Need some suggestions for my labs surgery recovery please.

[sophiesmaster]

Hello, my chocolate lab just had her 3rd surgery 5wks ago and she is only 3.5 yrs old. Her first surgery was for a luxating patella on her left knee at 1yr old. 2nd was on her right leg and that was her acl or ccl i believe they call it for dogs a year later, and now her other ccl went on her left leg. This surgery was a little more complicated as this is where she had her first surgery on her knee ( wish I would have purchased insurance when i got her! ). It is so difficult ( impossible ) to keep her from not moving about 30% of the time aside from taking her outside to relieve herself as she is so energetic. I noticed her leg getting a bit lame the last week and limping a bit so I took her to see our vet. He said she is not healing as fast as he was hoping and I`m just waiting to see the surgeon when she is in town next. She has always slept with me and will not sleep in a crate so I put my mattress on the floor. I crate her duing the day
when at work and when I get home the bedroom is where we basically live for now. I asked my vet if the bed even though on the floor is too soft for her leg and he said I am doing my best but I am worried that maybe not so good for her healing process? I put a single futon on the floor first so she could sleep next to me but she tried to climb on it to sleep against me as she always does so this isn`t an option so I removed the mattress from the bed and put it on the floor. I am very worried that she has re-injured her leg but my vet says not to worry just yet until we see the surgeon. Do you think that a mattress on the floor is a bad idea? Any suggestions/ideas? Am I over-reacting? Every hour or so she moves around on the bed when we are watching tv and sleeping. Thanks for any info just lots of stress as this is the 3rd surgery and seems like the hardest one. Thnks again.

[hazelrunpack]

We had an energetic springer with hip dysplasia who needed two full hip replacements and a spinal laminectomy. The recovery for each surgery was weeks long and she needed to be kept as still as possible. So for 22 weeks, she was tethered to my waist on a short leash when she was awake. She slept either in the crate, or on a mattress with us on the floor. So if the mattress isn't unusually thick, I think that should be fine.

Of course, I didn't get much housework done. Mostly we sat and watched TV and since we had no cable, it came down to PBS or soap operas in the afternoon--oh, man, did I ever get sick of Barney!

But tethering limited her activity even though it also limited mine. And she healed up well. Might be worth a shot until you can see the surgeon.

I know how stressful recovery time is. Hang in there. Good luck on the recovery! Pls keep us posted on her progress and on what the surgeon says.

[pbpatti]

Poor you, poor Labby, they have so much energy. Just wanted to send some well wishes for her quick recovery and I feel that the mattress on the floor Is the best you can do. My Chocolate has had many surgeries also but not for the troubles you are having. she recuperated very quickly. patti