Had the stitches out this morning. What a relief! They were pulling and bothering me so I kept licking the middle section of the scar. I should have had them out last Wednesday but it hadn't healed enough. The vet said it's because of the electric scalpel the specialist surgeon uses. It doesn't heal as quickly as a traditional one - the upside is it doesn't cut through the muscle though. So, it's finally healing although it looks a bit red where I've been licking it. We've got to keep an eye on it for a few days yet. I might have to have some steroid cream on it ... wish I hadn't licked it now but I'm just a dog and that's what I do!
Been out for slow little walks on the lead down the lane ... finally got to leave the garden and have a wee somewhere different which is great. I'm pretty bored on the whole ... no running, no ball to play with, no climbing on the sofa or going upstairs. The vet this morning said I'm walking well and putting my weight on my leg. I think I've got a bit of a limp but it's hardly noticeable. Going to have x-rays to confirm everything's ok in a couple of weeks.

As you can see from the video clip, I'm looking really good! Went to my local vet yesterday to get the dressing changed. My owners say the scar is very long but looking really clean and neat - no problems there and I'm on schedule to have the stitches out next week. My digestion problems have settled down. The vet said it was probably the anaesthetic, stress, drugs ... who knows. Temperature normal still so no sign of infection. Walking well - in fact, I desperately want to go on one of my usual walks. When I was put in the car yesterday I thought we were going somewhere exciting - I was actually even excited to see the garden outside the vet's! Somewhere different to wee!
I'm sleeping better and feeling calmer. My owners probably won't have to sleep with me at night after tonight. I'm not licking myself obsessively any more. My owners gave me the homeopathic remedy Chamomilla and that seems to have helped calm me down. I had Arnica just after the surgery, of course.

Haven't had such a good day today. Slept badly last night. I was restless and fidgety. I keep twitching my leg. It feels weird. My owners gave me a morphine tablet in the evening because they thought I was in pain. It didn't seem to make much difference. They stayed with me all night again. I keep wanting to lick my bandage but I mustn't.

Luckily my stomach seems to have calmed down a bit today. I was farting like crazy when I got home! Really big smelly ones. My owners checked with the vet and apparently that's usual after anaesthetic ... your digestion shuts down and then takes some time to get back to normal. I don't know where I was supposed to go to the toilet when I was in hospital either. I couldn't go in the cage where I was lying ... I'm much too well-behaved for that. I think I must have held it in and that wasn't good for me. Been given probiotic tablets by my owners twice a day and I think that's helped get it all settled.

I've been sore today and haven't walked nearly as much. I probably overdid it yesterday in my excitement to be home. My owners have just taken me around the garden twice today. I didn't even want to be outside with my bone. It's got cold too. Talking of which, my temperature is normal - they've been checking it. 38.4 the first time and 37.9 the second. So, no sign of infection. Phew.

It's a bit boring and I want to be going out on walks and being taken in the car on trips to the river and stuff but I can't. I've got to rest and let this leg heal.

I've been out in the garden a few times today. It was sunny so I had a few minutes with a bone on the lawn this afternoon. Feeling pretty good. Looking pretty awful. Big shaved patch as you can see. However, I can put quite a bit of weight on the new joint and it feels fine.

My owners have to take my temperature every evening to make sure I'm not getting an infection. The vet said they don't give antiobiotics systematically any more. (The pin and socket have an antibiotic coating and I had an injection while I was in hospital.) The owners have just been out to buy a thermometer at the pharmacy. Apparently that caused quite a stir ... finding one suitable for a dog's bum! The lady in the pharmacy told my owners to make sure they don't get bitten ... as if I'd do anything like that to them! Where would I be without them?!

We live in France but we're all English. My operation was done by Dr Philippe Haudiquet in Angers. He's a bone surgeon specialist. It cost 1,767 euros - there have been other costs such as the initial x-rays and consultations, Metacam, etc. At some point (oh no!) I will probably have to have my left hip done too but it's nowhere near as bad as the right was and they can't do two hips at once - thank goodness. I'm not looking forward to that. I have to stay in the house or garden for the next two months and I can't run, jump or climb stairs. I'll have my stitches out at my usual vet's in two weeks and I have to go back to see Dr Haudiquet for x-rays in a month.

My owners are so relieved and happy it's all over - me too!

Hi. My name's Oscar. I was 7 on 30 November 2009. In October, I was out playing with my ball in a field near my house when I really hurt my leg. I squealed in pain and my owner quickly brought me home. The pain didn't improve and I ended up being rushed to the nearest all-night clinic by my owners at 1am on a Sunday night. The vet there looked me over and couldn't find anything wrong. He suspected I had hip dysplasia though and told my owners to have me x-rayed. The results showed really bad wear from dysplasia that had probably been there all my life. It had hurt from time to time but I never let it bother me and my owners had had no idea.

My owners researched my condition extensively on the internet and were really sad and worried by the scary stories about the treatment. So, this blog is to tell my story which, thankfully, looks as though it will have a happy ending.
On 9 December 2009 (two days ago) I had my right hip joint replaced with a metal pin (I think it's made of titanium - it was very expensive! 750 euros just for the kit) with a stainless steel head and a special socket to fit. One head of my thigh bone was cut off (it was in really bad shape - looked like a cauliflower on the x-rays) and the pin was put in. The surgery lasted 59 minutes exactly. I had to stay in hospital for two days and one night. My owners picked me up last night. Boy, was I glad to see them! I couldn't wait to get out of there! I walked out of the clinic on my own but they had to lift me into the boot of the car. When we got home, I was so happy to see my own water bowl I drained it dry. I then wolfed down a small dinner and went out for a long long wee. I drained my water bowl again and begged a treat for no reason at all. My owners were so happy to see me this fit. I think they were expecting me to be really disabled by the operation but I feel ok.
My owners had made me a special bed downstairs because I'm not allowed to climb stairs. I'm not sure about the bed but I'm getting used to it. One of my owners slept in it with me last night just to keep an eye on me. I was a bit restless and twitchy but the pain was okay. I didn't need the morphine tablets or anything. I just had a dose of Metacam this morning and the pain's actually probably better than it was before the operation.