This was the first day we allowed her more freedom.  She is not running or even trying to.   We have our visit with the vet tomorrow and I will show him the video and ask him if it is okay.  

She had a set back tonight because she laid down on her bad leg again and tried to get up. She cried so loud for about 30 seconds after she got up, and now she is showing no leg control again and holding it up high.....back to square one.  WHY does she do that!!!     My entire family has been dedicated to helping her lie down and  get up to make sure she lies on ONLY the left side.  For the past 7 days, she has been able to get up and down on her own, and never attempted to lie down on the right side.     We left her tonight to go watch a movie, and when we came back, she was on her right side.   She got excited and got up to come greet us, and hurt that leg again very badly.  I'm so afraid we are back to square one again. I can't wait to see what the Dr. will say.    There is no muscle left, only bone...she completely rolled that leg under her.    I hope she didn't hurt her knee or her hip.

 Thanks Max2.  We helped in the beginning because we were supposed to....with a sling, but we used our bodies instead...bad idea!    After the first 7 days, she was able to get up and down with NO issues..  It's just that on 2 occasions, she laid down on her own, on the WRONG leg!   My mistake was not making her whoa and helping her....Supposedly, after the FHO, she will over use the other legs to the point of stressing them out.  With the combo TPLO and FHO, we are supposed to help...not sure for how long, but she doesn't seem to need the help anymore, except when she gets on that bad leg!

Yes!  Thank you for noticing, as did I after a second watch, the day 13 video does show a huge improvement over the day 6 video!   I think that if we can get her in the water and she can learn to trust that leg again, she will be just fine!    We will begin "sling walking" and swimming next week.  I am going to get my vet to show me the proper technique to sling walk!  It supposedly takes a lot of weight off and encourages them to use both legs equally.  We'll see!   Thanks so much for your encouragment and support!  

btw, she is acting like nothing happened today!  Back to her happy self and still controlling that leg!   I think you are correct.  If she lays on the bad side enough times, she will teach herself....albeit the hard way.  Poor Maybrie.

 Thanks Kpwlee,

Yes. I'm excited to see the vet. Nervous as well. I REAllY think she hurt her knee when she rolled over on it.  She was fine with the PROM exercises until after she sat up wrong.  I hope she didn't hurt herself.  I know she didn't hurt it walking because we did PROM after her walk. (we always do it after a walk to loosen up anything that might have been held tightly.)  She licks my hand and jerks her leg back when I straighten it.  I have never seen her cry so much or for so long....I'm quite sure she did something to either that knee or a hamstring (don't know if dogs have hamstrings!)  it when she sat up wrong.  We should have made her lie back down, but it all happened so fast we couldn't stop her.  Hopefully she just has a minor tweak.  We will see.  I'm going to ask tons of questions. I was so excited to start water therapy next week, but this morning, she's not toe touching anymore, and she is really hobbling.  WHY did she do that, she knows it hurts.....bless her heart.  She doesn't want to eat this morning either...again. Another clue something is not right.  I'll keep you posted.  You are right though, she should start using it more now.  We are going to also begin using a sling to take some of the weight off and help her walk.  Slowing the walk down will help her, but when we leash walk her she hobbles more....she doesn't want to put weight on it. When at a trot, she sort of forgets and toe touches a bit more.  We'll see what the vet says!  Keep your fingers crossed that she didn't hurt herself too badly.

