Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Western Medicine vs Eastern Medicine For Dogs

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Where to start?

Sampson had surgery to repair a full ACL tear just over 3 months (almost 14 weeks ago).  

I heard from a lot of people whose dog(s) had ACL surgery and was told it was nothing to worry about, their dog was back to running, chasing squirrels etc in no time.

That hasn’t been Sampson’s experience at all.

Western Medicine

The surgery itself went very well.  Sampson’s meniscus was intact, so the surgeon repaired the ACL and made a slight incision in the meniscus to keep it from tearing.  One week after surgery Sampson developed a seroma on his knee, which is basically an accumulation of fluid.  This was treated with hot compresses and it reduced the seroma within a couple of days.

His six week check up and x-ray showed the leg was healing well.

And yet, he was still not putting the weight he should have been on that foot.  When the surgeon examined him he diagnosed him with a strained or sore Iliopsoas muscle.  This muscle runs from the hip to the chest and is a very deep muscle.  It’s also very hard to treat.  The surgeon put him on Gabapentin and he seemed to be doing much better.  When he checked him three weeks later he said, “I think we just have a slow healer.”

Then ten days ago I noticed he was not putting weight on his foot in the house, in fact there were times when he was actually holding it up!  I mentioned this to his physical therapist who said, to speak to the surgeon, maybe it was time for him to go back in there and see what was going on.  Her gut was telling her that something just wasn’t right.

I was very upset.  Besides the fact that I don’t want to put him through another surgery so soon after the first one, as well as the expense of another surgery, I just don’t roll that way.  As luck (fate) would have it, I had a call into my own vet about Delilah and after we discussed that issue I asked her to spend a few minutes discussing Sampson.

There’s a reason I love my vet.  Besides the fact she leans towards the holistic side, she always makes me feel better.  Bottom line, she agreed with not going back in for surgery, she suggested I keep an eye on him over the weekend and if I didn’t see an improvement, she wanted to see him.

She saw him last Monday, she checked his knee extensively and said it seemed fine, she pressed into his Iliopsoas muscle and he whipped around like he’d been pinched.  Yup, the poor punkin, his Iliopsoas muscle is hurting him.  And because of this he doesn’t place his weight properly and because he doesn’t place his weight properly, his Iliopsoas muscle is sore.   Dr. Soutter said a dog with a “Psoas” muscle issue can be very frustrating.

So what to do?

Well to start with I’m stretching his hip out twice per day.  Holding his leg at the top of his thigh and supporting the bottom, I extend the leg and then gently guide it back. 

Golden-Labrador-Mix

One stretch, then some rubbies.

Labrador-Golden-Mix

Eastern Medicine

Sometimes I was told, sometimes Acupuncture can release the muscle, and as luck would have the owner of the practice could perform Acupuncture AND he had a spot available on Thursday!  So Thursday Sampson and I headed over to our vet’s office.  Dr. Atz examined Sampson’s knee, he asked a lot of questions and then he began Sampson’s acupuncture treatment.

It was hard to see him anxious about the treatment, but I knew it was our best chance at helping him, so I did the best I could to remain calm, and keep him calm and focused.  I gave him lots of treats and lots of rubbies.

Since he hurt himself, Sampson has been hard at work on some lick granulomas, so while we waited for the acupuncture treatment to be completed, Dr. Atz gave Sampson some cold laser treatment on his Granulomas. Dr. Atz also had a pill form of Body Sore, a Chinese herb that I’ve been trying to get him to take in powder form and I haven’t been having much luck.  These pills are smaller than a Tic Tac and all fit into a slab of liverwurst and down the hatch with no problem.

Has the acupuncture helped?

 Well it’s hard to say (and I’m afraid to jinx my dog) but we went from acupuncture straight to the physical therapist and for the first time in six months, Sampson went into the vet’s office and stood on his back legs with his front paws on the counter and announced himself, not once, not twice but three times.  THREE TIMES.

Then when we got home….

Golden-Labrador-Mix

He did this.  Yes, he climbed up on his couch.  BUT I notice he’s still, at times holding that leg up.  

