Meet our Basil, a 6 year old sprocker spaniel. When he was 4 months old, I noticed that he wasn’t using his left hind leg that well when he was running. He appeared to bunny hopping and using both his hind legs together to run. Being an over protected, paranoid mum/dog owner, I took him to work at Fitzpatrick Referrals and asked for him to be assessed. He was subsequently sedated and given an Xray whereby he was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia. I was devasted as I knew potentially what was in store for him, a double hip replacement. We were advised that he was too young for hip replacements because he was still growing. So what to do in the meantime?
We kept him on a lead at all times, he swum in rivers and lakes at every opportunity, he did tug of war games and also we stopped him from jumping up onto furniture (as much as possible!) He didn’t appear to be in any pain and didn’t show any signs of limping and he wasn’t on any medication apart from joint supplements. He still bunny hopped when he ran but that was rare as he wasn’t much off the lead. He was a happy go lucky puppy.
Then when Basil was 14 months old, I noticed that his left knee (stifle) had a slight wobble, an instability. Now I know I’m still I paranoid Mum but off to work we went for another sedation Xray/CT scan. This time he was diagnosed with a patella instability, subluxation and he had a partial tear of his cruciate ligament. BUT the good news was because we had kept him mainly on the lead and prevented him from running and jumping around like a lunatic, his hips had started to form more normally, every cloud has a silver lining……
He underwent a tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) to prevent his cruciate from shearing anymore and a patella stabilisation to stop his knee cap from sliding where it shouldn’t. Then the fun started. He was crate rested for 6 weeks and had toilet walks only with the use of a sling whilst waiting for the bones heal. Oh and I forgot to mention that we moved to Devon in the middle of all this.
Mum I look ridiculous!
Four years later I am relieved to say that Basil has a made a full recovery. I don’t know what the future holds for him from an orthopaedic point of view, but he is pain free and leading a normal sprocker life, which involves running freely and chasing anything with feathers on.
Owning a pet that has health problems is an emotional roller-coaster. All you can do is your best and put your trust in the vets and supporting staff, knowing that they are doing everything they possibly can to achieve the best out come for your pet and you.
So I have seen, understand and experienced at first hand all aspects of looking after a dog that has been poorly. I will give you all the support I can on your journey.