Granite, our 6 year old lab, had FHO surgery on November 10th..we are now about 3 months out, and she is doing fantastic! We finished her old joint supplement and a month ago put her on GlycanAid HA. She is doing about 2 miles of exercise per day, off/on leash..she is back to chasing sticks, climbing hills and swimming in the Bear River when it is not too cold. We followed your rehab guide religiously and were very vigilant over what we allowed her to do…what an amazing recovery! Her leg muscle is almost all built back to pre-surgery level and she is again, our happy, robust companion..your website, I discovered by sheer accident, and I cannot express how wonderful it was! I fully give credit to the FHO guide, exercises, videos and weekly guides for exercises for Granite’s amazing return to mobility..she is on GlycanAid HA 2 times a day and is doing so well, we are nothing but thrilled! Thank you so much for having this site available. We knew what to expect and this eased our worries and stress greatly! I would hug you if I could and Granite sends sloppy Labrador kisses to you as well for all the support to her humans! Wish you could see her! She is truly another success story for Top Dog!
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Beth & Granite

Your rehab email series was a great help in understanding how to help our dog recover. We decided not to submit him to ACL surgery. One of the big reasons we opted out of surgery is our dog (70 pounds) is almost 12 years old and his physical stamina has been waning for the last couple of years. So we had no expectation that he could be restored to boundless energy and running around like he was one year old, like he had been until he was 10 to 10 1/2 years old. We wanted him to be able to resume walking but did not expect a return to top speed sprints all over the place, like when he was younger. We were concerned about the stress of surgery on him as an older dog.

Our vet predicted dire consequences, essentially permanent disability, if he did not have the surgery. I noticed, however, that between the recommended courses of action for rehab following surgery and without surgery, the rehab was essentially identical. And although your rehab was stated to be for post surgery rehab, it worked just as well, I think, for our dog. We got a second opinion from another vet who recommended that we give the rehab 8 – 12 weeks, then reevaluate whether surgery was needed. I think the results so far support foregoing, or at least delaying, the surgery when the dog can be constantly restricted in his activities and led through a carefully planned rehab process, like you provide.

He is back to walking normally with no apparent instability in his injured left rear leg. He also is able to do some jumping and goes up and down stairs now with no difficulty, although he has learned to go up stairs more deliberately than he used to. He is still limited in endurance more than he used to be — he will now begin to limp a little and slow down his walking after 50 – 60 minutes of walking, although I am not sure whether the ACL injury or his age is the main contributor to that.

So all in all, we are very pleased with his recovery so far and we are grateful that you provided your rehab series — I think it helped a lot.

Thanks.

Jay Deinken

Dr. J,
I was a veterinary surgical tech for many years and I’m very knowledgable in animal health, large and small animals. I’m very, very skeptical with it comes to supplements claiming big improvements.

Glycanaid? All I know to say is WOW, WOW, and WOW! My 14 year old rat terrier had been stiff in his front legs and his hind legs were starting to collapse when he’d stand up on them. I know all too well the side effects of pred and I didn’t want him on it long term, and pain meds help, but they just mask.

I truly wish I had taken before video of my boy. We just finished the 14 day loading dose and honestly I was not expecting any real results for 6+ weeks. We live in the country on a farm in a leash free world… I can’t keep up with him! He is standing strong on his hind legs for treats. He even brought the cows in at feeding time yesterday.

He is attempting to jump up on the bed again and I believe he’s going to succeed soon!

I wish all veterinarians would carry this product. I have also given my boy the Flexerna oil. The results are nothing short of phenomenal! No side effects either!!

Thank you, thank you!! I know he’s in his golden years and we all wish they’d live longer, but now he can enjoy himself again…. and I have peace of mind knowing he is comfortable and NOT ON PRED!!

Thank you again!!!

Karen Covington & Morgan

Dear Dr. James,

I am glad you wrote because I wanted to reassure you that your instructions were excellent! It is precisely because of your instructions, that my dog is recovering very quickly despite having torn the first ACL just 3 months prior to the tear of the second ACL. Her muscles were not as wasted as they could have been had we not been on your rehab regiment. My dog actually was walking and slipped on icy grass! The weather is so unusual right now. We had snow and then several days later it was very warm and the snow was melting. It was slushy on the grass, then it froze and melted again. That particular day, there were lots of muddy patches and our dog just happened to step on an icy patch and simply slipped! We were all very heartbroken. :(

After this second fall, we felt that we had to seek professional rehab assistance (beyond your wonderful internet information). We are taking her to a rehab facility where twice a week she is receiving laser therapy on her knees and muscles, and using an underwater treadmill. Everyone involved is quite surprised at her fast improvement. I, personally, feel this is because we used your methods to help keep up her muscle strength. Thank you!

