I had Storm in to get neutered today and asked if they could check his front leg. the vet came in and said forget the neutering we need to exay and see what is going on.

well he has elbow dysplasia in both elbows. we are going to see a specialist but storm is only 7 months old.

does anyone have a berner with this? if so, how do they manage? have they had surgery? how much pain are they in?

storm is the love of my life and i don't want to see him in pain.

I am sorry to hear Storm has elbow dysplasia so young I have no experience of it but I hope they can give him some sort of medication to help him live a pain free life.

Storm and I are off to the big city today to see a surgeon about his elbow. i hope that i can help him.

Well storm seen the surgeon and a day later was having surgery on both of his elbows. they took out bone fragments and ground one of the bones down that was to long.

we picked him up a day later and he is now at home. we have to use a sling to get him around because he can't put much weight on his elbows yet. he did take a few steps this morning only 2 days after surgery.

he has to be confined for 12 weeks. no running, jumping or playing. he can swim at 2 weeks for 10 min and after 4 weeks 10 min leash walk.

this is going to be hard because he is still a puppy but it is worth it.

He has adapted to the sling all ready and the ramp. He is very trusting and learns quickly, but very clingy.

it's been 2 weeks now since the surgery. Try and keep a 7 month old bernese puppy quiet. this is a job in it's self.

storm got to go swimming yesterday and he was so happy to be able to do something.

he is moving around and adapting very well.

I'm not confining him like they want us to. I sit outside with him for hours so he can sleep outside. He goes from room to room of the house and he seems happier with this. He is so bored that he has taken up to chewing anything he can.

the biggest challenge is the cat. Storm loves to chase the cat and we can't let him do that.

tommorrow we are off for a check up. hope it goes well. hope i made the right decisions.

Well, it does sound like things are going in the right direction. Did the tell you what the total expected recovery time would be? I imagine it would be different in each case. We know all too well about trying to keep a berner "calm" lol It is all but impossible.

Good luck tomorrow and let us know what the vet says.

I am glad Storm is recovering well. My sympathy's with trying to keep him quiet.

well the surgeon visit was good and bad. He said that Storm is healing as good or better then what he thought.
But: must, and it is a must. keep him quiet for another month.

I have weighed everything out and I know that if I lock storm in a room he is going to go crazy. He will think he is in trouble. We always used "time out" with storm because it worked. I know that he is going to be jumping and scratching at the door and freaking out.

all storm wants is to be with us and he is content to lay there and watch us whether we are outside or in the house. I have to work on him when people come because he loves to greet people that is manageable.

storm has always done everything with me, he has gone where i go and done everything with me. so i guess my life is going to slow down for a little while longer.

i hope i've made the right decision, but i know my dog better then the surgeon and i know what he will do.

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We are heading into the 7 month after surgery. Do I recommend this surgery? you bet, it has given storm a better life.

He is still in pain because he developed arthritis from the dysplasia. He limps and shuffles when he first gets up. When he gets going he is a normal dog, but with issues.

I had him on cartophen injections but have taken him off. the injections were not lasting long enough and he was starting to really take badly to the needles. He was having a difficult time with it. every month we went to the vets and every month he had a needle and every month he got worse with them.

I have switched his food to "hills perscription j/d" and after a month I will be supplementing with glucosimine. as well as Omega 3 which will help with the swelling.

I get people always commenting that he is limping. then I have to go into the details explaining why.He is a special needs guy but he has more love in him then is possible. He is goofy and funny and smart. He has adapted to his needs. The vet commented on how he uses more of his back end muscles to do things to prevent his front from injury.

Will he live a long life? sure hope so, but he will always have some sort of pain.

Wow, what a story you have tell about Storm. Poor you, and poor Storm, though I bet, he doesn't care a bit. (you being such a good owner and all, spoiling him LOL)
I can relate, having had Shady under 2 TPLO surgeries for torn ACL's (first left, then right leg) and also she has genetic elbow troubles (OCD) but nothing that surgery can really correct, and besides, we think she's been through enough and are working with her to keep her mobile and pain free for as long as we can without meds. We give her daily doses of glucosomine (MSM & chondroitin) & 2 wildsalmon oil pills/day and monthly shots of cartophen and we take her for a daily 45 min walk- she also has free run of our 3 acres. She has the "good life" though and as long as we can keep her moving and mobile, she will continue to live a fulfilled life!
It's wonderful that Storm had the good fortune to find an owner like you, that cares so much for him and is willing to go the extra mile for him! and he gives so much back to you too! the joys of dog ownership!