Is there somewhere you can take her for water therapy? My heart goes out to you and your puppy.

I agree with christine1950 - swimming would be excellent gentle exercise. You could walk around in the shallow end, supporting her and letting her paddle along. I'd avoid natural bodies of water and stick to a clean pool until all her surgical wounds are 100% clean and healed.

Can I ask what kind of breed she is? Is this a common condition for so young a dog?

Hoping for the best for all of you!

Hopefully laurie will pop in here and give you some veterinary advice.

In the meantime, here's my story: I once owed a dog with joint problems......she was found tied to a post and could only get around by walking on her front legs because her back legs were locked in a drawn-up position. She had surgery on one back leg and it was pinned into a normal standing position. Like you, I got no advice re: post-op care, so after I got the ok to let her get in water, I decided to take her into our hot tub for exercise and in a few weeks the other leg started to relax and come down on its own. After seeing her improvement and ability to walk normally on the leg that didn't have surgery, the vet later made the comment that maybe they shouldn't have done the surgery.

So, I think you're doing the right thing in taking an active role in her recovery. I didn't see you list pain meds so please tell me they have her on something. If she's not on anything, call the vet today and get something........don't wait until the appt. At this point she needs pain relief and as she improves her mobility you may be able to taper off the med. But, she'll probably need some type of pain med the rest of her life due to the arthritis.
If you have a yard or deck, consider buying a deep inflatable pool (with heater), large enough for you to get in and hold her while she moves her legs. With my Border Collie I found putting a harness on her and just holding it while she swam in place was enough exercise. At first she tried to cling to me but by the 3rd visit to the hot tub she started to enjoy it.
I would also seek out an animal physical therapist to help in her recovery.......they'll be able to show you what you can do at home to help her. Also consider an acupuncturist to help with pain as you taper off the meds.

She's so young to be going thru this and I wish you the best.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and advice. To answer some of your questions...
Jovie is a rescue mutt - she was found in a ditch at 8ish weeks. She may be a collie/shepherd cross; we're not really sure.
After her surgery she was doing so poorly gait wise that the vet took her off Tramadol as he wasn't sure why she was walking so funny and thought the opiods might be a contributing factor. I've since put her back on it as I can't stand to see her limping. It doesn't seem to be causing any adverse effects, and there is some improvement, however she is still struggling to get up from sleep. I'll be talking to the vet again about this on Wednesday.
Water therapy sounds like the way to go. I did a web search and here seems to be (or was) a hydrotherapy clinic for dogs here in Edmonton, however the link is broken - have to call and see if they are still around. We have no funds to buy a pool because.. while initially being treated with NSAIDS a few months ago for her soreness, she counter surfed and ate 14 liver flavoured NSAIDS, which thankfully was caught in time and treated with a four day hospital stay. After paying for that and the surgery (plus a wedding in August) we are tapped out. We just took down our above ground 2 months ago cause no one was using it...the irony kills me.
The vet even said that he's not sure if she can be on anti-inflammatories due to liver/kidney issues (although her last labs were normal). Another thing we have to discuss. Hence my interest in alternate anti-inflammatories or pain killer therapy, seeing that she may be on them for the rest of her life.
I was hoping to be her physiotherapist (again because of funding) although I'm not sure if it's actually her elbows that are the problem as like I mentioned before, she seems sore all over.
Has anyone tried herbs/natural meds for pain or to decrease inflammation?
Thank you all again. She's been a challenge but she is very sweet and we love her tons.

This post was edited by lpoham on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 19:03