Becky Menich

Just wanted to thank you so much for all the information and rehab booklet. My Beagle had his surgery in July. You gave me so much more information than my Veterinarian, and your booklet and videos and guides helped me with my Beagle’s recovery. I appreciated the weekly guide and help with his physical therapy that we performed. It was nice to know exactly what to expect in each stage of his recovery. He’s doing wonderfully, by the way.
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Jackie Mays

Dr. J,

I have a not so normal Yorkie. He weighs 24 pounds. Back in October he had both hind knee caps repaired. My Vet referred me to your website to get the MPL (Medial Patellar Luxation) Guide.

After looking at the guide, I looked at other products you have available, and I found the Glycanaid, and the Flexerna. I purchased both for my dog. He is really beginning to improve from the surgeries. He is so eager to jump, you can tell that he really just wants to do it himself and no get any help from anyone.

Once I received the products purchased, I gave my dog the Glycanaid, and he chomped that up with no problem. When I tried the Flexerna with my dog food, he would not eat it. I tried it twice with different foods and he didn’t like the smell or something.

I called your customer service department, I left a message, and my call was quickly returned. I explained the situation to her about the liquid Flexerna, and she was quick to assist me. She gave me a refund in the amount that I paid for the item.

I am so appreciative of the kindness I received with one phone call. Most generally when you call any customer service department (excluding yours) they don’t care if you are happy or dissatisfied, they just want to get rid of you.

Thank you for being a wonderful group of people who just want to help and assist in anyway they can. I commend you for that.

If I ever know of anyone who is in need of the services that you offer, I will definitely refer them to your website.

Thanks so much.
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Tammy Erwin

Hi Dr James,

Thank for the Home Rehabilitation Guide it is an excellent guide, much more informative than any information/guidance I had from my Vet. My vet was delighted with Rex’s progress after his TPLO operation, it was thanks to your guide and supporting e-mails. It certainly was a time consuming and energy sapping time for me, but worth every second. A year on and Rex has just had his annual Mountain climb to a height of 3,000 feet, he was scrambling over boulders and going down steep ravines just like a mountain goat, he loves it. At the end of the walk he was tired but with such a sparkle in his ear and wide grin on his face that said thank you, and he was glad that he was still able to do the things he loved. He has a slight limp in his rear leg, but that is due to the amount of ligament that had to be cut away, it doesn’t bother him at all.

Thank you once again!

Rosemarie and Rex age 13 1/2

Dear Dr. St. Clair,

I just wanted to thank you for your TPLO pamphlet. SUPER helpful, and I wish I had it 6 weeks ago when my dog first had surgery. I’m working with Patti at the Canine Joint for my dog’s rehab, which is how I found out about you.

I could write a lengthy email about my experiences with the pitfalls and perils of rehab and what the surgeons don’t tell you, with humans and with canines, but I don’t have time at the moment. I just want to say you are SO smart to be putting out educational materials for free. An equivalent in the human world that I know of is the Hospital for Special Surgery.
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Cherry Arnold

Dear Dr. St.Clair,

I just wanted to thank you for your excellent customer service. We first ordered a SupportRx: Total Body Harness (XL) from you in preparation for our English bulldog (Rooney)’s double TPLO surgery scheduled for December 18th, 2013.

We received our order on Monday, December 2nd and were very impressed by the quality of the harness, and were eager to try it on for size – but when we tried the harness on Rooney to see if it fit, we saw that the harness was too long for his short body (the front part went all the way to the back – and partially covered his tinkler, so the back part couldn’t be attached at all).

We sent an email to your customer service department in order to see if/how we could go about exchanging the harness for a smaller size, and were promptly answered by possibly the nicest lady I’ve crossed paths with in a long time, named Martha.

She was amazing! She recommended that I get another model (not available on the website), but she was not sure if I would be able to get it in time for Rooney’s surgery.

I asked her to send me this new model, knowing that it was better late than never (I knew that I needed it for the next 2 months or so anyway), and she kindly did so :)

I also inquired on how I should go about sending back the initial harness, and was pleasantly surprised to hear that I could simply donate the harness to my local vet or animal shelter (which we gladly did – we got our second dog, a 4-6 year old German Shepherd named Mika) from a no-kill shelter, and we donated the harness to them).

We got the new harness in time for his surgery, and he seems to be recovering well, the TPLOs are healing nicely – although he did manage to rip a muscle in his leg afterwards (hopefully the harness will help us avoid a second surgery).

You and your team truly are animal lovers and have made our lives so much easier…and Rooney is especially thankful for your help!

Thank you for everything – you guys are the best!!!
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Shelley, Marc, Mika and especially Rooney

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