shedalot Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 Hi folks, Happy New Year. I thought I would share what may be a very helpful resource for many here, whether now, or certainly in the future for a lot of you. In November, Sheba was running in the yard when, all of the sudden, a very common problem, especially in older dogs, happened. She damaged a ligament. Our lives changed that very moment, although, not permanently. This website was very very helpful for me: Dog Ligament Injury Warning: The site is very high in the detail department, but it's worth it. I wrote the following to the author of that website: Max, Every day for the last 5 weeks I have thanked my lucky stars for typing the right keywords in Google, which led me to your excellent resource for a dog ligament injury. I can't thank you enough for a very detailed source of information. On 11/14/2010 my 11 year old Siberian Husky, Sheba and I were doing the usual afternoon run in the yard when she instantly went from 4 to 3 legs. I knew it was bad. She saw the vet the next morning. I didn't realize she had arthritis, but it didn't surprise me. She also had a lot of fluid build up and damaged her ligament pretty good. My vet put her on Dermaxx for 5 days and said surgery may not be needed. At the time, I was worried she probably would, based on what I was reading all over the place. About a week later, I found your site. Since then, Sheba no longer has access to the entire back yard so, no more running and chasing squirrels. (which, surprisingly, she was doing) I also covered pretty much my entire apartment floor with rugs to keep her from slipping on the hardwood floors. (which, sadly, she was also doing) Once I removed those two setback possibilites, progress in improvement has been excellent. We didn't walk for 11 days and when we started again, it was with great caution and observation. (I take notes, as well) To this day, progress has improved, ever so slowly, but I'm confident she will regain full strength over time. She certainly has health going for her. Wellness dog food along with Glyco-Flex 3 supplement (which, ironically, I started her on 2 weeks before her incident) and no people food goes a long way. I am so happy to see great improvement with her. For a while there, I was really concerned she might not get better, but it's clear to me now, that she will. Thanks so much for your great website! Here is Sheba on my site: http://wkevin.com/sheba Happy New Year, Max. Kevin I'm sure this would be useful to others as well. Happy 2011 everybody! Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 added to rep kevin glad to hear sheba is getting better too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazz Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 Sorry to hear about Sheba. So glad you found a site with useful info. So she's making progress. That is always a big plus. Elke, when she was 14, had what the vet thought was a bulged disc. She could not walk or stand on her own. I worked with her and progress was slow. Wish I could have found a site like the one you found. Keep us posted Kevin on Sheba's progress. I know she is your baby and you always provide the best for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shedalot Posted January 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 Sorry to hear about Sheba. So glad you found a site with useful info. So she's making progress. That is always a big plus. Elke, when she was 14, had what the vet thought was a bulged disc. She could not walk or stand on her own. I worked with her and progress was slow. Wish I could have found a site like the one you found. Keep us posted Kevin on Sheba's progress. I know she is your baby and you always provide the best for her. Thanks, Dave. Will do. Much too much life left in her. She will be fine. I'm sure of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCouture Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 Glad she's doing better Kevin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shedalot Posted January 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 I wrote the following to the author of that website: His reply. Note the bolded. Words to live by. Hi Kevin & Sheba, Thanks for your kind words about my ligament injury website. I am happy that you found the website helpful. Back in 2002 when my dog Tigger ruptured ligaments in both stifles, I was told surgery was the only choice. At that time there was no website saying recovery without surgery was a viable option, but dozens of vets' websites promoting the idea that surgery is always necessary for large dogs and promising miraculous results with TPLO. A lucky twist of fate saved Tigger from TPLO or other surgery. When Tigger recovered very well without surgery, I was intrigued and started looking into the research literature and talking with surgeons, other vets, and people whose dogs had experienced these injuries. This eventually led to creating the website, which is my effort to 'pay-forward' to other dogs like yours. I wanted to communicate with others like you whose dogs were in the position my Tigger had been in order to present to them the facts about these injuries and treatment options which unfortunately are often misunderstood and/or misrepresented by vets. That Sheba is a beauty! It sounds like you and Sheba are doing well, but I want to advise you to bear in mind that these injuries are very slow in recovery. It is easy to make the mistake of increasing activity too quickly and having a setback. You should expect that Sheba will want to do too much too soon, and she will try to convince you that restriction is no longer needed and that you are an overly cautious old futz. Your job is to be the cautious one who always insists on doing less than she thinks is OK. Good Luck! Please let me know how it goes. Questions? Always glad to help if I can. Max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Glad she's improving Kevin Give her a gentle husky hug from me x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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