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Kojak is now 8 full weeks into Rottweiler TPLO recovery and the change in his leg use has been dramatic. Even though he is still basically under house arrest (no toys, no stairs, no jumping on the couch, no running around loose, no fun) this should be the last two weeks of strict restrictions and we’re just waiting for the visit with the surgeon to move back to puppy land, full of toys and puppy activity. If you missed last week’s recovery update you can read about it in Kojak’s Weeks 5&6 – Life With a Rottweiler after TPLO If you missed reading what TPLO surgery is all about, you can read Kojak is Getting Ready for TPLO
Our highlight was the 8 week post operative visit with the surgeon. We took Kojak to the surgeon’s office with a little bit of trepidation but he swaggered into the office (like always) and the front office staff was immediately captivated by our Kojak – he collects a crowd of admirers almost everywhere he goes! As we were led to the exam room, there were the general questions on how he was doing and we all agreed he was coming along nicely.
On a side note, no matter where we go, we overhear remarks like “that’s a good looking dog” or “what a handsome dog”. He just can’t help it, even though I may be a little biased.
The surgeon did a quick check of him walking in the hall then we had a little conference with the subject being, you guessed it, little Kojak (the surgeon said he was a handsome). Here’s a brief summary of the major talking points the surgeon covered with us:
- Kojak is still shifting his weight off the surgical leg when he’s standing for a while. She said that was normal and should subside over the next few weeks.
- She did check his bone healing progress and said it is not totally healed yet (expected). Because of that, he shouldn’t be allowed to run free in the yard. If he starts chasing something (a squirrel for example) and either stops short or turns too quickly, the grass COULD grab and twist his paw. This MAY send a twisting motion up his surgical leg and it’s not quite ready for that kind of torsion and could break. Because of that, we’re in for ANOTHER 6 weeks of walking him in the yard.
- The good news is there are NO restrictions inside since there’s nothing inside that could grab his paw and generate that kind of torsion. Now he can play with all his toys, jump up on the furniture (and any passing visitors) and go up and down stairs at will. In fact going up and down stairs is one of the recommended exercises to get him back in shape.
- We can also discontinue all of his medications – he doesn’t need to be kept quiet or sedentary at least in the house.
- The swimming is good for him even if he limps a little after a strenuous session. Kojak is getting better about going in the pool (I think he’s really starting to like it) but he’s developed a habit of running all the way around the pool before going in the water after the ball. Our surgeon did not particularly like him running around on a wet floor (he could slip and we’re right back at the torsion problem) so she recommended keeping him on a lead so he is strongly encouraged to jump right in the pool
All in all it was a very good report and we now have an appointment for our 14 week visit. Hopefully after that he’ll be free to roam the yard by himself. I can tell he’s getting tired of us following him around the yard – he never gets to sniff the stuff he wants to sniff long enough it seems.
When we got home from the surgeon’s office we opened the closet where we’d stored all the toys he hadn’t been able to play with for the past 8 weeks. He was overjoyed to get his toys back and spent the afternoon tearing around the downstairs, pouncing first on one toy and then the other. Then he’d grab a toy, jump up on the couch (sometimes OVER the coffee table) and settle down for some serious gnawing. At the end of the day he was really excited when we took the gate down at the bottom of the stairs and he was able to go upstairs and sleep in our bedroom with us. And by the way, no he does NOT sleep IN the bed, he has his own or sleeps on the floor next to our bed. A lot of times though I hear him go downstairs in the middle of the night and I find him in the morning sleeping on the living room couch.
Our swimming sessions have taken on a rhythm of their own. It’s close to an hour’s drive to get to the pool and as we pull up to the building, Kojak rouses from his ride induces stupor (he loves to ride with his chin on the center console between the seats of my truck for maximum availability for pets, scratches and treats). Once he’s out of the truck and sees the building, he can’t wait to get inside and sniff all the lovely bones and chew toys they have for sale – just like a kid in a candy store!
Everyone has to greet Kojak (which he deigns to accept) then we head back to the pool area to suit up in a flotation vest and long lead. Then it’s 15 minutes of non stop activity – throw the ball (me) jump in the water, swim around, grab a random ball, try for another random ball, swim out and start chewing the ball(s) (Kojak). Fish another ball out of the pool because Kojak won’t share his toys (me). Throw the ball (me) and the cycle repeats. The allotted 15 minutes goes by way too quickly and I start to wish for more, but honestly Kojak is wiped out by this time.
All too soon I’m drying him off and getting him ready to load into the truck for the ride home. He usually falls asleep and snores quite loudly on the way home, storing up energy for his next water outing.
The next few weeks are probably going to be slow improvements in usage of the surgical leg, more swimming and more tearing around the downstairs chasing one toy or another. I’ll post after the 14 week checkup with a brief “medical” update and probably more pics or videos of swim sessions.
I did purchase a number of items to help either Kojak or us through his recovery. Some of them were great and helped a lot, some were a waste of money. I plan to review the items we bought and let you know what was helpful to us in case you get to go through this with your own dog.
