A bit worried

First topic message reminder :

Flo has had a sore paw so we took her to the vets last week and he prescribe some antibiotics. I also mentioned that she seemed to have slowed up on walks and was wondering if it was arthritis causing her discomfort. the vet (one Flo hadn't seen before) said straight away that it was, a rather rapid diagnosis considering he hadn't actually touched her I felt, anyway he prescribed something for that too. He went on to say she had little back leg muscle but to be honest she's always been like that.

Yesterday Flo couldn't keep her footing on the smooth kitchen floor and then I noticed she has a very weak back left leg ( the one that has always looked the weaker since her TTA on the other side )
Having seen that, we booked an appointment with the vets for tonight and I'm hoping she gets to see her usual vet but I'm still worried for her. The vet didn't think it could be a side effect of the meds he's given her but I think it may well be that, at least I'm hoping it's that.

Even though she is in obvious discomfort the brave little lady managed to climb two flights of stairs before the wife realised, just to have a cuddle with me this morning. I have to confess I am worried

Well not such a good night for us last night, we bought a pen so that she stays on the flat and was fine to begin with until about 2AM when the crying got so loud it even woke me two floors up! I ended up sleeping on the sofa with her (yes I gave in).

Today we have been having spells in and out with mixed success so who knows what tonight will bring.

I have noticed an improvement overnight, her left rear paw is now going down flat rather than curled under and she is standing unaided though very wobbly. Her right rear isn't responding so well yet but fingers crossed it catches up. Will be on to the vet in the morning for physio instructions.

I think it's going to take some time but I'm sure progress will be quicker with Flo being home. I hope tonight is a better night

I am very hopeful Laura, I think it is just a time thing going by how long it took her to respond initially.

Now here's the daft thing, she is currently outside her crate on a big bed looking at the pen and not a peep out of her and not trying to go anywhere, so she knows she's not allowed on the sofa or out the doors, now what's the difference with being inside?!?!

Maybe she will rest better on the big bed, does she not like her pen

I'm guessing that being inside the pen takes away her choice. It's always so much easier to do something because you choose to than because you have to.

It's problem with restricting movement after an op, you don't always have the luxury of training time. Otherwise you'd be able to go back to the basics of crate training, but with the pen.

Nope she hates it !!... Thing is, she's been in a crate before so I know she can tolerate it. I think it's simply the thought of being contained as she hasn't moved off her big bed. Think I might be having this week off from Tuesday, she'll have someone here all day tomorrow.

I know... I'm giving in to exactly what she wants

Don't think of it as giving in. I see it as giving her what she needs. She's been through a lot and it must be terribly confusing to her still - why she can't walk, why she can't go upstairs with you - so finding ways of making it easier for her is the right thing to do.

That's brill you are getting some time off

I haven't got the time off yet Laura but I think this is classed a as family emergency

Very true Liz, I hadn't really thought about it like that. I know the pen is stressing her too much at the moment so will use it a little at a time, It really wasn't nice seeing her work herself up into the state where she was panting with stress

You are only giving in to what she needs Ian & that is her daddy keeping her company & helping her get back on all 4 paws She is already improving by being home with her family

Another night on the sofa for me but Flo slept the whole night in her bed and didn't move once (is the pen redundant?)

Even better news, Flo has started to move her right rear leg, still along way off what she can do with the left leg but still huge improvement. She can also now stand unaided, if very wobbly, as she demonstrated whilst in her pen yesterday while howling to be set free.

We have a physio session booked on Wednesday which should be interesting

Aww she just wants to be with you. Great news about the progress

Lovely news, so happy for you (minus the sofa exhaustion for yourself) and good luck with the physio for Wednesday.

Oh Flo!!

Today was physio day

Flo was ever so pleased to see the physio lady, I think they were good friends when she was an inmate inpatient, Flo's tail wagged so much she nearly fell over.

She was pleased with Flo's progress and gave us some exercises which included simple things like sit then stand, give paw, anything that gets her to use her rear end really. A couple of simple things that I guess we owners don't really think about is things like food bowl position. By raising it up she spreads her weight to both front & rear paws rather than bending and baring weight on the front.