 Thanks guys,

Good news from the vet!  He was pleased with the video and said she would not hurt her TPLO because there is no resistance with the leg.  She basically has a floppy pogo stick. He said it's good for her to practice using it because the FHO needs that!  He gave her the go ahead for water exercise to start  next week.  No "therapy" so to speak, just have fun with her in the water, but with a life jacket!   He told me not to work back to back because she needs to tear down and build up, tear down, build up.  She is floppier today in the leg after sitting on it. Her knee is fine, and he said there's nothing to break with the FHO except adhesions and scar tissue.....so tear down and build up.  He wasn't concerned, it will just build a stronger "false joint."     We are starting a bit earlier than you normally would with a TPLO, but then we have NO resistance because the femur is not attached to the hip  bone....so, it's okay.  She is going to look like she's hopping on a pogo stick for awhile because she no longer has the motion of a normal hip, and also the knee has to learn to move with this type of hip......or no hip!  He repeated that the BEST thing for her is WATER play so she forgets about it and has fun. She will use that leg!  I showed him the video of her and he was very impressed that with the major surgery, she was already "forgetting about the leg" and attempting to touch the ground, and even balance a bit with it.  He said she will do this, and then she may be more lame the next day......tear it down, build it up!!  She is going to be SORE!  He gave me some good anti-inflammatory med, stronger than Rimadyl and Maloxicam....Previcox.  He said she MUST take that daily during this period, and pain meds if needed so she will not fear using the leg.     He wants to see her again in 1 month......so that's 6 weeks post op, and until then, 5-10 minutes of playtime in the back yard just like we were doing...no hard running where she might do sudden twists or turns...(They can turn on a dime!)  Also WATER swimming with a life jacket for 2 more weeks, then, depending on how she's doing (I need to call him), we will remove the life jacket.  He said NO hard therapy or PROM in the water.....JUST FUN!!  We want her to LOVE the water! It's her only real hop of learning to use that leg properly and to build muscle.    No weight bearing exercises yet....where you stand them on the injured leg and gently rock them back and forth, good leg to bad leg.  When she builds enough muscle to withstand the weight of the pogo stick.....THEN we do the rocking back and forth, and the pulling, etc.  By then, the TPLO will have healed, anothing 8-10 weeks from now.   In the mean time, the outdoor play and the water will have to suffice.  It's slow go, but feel very confident in looking at the 6 day video and comparing it to the 13 day video.  She can only go up!!  It can only get better!  The vet said she is actually doing better than he thought she would be at this early point!  (Most TPLO's are already walking, but FHO's are not....and there is SO much muscle, fibrous tissue, scar tissue, adhesions, etc. that need to form to help support that femur.   That will take some time.  

Thanks so much everyone!!   I'm really excited to get her in the pool next week.   We are starting with twice a week.  She will go on Wed and Fri of Next week.   They provide life jackets, toys, and wet suits if needed!!  Maybrie will need a wet suit!  The water is room temperature.  I was there when all the other dogs were playing in it, and they were not bothered by the cold water.  They were running and playing, jumping, and having a blast.  Maybrie loves water, but she's only been at the dog park pool and when it's hot outside.   I hope she will not be freaked out.  I have to get in with her!  Lucky me!  I will wear weighters.  Hopefully I won't freeze!   

I only have one problem with her now.....she has lost 5 pounds.  The vet did not seem concerned, and said the leaner the better.  "Don't let her get sedentary and fat! Keep her very lean, and recovery will be easier on her."   She weighed 55 before surgery, and now she weighs 50, just 2 weeks later.   She also eats 1/2 of what she normally used to eat, but then her activity level is less than 1/4 of what it used to be. So I guess that's normal. 

I will keep you posted on her progress.  Thanks so much for the support!

 Fantastic to know about the water temp not being too cold.  I THINK that with all the toys, and my daughter and I interacting with her .....maybe from inside the water if she won't go on her own.....but she LOVES the water, especially the ponds with the bubbles in the middle.  This pools has three of those bubble fountains, and I know they will drive her CRAZY!!   The pool lady says she can turn them off if they become too distracting and she refuses to swim.  We'll see.  Yes, I definitely have a couple of good warm jackets and sweaters I can throw on her.   The obedience classes were all held outside, in the cold, at night!  It was funny because the Goldens, Labradors, Shepherds were all totally fine outside.  100% of the GSP's (there were 4 of them) were shivering and we all ended up bying them wardrobe, and blankets, and mats to keep them off the cold ground.  It was funny to see all the GSP's curled up in blankets!  They were adorable!   They also supply towels.  I found a really good wetsuit, made by an actual surf shop.  They will custom make and fit to the neck, the chest, and the belly in front of the find legs. place, just in case.  They have wetsuite, but they look  a little flimsy.