Recovery from a cruciate ligament operation

Ruby is 9 and a half now - thinks she is still 2 years old!!! She finally did it last November chasing two squirrels - totally snapped her back left leg cruciate ligament. She had a total joint replacement on 2nd Jan but is still limping. We’ve done everything by the book, the vets want another X-ray done but she’s had enough of being messed with now.
She lost a lot of muscle on her back end due to limping for so long, we’re still leading walking to try & build this up so she can support her leg more.

She does have OCD and knows she gets there quicker on 3 legs

Just curious as to why vets would want “another” x-ray, this suggests that several have already been taken. I would have thought that the joint should have been stable now so it’s something else causing the limping.

What kind of rehab did you use ?
I have heard that hydrotherapy can do alot of good but it’s not always accessible for all owners.
What is your vet’s opinion ? Maybe look into another opinion/referral ?

The vet said it is standard procedure to do a final X-ray after these operations just to ensure everything is still in place. She felt it all & it seemed okay, Ruby did have a slight water blister appear inside (the size of a grape) this has now disappeared.
We just did what the vet recommended, rest for 4 weeks, only let her in the garden on the lead, lift over steps. Then 10min walks & build it up over the next 10 weeks.
Did consider the hydro pool but she’s petrified of water!!! We didn’t want to cause anymore distress.
Not too sure another vet would do much without an X-ray to ensure everything is in place - we are walking 25mins 3 times a day on the lead, taking green lipped muscle supplement - hope to see a difference soon

Ah ok, I get it
This will be your last x-ray then. I’m sure that you’ll continue to see improvement. Maybe one thing you can do from time to time is encourage her to walk slower, almost deliberately slow. She’ll have to use her leg more and it might help to muscle it up without putting stress on it.

Ruby is one very pretty lady btw

Yes we do try make her walk slowly - it’s hard to keep a saffie calm at the best of times

I have experience of cruciate recovery, though to be honest my Flo recovered well and suffered no lasting effects. She did however need physio after she had back surgery so I may be able to offer some tips.

In the first case I think you'll need to be sure that all is ok after the surgery, so perhaps that final x-ray isn't a bad idea, though I also understand that Ruby has been through quiet a lot recently.

If you are happy all is well then some ideas to build up muscle are as follows:-

1. Invest in a food and water bowl set that is elevated on a stand, this means she will be using all 4 legs to eat and thus bare some weight on that poorly leg

2. Whilst she is standing gently manipulate her leg in a cycling motion, obviously don't push it but make the leg rotate as if Cycling.

3. Get her to stand on her back legs, we did this by asking Flo stand with her front paws on a raised step and giving her treats to keep her interested and make it fun.

Again though, make sure that this is ok with the vet if you have any concerns at all, you won't want to do anything that might make things worse.