The simplest exercise is simply stroking from the scar down to the paw, all it's designed to do is stimulate feeling and retrain the nerve to brain commands.

We'll have a review at her next vet appointment to see if she needs more intense physio but things are looking good so far, even if Flo is going a little cabin crazy.

Oh well done little Flo xxx

Aww brilliant & reassuring to hear she was pleased with Flo

Thanks guys, I'm so pleased with the way things are progressing

You've been through such a worrying time & still been here to help everyone. It's great Flo is being such a trooper

Well done flo. You must be so pleased to see some positive progress.

Sounds like Flo is coming on great with lots of help from her daddy, well done both of you

so happy for you! It's crazy how something as simple as lifting their food bowl up changes their weight distibution, isn't it?

Being realistic we are still a long long way from normal walks but wow, Flo is really trying and I'm hoping that in a couple of months time I can post here that she's back in her big park trotting around.

Goblin wrote:so happy for you! It's crazy how something as simple as lifting their food bowl up changes their weight distibution, isn't it?

I learnt so much today, things that we take for granted yet when you actually look you can see.

I guess it's the same as training, when your eyes are opened you see so much more.

That is a welcome update. Really great to hear how well she's doing. She's a trooper, that Flo.

But I am now worried. It hadn't occured to me before but all sorts of thing might be happening in HER park without her being there to monitor and sort it all out. You must get back as soon as possible, Flo, your park needs you!

The squirrels could be plotting all sorts!

LizP wrote:
But I am now worried. It hadn't occured to me before but all sorts of thing might be happening in HER park without her being there to monitor and sort it all out. You must get back as soon as possible, Flo, your park needs you!

Goblin wrote:The squirrels could be plotting all sorts!

These concerns have crossed our minds... And what could the runners be doing to her park also

So we have done our first DIY physio, how did she make it look so easy at the vets?

I couldn't find a diner big enough for mias bowls i used my books instead and left her enough room so she could have her nose in her bowls vets always make things look easy mia always behaved at the vets. Typical dog

Short update

Flo still isn't using her pen but that's fine, she isn't climbing the sofa either

We bought a bowl stand today so she puts even weight on all 4 paws, she ate her dinner with a little encouragement but she refuses to drink out of the bowl on the stand so still has the one on the floor... For now.

Better news still, the physio is going better, I think we're getting the hang of it and today, for the first time, she is moving her right rear leg properly

She still can't stand or walk unaided really but we are seeing improvements that are quite notable, surely and steadily we are getting there

Yippee that's great news Ian. You must be so happy! Well done Flo xx

Good girl, Flo! Those squirrels had better not get too used to having the free run of the park.

One tip we were given when Harley had to eat from a higher bowl was to put it on a step, so maybe the bottom of the stairs or something. For some reason that can seem less odd to a dog than a stand.

Good news for flo ian typical staffy stubborn and determined great tip liz

Thanks all, really quite chuffed.

The step thing is a good idea but not for Flo, we have a smooth floor in the hallway and Flo isn't allowed there for now.

Ah understandable ian bless her xx

Well done Ian, you are doing a fab job of helping Flo back on her paws

Lovely news, and good luck with the water bowl.

Things seem to be improving day by day,and you can expect no more from a dog in her senior years Ian.Everything slow but sure,it may take time but by the sounds of things she will soon be back to normal.Well done you are a good dad and she will love you all the more for it.

How are things going, Ian?

Mixed blessings Liz. Flo is now using her right leg but it is very weak, however, she can stand unaided albeit wobbly just not as wobbly. To be fair she is progressing well but there in lays an issue.

Flo thinks she's mended and can do more than she really can just now, for example, last night the back door was open due to the warm weather and a fox decided to look in on us... Well Flo was off like a rocket oddly though, all paws reacted as they should

We also have a very frustrated Flo, she has taken to barking at us if she can see us in the kitchen. This in part is our own fault in that she is used to us giving her a treat whilst feeding ourselves so she really is frustrated that she can't get to the kitchen as its off limits due to the smooth floor... And of course she is starving even if she's just had her dinner !!

