Heart Like a Dog

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

I Jinxed My Dog

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Tuesday I wrote about the Conservative Management program we had in place to keep Sampson from totally tearing his ACL.

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you know that went out the window Tuesday night.  Less than 24 hours after I posted it, Sampson completely tore his ACL.

What happened?

Sampson and Delilah were playing, they were running in the house with a squeaky ball.  I went and started a load of laundry and when I got back, Sampson wouldn’t put any weight on his bad leg.  Less than two minutes.  I was gone less than two minutes and when I walked in and saw him with his leg lifted, I knew he blew it out.

I called the vet and thankfully got the last appointment of the night and brought him in.

The Diagnosis

After checking him out thoroughly the vet looked at me and said, “You’re going to kill me.”

“Why?”

“I think he completely tore his ACL, but I’d like one of my colleagues to check him out as well”

She brought her colleague in and she examined him and agreed he’d fully torn it.

What is it they say about mom’s always knowing?

The Treatment

We added an additional pain pill of Gabapentin to his existing Carprofen and upped his Tramadol (anti-inflammatory) back up to two per day.  I was advised to ice it if possible.  As you can imagine, that didn’t go over really well.

He kept shifting to try and dislodge it.

He kept shifting to try and dislodge it.

After speaking with my vet yesterday afternoon, she is definitely recommending surgery.  I can’t tell you how much this terrifies me, but she really thinks this is his best option to get him mobile once again.  I’ve scheduled a consultation for tomorrow morning at 9:00 am.  Oh and I cancelled his physical therapy appointment.

What we did wrong.

As far as I can tell, nothing.  We knew going in that despite conservative measures there was still a possibility of the ACL tearing.  Dogs will be dogs and there is only so much you can do to keep them quiet.

We kept him from tearing for over two months.  Any dog can tear their ACL, we could have had it heal completely and he could have been running in the field and blew it out.  It happens.

While I was sick to my stomach and a bit shaky and weepy on Tuesday night, I’m better today.  Not much, but talking about it helps me, so thanks to all of you who have engaged me in one way or another.

I really appreciate it.

Regrets, I’ve had a few.

People that say things say that hindsight is better than foresight.  This is probably my one and only regret.  Had I known he would have blown his ACL anyway, I would have gone ahead with the surgery right away.  If we had, we’d be half-way through his recovery period by now.

How we’re managing.

Right now it’s hard.  He’s still trying to figure out how to function with three legs.  Since he refuses to use the stairs to get on and off the bed and I can’t guarantee that Delilah won’t jitterbug all over him, I’m making him sleep on the floor.

That's a sad dog right there. If looks could kill, I'd have been dead last night because of the daggers he was shooting at me.

If looks could kill, I’d have been dead last night because of the daggers he was shooting at me.

And of course he can’t go outside without being on leash.  Which really pisses him off.  I’m worried about his pooping.  He hasn’t pooped since Tuesday morning.  Any ideas on how to help a dog without use of one of his back legs to poop?  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on ACL tears or conservative management, I am not even a vet. I am not advising you as to what will or will not work should your dog have an ACL injury. I am simply sharing our story.  If your dog has an ACL injury, it is important you discuss your dog’s recovery with a vet that you trust.

Oh and please forgive me for not reading blogs yesterday, I just couldn’t concentrate.

And yes, today is Thursday’s Barks and Bytes Blog hop, hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog, feel free to grab the badge and join the fun!

Heart Like a Dog

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Comments

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Comments

  1. Poor Samson and you! I wonder if the pain relievers are making him a little constipated. I hope the surgery goes really well and he has a super fast recovery!

  4. Oh, Jodi. Ignore the shoulda, woulda. You’ll just drive yourself crazy. My Tucker blew both back knees, thankfully a few years apart. The whole experience is frightening, the recovery time feels agonizing, but I know you and Sampson can handle it. I’ll email you.

  5. I’ve been following this on fb. Thankfully so far I have never had a dog with this injury and I sure hope I never do. As for the pooping, I think he will figure it out on three legs when it becomes urgent. I’m not worried about poop unless my dog ate something that might be blocking. Katie is shy and has gone almost 4 days without when I have left her with pet sitters. Emma had to poop “on three paws” when she cut her paw, it took almost two days but she figured it out. She is a drama queen, so she played it up. It is hard when they can’t figure it out, but they will. He will have to go eventually, but bring one of those 40 gallon Hefty trash bags out with you for when it finally happens! I know my pet sitter said when Katie finally went after 4 days it was like an elephant pile! It will all be good. Once the surgery is done the recovery can really start.

  6. I really hate reading this. But as you said dogs will be dogs and really what more can you do besides putting them in a bubble (and at times I would love to put Teach in one!). Good luck with the surgery, I’m sure everything will be fine and he will be on the road to recovery in no time.

  7. Oh no we so feel for you. You did everything right and don’t beat yourself up about it. We would have tried the non surgery option too. Drats it did not work. Sending big hugs to both of you. Take care.
    Best wishes Molly

  8. I am glad you made the hop today. 🙂 I would have understood if you needed a few more days to regroup.

    The way I look at it, with this winter I think you are better having waited until the weather is (hopefully) improving. As for the pooping, I wonder if the increase in pain meds is stopping him up? Hopefully he is getting enough water and maybe try some extra pumpkin or other fiber and then walk him slowly on lead past the house next door and then come back. Maybe just half way if it is too hard for him to walk. After Thunder’s bloat surgery that is what I did to get things moving. You don’t know how happy I was to see poop…lol. Once he has to go, he will figure it out.

  9. Oh no, poor Sampson. I bet the ice didn’t go over well.
    Nadie hurt her back leg once and woudn’t poop so the vet advised we use pumpkin which did do the trick. As Brown Dog mentioned … when they really have to go, they figure it out.

