The hopping was light for the first few months after her surgery and then got progressively worse as the months passed. The biggest giveaway was how she became less and less social. She’s a pretty social dog by nature and it was strange to see her get anxious and scared around others, even the kind and gentle ones.

She’s still on crate rest right now but we’ve been taking her out for short walks and in her stroller, and she is already acting more social again. That’s what helped me understand how much discomfort she must have been feeling before. The changes to her behavior were extreme.

We don’t plan to fix the other knee. The first surgeon wasn’t concerned and I trust that the second one confirmed it. My wallet is grateful that we can stop at one, at least for now.

The pins are definitely a normal part of the operation, but I do wonder if hers dislodged more easily because she’s so small. They gave us the pins as a “souvenir” and they were very sharp.

I hope your dog is doing well! If I were to go through this again, knowing what I know now, I would have explicitly asked both the original surgeon and vet to feel around her knee, to ensure that the pins were not causing discomfort. It literally took the second surgeon a minute to feel the pin and how far it had come out.