Mousse needs a TPLO surgery

Last weekend, we took Mousse and Duke to the park for some exercise. Mousse went for a long run to get his tennis ball and came back unable to put any weight on his right hind leg. We were hoping it wasn't a big deal, but a quick call to Jim's sister indicated that it probably was something and most likely a torn ACL. After taking Moo-Moo to the doctor for his owwie (words from Jessica) and following up with a visit to our own vet for x-rays, it was clear that Mousse had completely torn his ACL and needed surgery. It seems like a TPLO is the best way to go (due to his age, size, and slope of his knees). That is now on the books for this coming Thursday.

For those of you that know Mousse, you know he is a very active dog. He loves, to jump, run, and stand and bark at the slightest noise. The recovery for TPLO surgeries are 2+ months. Mousse will need to stay off his leg for a good portion of that time. Given his personality, we know that this is going to be challenging to say the least. We figured that we would try how he handled being in a crate before surgery to see if that might help. He had never been in a crate with us before, so we had know idea how he would react. We went off to the store this weekend to buy him a crate. He needed the XL large size that is recommended for Great Danes due to his size. I am just going to say that the crate is HUGE. We barely fit it in the Jeep with all the seats down and it takes up the entire walkway in our family room (where it is positioned now so he can be with the family when crated). Luckily, he actually hasn't put up any fight yet in his new crate (cross your fingers) and even has chosen to sit in it a few times. He went in there this evening to enjoy a chewie away from his brother.