All in all, I am pleased with progress, I see improvement every day and she has been told she has a deadline of the next visit to the vet to be able to actually walk in. She hasn't got long, 6th of June !

I'm very hopeful that she will be back on proper walks before the summer is out

Sorry, but... ... the fox!

I suppose the frustration is part of the process when you have a dog with a healthy mind and a healing body (heal, not heel in many cases!). Can you give her something to chew on while you're having dinner?

Little by little still sounds good. Keep it up, Flo!

I have been reading through this thread and I just have to say what an awesome dad you are Ian The very very obvious love you have for Flo is really something to see and the effort and dedication you are putting in to helping her heal is amazing

Here in Essex we are rooting for you all and hope you get back to the park asap so that Flo can sort out whatever people and other animals have had the cheek to do in her absence Take care xx

Thanks for your thoughts guys

She has several antlers to chew Liz, and she is going at them more than usual which I'm sure is down to frustration as much as anything but the "aggressive" begging is starting to become an issue. When I say aggressive it's not nasty, it's just loud and I'm hoping this will stop when things settle and she's more independent.

To be honest it isn't an effort giving her physio, most of it is sit stand paw and repeat so just like you would train a younger dog but with the benefit of her knowing what to do, easy really. We may need some extra help building muscle in her right rear leg but it's still early days and she shouldn't be doing much walking at this stage.

We are getting there

Shes older ian and im pleased shes making progress ur such a great staffy dad

Very interesting thread.
Super vets lakes it look so easy but you're showing all the work (and worry) that goes on behind the scenes.
Hope Flo continues her progress and convinced she'll meet her deadline

The nerve of the fox! We have one that gets onto the windowsill outside my room. His lordship does not approve. It might be because she stopped thinking about her legs and just reacted on instinct. Good luck on the deadline.

Gizmo does the aggressive begging when he's been injured and can't burn off his energy. It's this sort of 'huffy teenager' sounding bark, like someone saying "Come oooooooon!"

It's great to hear Flo is still improving all the time. What a cheeky fox, I love them but the ones up here are very shy so don't often see them

^Just noticed you're in Aberdeenshire, my family are from Nairn!

Nifty staffy wrote:Very interesting thread.
Super vets lakes it look so easy but you're showing all the work (and worry) that goes on behind the scenes.
Hope Flo continues her progress and convinced she'll meet her deadline

I think seeing the SuperVet on TV when the dog walks the next day is kinda what I expected but the reality can be very different. Some do of course recover much quicker than others but it was seeing her completely unable to walk which was disheartening. Having said that and seeing the results now, I can vouch for how good they are and they really do go the extra mile in explaining things.

Goblin wrote:It might be because she stopped thinking about her legs and just reacted on instinct. Good luck on the deadline.

Gizmo does the aggressive begging when he's been injured and can't burn off his energy. It's this sort of 'huffy teenager' sounding bark, like someone saying "Come oooooooon!"

Yup I agree, she didn't think about what she had to do she just did it which oddly pleases me a lot. I also totally agree with the come oooooooon thing, it is exactly that  

Idogs wrote:It's great to hear Flo is still improving all the time. What a cheeky fox, I love them but the ones up here are very shy so don't often see them

Do you want to take some non-shy foxes from here ???

Nairn is lovely Goblin, I'm in Ellon which is north of Aberdeen. I'd love some Ian, I really like foxes

Quick update on Flo

She is s getting better and stronger by the day. Her rear legs are still a little bit wobbly but she is standing on her own now. Today was a bit of a land mark in that she was out the back door and walking up the garden unaided to go and do what she needed to do and boy did she look pleased with herself, the wife wasn't too pleased with me though as Flo is supposed to be supported still.

She still inverts both paws from time to time, however, the physiotherapist said that the paw reflex is the last to return so no surprise really.

At the rate she is improving i think she will actually be walking into the vets on Tuesday without too much trouble and then we just need sign off that she can start short walks.

On the insurance front, the specialist submitted the claim on our behalf and the insurer has written to us asking for Flo's full medical history, fortunately we have always had the same vet practice who have taken the reference number and will e-mail it all directly to them, very efficient