  10. OH SAMPSON… Buddy we are so sorry.
    When our furend RORY had his leg problem… his dad made a sling thingy out of Cloth… so they could support his back end.. THAT might help with the potty problem.
    Please tell your mom that she did N O T jinks you. Accidents just HAPPEN.

  11. So sorry for you and Sampson to be going through this. It’s so hard to watch them when they’re in pain and you can’t explain you’re trying to make everything better. Hang in there though – soon he’ll be on his way to healing and you’ll be trying to figure out how to keep him still. 😉

    I second (or is it 3rd or 4th) the comments recommending pumpkin. When he has to go, he’ll figure out how to.

  12. Oh gosh, that sucks. ACL tears are the worst. Honestly that’s one of my greatest fears! Luckily the surgery has a pretty good success rate! I only know one person who successfully treated their dogs’ torn ACL with conservative management and I believe she ended up tearing it again about a year later. Crossing my fingers that the surgery goes well and he’s fixed for good!

  13. I agree with 2 brown dawgs – the surgery recovery will be better in spring than winter.
    Lots of positive energy sent your way for a healthy recovery!

  14. So sorry to hear. I’ve watched via FB lots of Chesapeake’s do just fine during and after the recovery period so I’m hopeful your boy will be fine. As far as pooping…he’ll figure it out once the pain goes away. That’s probably what is preventing him from trying right now. My suggestion for the icing is getting a really big human ice pack that is often used for back or leg pain. If you wrap it in a towel, you can then usually wrap it around the dog’s leg and duck tape the towel together in place. It slides and looks ridiciulous, but works. Good luck!

  15. I always jinx myself when I say things. Of course, we can’t really, but it sure seems like we do sometimes. You made the best decision you could for Sampson…that’s all we can do, and sometimes it doesn’t work out. I have a lot of regrets when it comes to my pets, but we just can’t know. I think I said in my comment on your last blog that I would have chosen the same course of treatment that you did. No one wants to jump into surgery if they think there’s another option (except for a friend of mine who is kind of weird…she requests surgeries when the doctors don’t even recommend it).
    I hope they can get Sampson in soon for the surgery, because I know it must be so hard for you to see him in pain and trying to adjust. It will all go fine.
    When Kobi was sick I could barely function with all the worrying, so no one expects to see you around visiting blogs until you’re ready.

  18. We always have regrets when life doesn’t go as planned, but we can’t re-write the past. Most of us would have done exactly what you did. Paws crossed now that all goes well. It’s too bad dogs can’t be reasoned with.

  19. Oh God I didn’t know!! I would be a complete wreck too, don’t apologize!!! Sending (((hugs))) to you and wishes for a speedy recovery for Sampson, don’t blame yourself!

  20. I was so sorry to see this on Facebook. I hope you can let go of your regrets about not doing the surgery originally. There’s no way to know what will happen, and it’s wasted energy to worry about ‘what could have been.’ I know that’s easier said than done, but you were doing what you thought was best at the time and your decision was made out of love for Sampson – those kinda decisions can never be “wrong.” I’ve not had a dog with back leg trouble, but having spent a coupla years in 3 legged dog support groups, they figure it out. He’ll go when he really needs to. You could try helping to support him with a makeshift harness (cut open a reusable shopping bag so you can use the handles – line it with a towel and slip it under him) but he might be annoyed with the help and prefer to figure it out alone.

    Sending our best pawsitive wishes that all goes well with the surgery and recovery!

  21. I’m glad your doing better today Jodi…even if only a smidgen. Good luck at the vet tomorrow morning!

    P.S. Smart about adding the disclaimer. I’ve been doing that with my mast cell tumor posts too.

  22. Ugh! What a rotten development. Difficult as it is, try not to look back too much. There’s nothing to be gained by second-guessing yourself. Look ahead to when your boy is fixed up and good as new. Prayers and happy, healing thoughts are coming your way.

  23. Hi Y’all!

    Oh Sampson, I am so sorry to hear that you are re-injured. I’ll keep my paws crossed for you.

    I want to thank Sampson’s mama for the suggestion about the linky. My Human really appreciates it.

    Y’all come back now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

  24. Sampson has the best dog mom who did her absolute best. No one has a crystal ball; I am 100% certain I would have done exactly what you did that situation. I’m both you and Sampson are hurting so much. BIG HUGS.

  25. ohhhhh I was so sad when I read your FB post Tue night. You sound like you are doing much better. You are right and dogs will be dogs crap happens. You can never predict when this stuff is going to happen. There was nothing wrong with waiting on a partial tear, you know that yes one day it will tear all the way but you don’t know when that is going to happen so I don’t think you did nothing wrong in waiting. Norman had a partial tear when he was 1.5 yrs old and he managed to go until 4 until it tore completely so you just never know. I think it is better to have surgery now that winter is on the outs, you really didn’t want to deal with recovery in snow and ice, not fun been there done that. Good luck tomorrow and if you need anything just ask. Hugs to you my friend, it will be ok.

  26. Poor guy! And poor you guys!
    I’m sure once he needs to poop bad enough he’ll make it work. In the meantime, wishing you guys the best!

  29. Oh Sampson! Poor pup. I know I’m a little late the conversation but I was going to recommend using a towel like a sling to help support him while he tried to do his business. (I saw someone above mentioned it too). That dreaded ACL injury. It’s so awful. If you are paranoid about his leg post-surgery, maybe check out using a brace for some added support (and you peace of mind). I used a WoundWear brace as an alternative to the surgery altogether, but I know it is used and a pre- and post-op cautionary measure. Speedy recovery to Sampson!! 🙂

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