
I’ve started to use a slow feeder. This keeps Topi busy with the food a little longer. I’ve also removed sticthes, wounds are perfectly healed!
I’ve started to use a slow feeder. This keeps Topi busy with the food a little longer. I’ve also removed sticthes, wounds are perfectly healed!
Today we went to see the physiotherapist for the first time. We are seeing Kirsti Lind at Eläinklinikka Morelius, she is just awesome! So friendly and calm. Topi is very good state and we can now start walking! We also got so many tools for rehab at home.
The photo below reveals what Topi should not be doing right now. He was reaching for the apple flowers and I tried to take the cutest photo of him smelling the flowers. Things escalated in a blink of an eye… He has quite a lot fool’s energy at the moment.
Today I started cartrophen injections to Topi. It’s a serie of 4 weekly injections. It should provide relief from pain, stiffness and lameness. The treatment is repeated twice a year. I’m hopeful that this would prevent arthritis!
It’s now 3 weeks post-op and all is well. He is allowed to walk 60 minutes a day. We’ve been taking short tours on the surrounding fields which already gives him so much more activation than just walking in the garden.
Topi’s favorite part of rehab is digging. He just loves to dig and I was very happy that our physiotherapist recommended it 🙂 So daily digging is included in our rehab program!
Today Topi started cavaletti training. Just a few minutes in walk. The target is to make him stretch his steps, just little for a start.
Today it’s 33 days post-op and all is still going really well. Walking is increased to 80 minutes a day, which is nice but not enough for a yearling. We need something else too and it’s Games. Things that make our life a tad easier during the rehab period. I’m lucky that I got some games borrowed from Milja, the owner of Topi’s brother Sulo. Now we have several interesting games to get Topi’s brains tired!
It’s now been 9 weeks post-op and everything is still going well. Topi’s head is getting more or less crazy, and he is like a rocket waiting to get launched. I really hope we are getting closer to normal life!
It’s been almost a year since the operation. Rehab and recovery went very well, hence the owner had a hard time. We came to know every inch of the fields in the background of the video below, while walking on them kilometer after kilometer.
Autum went well too, and Topi was slowly getting back to normal. Increased exercise didn’t cause any symptoms. In January I noticed some stiffness. While training rally the lefty turns didn’t quite work out and there was a clear difference between left and right side turns. At this point I blamed the weather and slippery ground and added some gymnastics to his daily routines.
In February the boys had a rougher outing in the forest and in the following morning Topi was completely lame. His left front leg was very sore. As adviced Topi had to rest and with time and painkillers he went all well again. After couple of weeks he was running wild again. At the same time he started to loose his appetite and lost weigth. I’ve kept him slim due to his operation so even a small weigth loss makes him look thin. He didn’t get lame anymore, but with while spring arriving Topi turned out very calm and quiet. He didn’t have normal appetite and he was resting a lot. I noticed him lying down very soon in situations where he had been attending eagerly before. When he didn’t even get up from the coach when I came into the room I realized that somethings’ cooking. Pain killers gave a quick response and change in behavior so it was time to call a doctor again.
We visited our own vet first and then headed to an orthopedist.Luckily I managed to get very soon an appointment to Tiiu Toijala, who works in Avec. While catastrophizing everyhting I had concluded that despite all my efforts Topi has developed osteoarthritis in already such early stage and that’s causing pain.
Tiiu performed a very thorough lameness examination to Topi. There was some palpation findings like striffness in biceps tendon and supraspinatus muscle and tendon. Also infraspinatus was stiff on both sides.
Movements today: Mild lameness in trot on straith line. After turning first limping front left, then right.
Topi was xrayed in shoulders and elbows. No markings in elbows, and bot shoulders look very good in humerus head. Healing is still in progress and there is no signs of osteoarthritis. And then there is a but. In left glenoideum there is a small suspicious area. The shoulders were also checked with an ultrasound, no deviations found.
So, it’s possible that Topi has osteochrosis also in glenoideum, meaning the lower part of the scapula. To verify this we would have to take further examinations and possibly even a new operation. Is the finding in the glenoideum the cause of pain or not, who knows. The diagnose unfortunately remains open at this point.
The newest findings have now sinked in and I’m thinking about the future. I’ve received opinions from specialists and it seems like Topi really has osteochrondrosis also in glenoidium, the lower part of scapula. To verify this further examinations are needed.
This week we ended again the Cartrophen injection serie. With these injections we try to avoid osteoarthritis to develop and later to slower the progress. So far there is no signs of osteoarthritis, thanks to Cartrophen maybe. Anyway, in this situation Topi is not attending any lure coursing trials this year, if ever. I was planning to xray him anyway before the season, as the competing dog must be nothing but 100% healthy. Even a minor osteoarthritis is ending the career in this household. Sad, I was so much hoping Topi to be my next coursing Ridgeback :/ But dog’s wellbeing is the priority always, and now I’m not worrying the lost coursing career but the everyday future. Will he be able to have a good, painless life without restrictions?