It’s like we’re on a hamster wheel, the Iliosoas muscle is strained so he’s not putting the proper weight on his foot, BUT by not putting the proper weight on his foot, the Iliosoas is not getting better. 

I’m not really sure what we are going to do, but he sees the surgeon again on Wednesday, so stay tuned.

Hill Climbers

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Next month Sampson will be ten years old.  By all rights he is a Senior Dog.  According to Pet’s Web MD he is 66 years old in human years, while Pedigree’s Age Calculator says he is 75.  I’m going with Pet’s Web MD. 🙂  Delilah’s age (she is 1 1/2 dog years behind Sampson) is calculated by Pet’s Web MD as 55, while Pedigree ages her at 61.  Delilah is also considered to be a Senior Dog.  While Senior dogs still need daily exercise, there comes a certain age where exercise modifications need to be made.

And we apparently are there.

According to Sampson’s Physical Therapist, when you are exercising with your pet and begin to see signs of tiredness it’s too late.  You should stop exercising your pet BEFORE they become tired.  Since Sampson’s ACL surgery, I have really become more aware of signs of tiredness.  While he seems to pant the minute we walk out the door on leash, there comes a certain point where his face sort of wrinkles up and I’ve come to realize, that is his tired face.

So we have a Senior Dog, who has had ACL surgery.  Our surgeon has deemed Sampson a “slow healer” as he is not where most dogs are this far into the recovery process.

We did an 8 week course of 2x per week of physical therapy.  During these sessions the majority of the therapy included cold laser treatments and the underwater treadmill.  When those initial sessions were finished, Sampson still wasn’t using his leg enough for us to get exercises at home, so we signed up for another 10 sessions of underwater treadmill.  These sessions are spaced out to one per week.

I’m not going to whine about the cost of these sessions because I pay the money gladly to help Sampson feel better, I will just say this, there comes a point where I can’t pick anymore money off the tree.

So what can we do?

Well Sampson needs to build up the muscles in his legs and one of the best ways to do this (besides the underwater treadmill, which has a price tag larger than some houses) is to climb hills.

We score on this since we live about 3/4 up a hill.  When we walk, at some point we are going up a hill.  To increase the amount of time Sampson uses his legs walking up hill, I do something I’m calling, “Hill Climbers.”  What I do is shorten the distance of our actual walk, BUT two to three times during our walk when I find myself on a decent pitch I sing out, “Hill Climbers.”  At which time, I turn us around and head back down the hill for about 30 paces.

We are at a good pitch right now so we'll turn around.

We are at a good pitch right now so we’ll turn around.

When I reach the 30th or 40th step, I again sing out, “Hill Climbers” and we turn around and head back up the same stretch of hill.

Making the turn and heading downhill again.

Making the turn and heading downhill again.

Our walking pace is very slow, so to help myself feel like I’m really exercising, when I start back up that hill I suck in my gut and walk on my toes for those 30 to 40 steps.

You can't tell, but I am sucking it in!

You can’t tell, but I am sucking it in!

Truthfully I have to say, I think Sampson is walking better.  He still compensates for his leg, but in general I feel like he is using it more, putting more weight on it and walking with less and less of a limp.

I think our hill climbers are helping.

Just because our dogs are older or not physical capable of traditional exercise, doesn’t mean we should stop working with them, it simply means we need to find a form of exercise that works for them.

So how about you?  Have you made any types of modifications to your dogs exercise routine as they’ve aged? Any tips on how to help him build up his muscles?

Today we are joining SlimDoggy, Peggy’s Pet Place and To Dog With Love for FitDog Friday.

Badge courtesy of SlimDoggy

Badge courtesy of SlimDoggy

 

Follow-Up Friday – May 30, 2014

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Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally wrap up my week.

You Make Me Smile – May 25, 2014

Jan K said, “Cricket and Sheba often fall asleep with their chins resting on a toy. But my favorite is when Cricket falls asleep with a ball still in her mouth!”

Now that would make me laugh!

