most of the time, or at least swayed his opinion on it, as reaching back with that thing on was tough. This collar would be great for other places, but I'm just not sure how well it would work for other dogs with an FHO. I highly recommend it for other surgeries though, especially if your dog is prone to chewing off the e-collars.

Milo Day 6

Milo has been making some improvements over the past few days. He's been using his leg more and more when he walks, but no where near perfect. It took several shots to get a video of him trying to use it, but here we go.



While he's not supposed to be doing steps, there is no way I can carry a 57lb dog up and down the steps several times a day. He does do the steps when I'm home by myself, but we go slowly to try and prevent any bunny hopping.

The stitches come out next Monday, then onto water therapy! We are excited to start this again, as last year it was a lot of fun.

2nd FHO - Recovery Day 3

Milo's been home for 3 days now. The first day wasn't too bad, as he growled at Marley to leave him alone and he backed off. Now, Marley is trying to test the limit with Milo and it's tough to deal with. Sometimes he's great, then the next second he's trying to chase him across the room. We've been doing our best to keep them calm and stop any bad behavior.

When Milo came home he was already toe-touching. This has been happening more and more over the past 3 days. I caught him today walking across the room and partially using his leg. This is a huge improvement over his last FHO.

There has been one huge difference with his last FHO, and that's his tolerance for the exercises (specifically PROM). He seems to have a harder time when we stretch his leg back, so we only get 2-3 times in when we do the exercises. Hopefully over the next couple of days we will have better luck. He is allowing us to ice it though, which is an improvement from last year.

The vet said not to let him jump on and off things, or excessively use the stairs. He's been using the stairs (controlled by a leash or by holding his collar) when I'm home by myself and worried about carrying him (he is 57lbs now!). He's also been climbing on the couch on his own. This wasn't our intention, but he starts to eye the couch and by the time you put the computer down to get up and pick him up, he's already climbed up. Thankfully the couch is not too high, so it's not too hard on him.

We are eagerly awaiting swim sessions again at the Northern Virginia Animal Swim Center in Middleburg, VA. We did this last year for about 10 sessions and we found it was really helpful. This place also allows additional dogs at a reduced rate, so we are able to bring Marley with us. Marley loves to play fetch in the pool while Milo gets his laps in. Going home with two tired dogs is wonderful, plus they have a washing area that you can clean your dog off after. This was great, as we could bring our own shampoo/conditioner and leave with clean smelling dogs. Granted my car smelled of wet dog for awhile, it was still worth it.

2nd FHO - Bi-Lateral HD

On Wednesday, Milo underwent his second FHO surgery as he has bi-lateral hip dysplasia. We picked him up today and he's been doing great. The first difference we noticed compared to his last FHO is the use of stitches, rather than staples. I'm not sure why, but I do want to ask the vet when we go back in for the removal in under 2 weeks.

When we picked him up, he was already toe-touching at the vet. They pointed this out to us, as last time he did not start toe-touching the first day. I'm hopeful that this is a good sign for recovery.

For those that don't know about Milo, he's currently 57lb lab/chow mix. He was diagnosed with HD just after his 1st birthday. He underwent his first surgery at 1 year and 4 months, followed by his most recent at 2 years and 4 months. During his first FHO he was 52lbs, but gained some weight after. We are aiming to keep him between 50-60lbs, as this is his ideal weight (even at 60lbs he was still skinny).






The below two pictures are of the femoral head.






X-Rays:

Before:



After: