That is encouraging. It is all just sinking in for me. I hope he will feel better quickly too.
I emailed his breeder already so she will be aware of it.
As far as removing more than just the head, they have to with him, as it is affecting not only the head, but the neck and part of the trochanter as well, so they have to remove it all. The vet is an orthopedic vet, and from word of mouth, the best in the city. I saw the x-rays myself. I can read x-rays, so I know what the vet was telling me was the truth, otherwise, I would be getting a second opinion (as I don't take all vets to 'know' it all all the time - I do the research my self usually) With LCP, I have been doing research, and this is the only surgery offered as treatment. If it was not so advanced, they would be able to immobilize the leg and hip in a sling, and put him on rest first to see if that would clear it, but it is too late for that.
I hope that his surgery will go well, and he will be back to his normal playful self. Maia misses her playmate. She keeps running up to him with toys to try and entice him to play. He tries, but gives up after a few seconds. Poor guy.
So Brenda, is your dog doing well now? Can she run and play normally? Do you restrict the amount of activity she does? I am usually very active, especially in the summer and was planning on taking both Chinook and Maia rollerblading and biking (usually I will do 11-13 kms at a time). Will that be possible with Chinook, or no?
Thank you to everyone and for all your prayers.
Great to hear you did all your research and are using an awesome vet.
My dog is perfectly fine. She races around, plays, still does the "frog", etc. She doesn't live here any more but she was here for a year after her surgery and I still hear about her all the time.
She may experience arthritis as she gets older but, for now, it's as though nothing ever happened at all. That's why I say LCP is bad but at least it's fixable - so hopefully your sheltie will be racing around and his old self in no time.
Penny didn't have to have anything but the ball removed, though, so I don't know if that will make a difference or not.
Good luck and fingers crossed for an easy recovery.
I do know she NEEDED the massage therapy for months, though (unless you are able to do it yourself) or she MAY have just not used the leg as much as she did. She was on pain killers (very low dose) for about six months or so until we figured she was completely, utterly healed and no longer needed massage therapy.
They say water therapy is the best but we don't have that here so that's why I got massage therapy (from my vet).
By the way, Penny was on Tolfedine® for pain. It was wonderful and is one of the best NSAIDS out there. She took it for, I think, three days, one day off, then four days and showed no sign she had taken anything other than seeing some pain relief (in other words, no side effects). I'm not a fan of pain meds in pets but she was in a LOT of pain for quite awhile and this helped her a LOT. On the days she didn't have it (at first), you could tell the difference. Also, after we'd have the massage therapy, she walked with much greater ease and obvious relief.
I don't know your dog but do be sure he's as slim as safe when he gets this surgery. It makes life much easier if they're not overweight.
More info here if you're interested:
http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00189.htm