Jackie Bouchard says, “Cute! Sometimes Rita falls asleep on top of her bone – and I can’t imagine that’s comfortable!”

I notice my dogs sometimes sleep on things as well and I often wonder how they can.  Delilah is notorious for changing the television channel because she laid on the remote.

I Didn’t Know

We were both exhausted that first day.

We were both exhausted that first day.

Val said, “It’s amazing how they find us isn’t it?!?!!”

It is.  When I think of all the dogs we were turned down for and then there was Delilah.

Jan K said, ” What a wonderful story…it’s not always easy, but it ends up being worth it.”

With Delilah, it’s almost like she knows she was in a high kill shelter and got a second chance, this dog has a zest for life and grabs every moment she can.  I think that’s her gift to me, to learn to grab at the ring.

Lauranne said,  I hope there was cake and a pawty, if not let me know and I will have words with your mum!!”

I shall let Delilah answer this. 

“Um NO. A resounding NO.  In fact I got absolutely NOTHING but a pat on the head and a Happy Gotcha Day Delilah.  You can commence to scolding my mom now.”

Hey in my defense, I did take her for a lovely walk on the rail trail.

Solvit’s Telescoping Ramp

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “Closed up I imagine it would fit in the trunk.”

It is 39″ at the smallest, I would think it would fit in a normal size trunk.  It fits across the back of my SUV (which is a Hyundai.)

2 Brown Dawgs said, “That is a nice sturdy ramp. It looks so easy to use.”

It is super easy.  Even for an uncoordinated clutz like myself.  Although I did scrape my knuckle on the surface because I hadn’t latched it properly.  But that was operator error.

Slimdoggy said, “I admit we’ve bought a couple of those ramps – including this one. The dogs are fine with them and they are sturdy, although I did pinch my fingers in one that rolled up more than once. Luckily Jack & Maggie haven’t had to use them yet, because they are a bit of an inconvenience…lugging them around, setting them up, etc. and I’m kind of lazy ;(”

I admit there is some work involved, but with a big dog like Sampson it’s so much easier than anything else I’ve found.

Sue said, “We borrowed a ramp from a friend for Tucker… he refused to have anything to do with it. Luckily he was light enough that the dog daddy and / or I could pick him up.”

If I could pick Sampson up, I would.  He is about 90 pounds.  I think in an extreme situation I could probably manage briefly, but I don’t think I could lift him into the car.

Emma said, “We are never allowed to jump in or out of the car/SUV. Mom lifts us in and out…says it is good for her arm muscles.”

Mom is smart, I imagine you are fairly light, yes?  I get my arm muscle workout setting up the ramp and walking Sampson the Puller. 🙂

Jen said, “I’ve been looking fora pet ramp for Sherman. It’s getting harder on him to jump in the Suburban. Actually he doesn’t jump in anymore, he puts his front legs up and waits for me to lift him the rest of the way in which has been hard on my back!”

Sampson used to ALWAYS get in the car that way, then I trained him to jump in and now he can’t.  I did try having him put his front paws up, but with a bum leg, it doesn’t work so well.

Gigi Bell said, “We have one if these & they are awesome! Digby is a Newfoundland, so we trained him to use the ramp since he was 6 months old. He is now 2 years old and just had TPLO surgery for a torn cruciate. Good thing he is used to the ramp!”

That was super smart to do Gigi!! I wish I had started training Sampson on these things sooner.  He just had ACL surgery and it has been a huge adjustment! 

Jan K said, ” I can see us needing one of these some day because of Sheba’s arthritis, and this looks like great quality.

Start now, before you HAVE to!! 🙂

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem to Be

Hmpf, it's just a piece of bark.

Hmpf, it’s just a piece of bark.

Flea said, “I’ve done that so many times. FYI – gators aren’t too quick on land. Water?”

From what I’ve read they have short bursts of speeds up to 20 to 25 mph.  I don’t think I can run that fast, although with a gator on my ass…..Run Forrest, Run!

You all had some great stories, aren’t imaginations wild?

That’s it for this week, I hope you all have a great weekend!

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