Now hear this! An update on CCL surgery from my husband.
If you read the article I wrote "Hunting Dogs and CCLs" I explained about our dog Jigsaw, a German shorthair, his love of running and trouble now with his left, hind leg.
About six months ago, right after bird season ended, he started favoring that leg.
This favoring was not all of the time as he never missed his opportunity for a daily jog or the chance to race wildly up and down and over our deck and its stairs.
In fact, other than the leg pulled up at times, you would never guess that there was a problem.
He shows no signs of pain and he does not limp when out on a sprint.
His ginger holding of the leg occurs only after vigorous exercise and a rest.
When he gets up from his after-exercise snooze, the leg goes back into a holding position.
After much waiting and a couple of veterinary opinions, we signed Jigsaw up for surgery, TPLO, next week.
While I never look at surgery of any kind as a "light" procedure, for a dog, especially a running fool like Jigs, the two to three month recovery will be the toughest part: keeping him relatively stationary.
For a dog whose greatest joy comes form sprinting, it will be hard to hold him down.
My husband spent most of yesterday and then again this morning researching dog surgery on the Internet, the well-known friend and foe of intelligent decision-making.
Many folks found that surgery was excellent while others said to try everything else first.
Most discussed pushy vets - ours was not.
She offered wisdom and choices and left the final choice to us.
She did point to a good picture of the end result but she also added that certain items are out of her/her office's control like infections or not keeping a leaping dog quiet during recovery.
By large majority, the other choice to surgery is quiet rest and rehabilitation.
During the next eight weeks Jigsaw is to do nothing that puts stress and strain on that hind leg.
He must be on a leash at all times and cannot be allowed to race or jump.
This rings to the same tune as surgery recovery, but is a replacement for that.
After eight weeks (minimum) most Internet folks add that the biggest mistake is deciding that the dog is A-OK and allowing him/her to immediate resume old running habits.
It is recommended to move slowly as the dog gets back into action, always being aware and wary of that hind leg.
I do not know what to think.
While I personally avoid surgery and doctors, for that matter, I also trust their word and so I trust the information and recommendations about Jigsaw.
My husband, on the other hand, is ready to try the rest route.
Since he has a fall full of large game hunting, Jigs does not really need to get to full-speed work with birds until January.
So I guess the ultimate decision is his since our dog appears happy enough and without pain at present.
Just when I thought I had the answer...
BAM!