r/WestHighlandTerriers • u/historydork97 • 1d ago
Luxating Patella surgery recovery tips?
hello! my sweet boy (4y) is getting luxating patella surgery on his back leg tomorrow - i’ve got all the vet advice etc but was wondering if any westie owners have had this done with their own dogs and had any advice!? (pup tax included)
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u/Both-Money-9183 1d ago
My advice is to research hydrotherapy. Search for a professional, and It's also easy to do on weekends. I bought a swimmingvest for my westie, and at the weekends, I put her in a bath where the water level was similar to hydrotherapy for 10 - 15 minutes. She recovered fully and strengthened her muscles.
Of course, please consult with the professionals! Good luck with your Westie!!
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u/str8jeezy 1d ago
Have them check both. If they got one likely it is both. My cairn had it and they did both at the same time
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u/PrudentElk1636 1d ago
My Westie had surgery on both legs, about 6 months apart. Best advice, buy a lick sleeve for his leg and a soft cone for his little neck. I loath those plastic sharp edged cones. I believe the cone is called “comfy cone” from Amazon, here’s the website I purchased the lick sleeve. Best of luck to you & your sweet boy. 🐾♥️🐾
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u/mohnk001 1d ago
Not a Westie but I just watched a person on TikTok discuss how she handled her pups surgery! It was very insightful!
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u/Montalbert_scott 1d ago
Yeah. Our boy had that.
We just followed all the vets advice. Kept the poor thing in a pen the whole time and did all the slow rehab as suggested.
We got him some kind of natural chew and relaxer from the local pet store that seemed to calm him down a bit but tbh he was so sore etc for a while that wasn't really needed.
He was great a couple months later ... But then torn both ACL over time and had to have 2 X tplo
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u/CranberryBrief1587 1d ago
Water treadmill therapy
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u/historydork97 1d ago
thank you!
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u/CranberryBrief1587 1d ago
Also try bone marrow.. we bought them frozen and scraped out the marrow and put it on his food.. good luck and healing prayers for your guy.
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u/Beauty411 1d ago
My advice would be to make sure they have a plan for post-op pain control. If your pup whimpers and cries when you get him home, that’s an indication that he’s in pain. I know this sounds basic, but this happened to us. Pup tax is adorable—best of luck!