We set up a playpen structure in the family room for Bo. It's about 33" x 66" and it will be his world for the next 8 weeks. His bed is in there, and he also has a little floor space to sprawl out on. Our house is heated with radiant floor heating, so it'll be nice and warm at night.
I've moved some of my computers to the kitchen counter, right next to him, so I can be near him most of the time. We slept next to him, on an inflatable mattress last night, because he's used to sleeping in our bedroom, and we knew he'd stress if we left him alone. A family camp-out, with narcotics!
The issues we thought would be big (elimination and stress) are minimal. We were told he'd likely be constipated from the narcotics, but he's been very regular. We have to put a sling under him whenever he stands or walks, and I though he'd have issues "going" with me standing there holding him up, but he barely noticed. The drugs are helping a lot with the stress.
An issue that is of concern is licking and chewing on the incision and shaved areas, as he heals. I'm sure it itches and hurts, and he's a bit of an obsessive "licker" anyway, so we need to keep him from doing this until the incision heals and his fur starts growing out.
They provided one of those "radar dish" plastic cones to wear, but he absolutely hates it. He sulks and mopes, bangs it on the cage, tries to remove it and won't lie down with it on. So, I removed it and slept with my hand on him and every time he messed with the wound, I gently got him to stop. We didn't sleep much!
Fortunately, today he is leaving the repaired leg alone entirely. I'm doing his physical therapy routine every 4 hours, and have included gently scratching his 3 shaved areas (front leg for IV, lower back for the epidural, and most of his left rear leg for the surgery). He likes that a lot - pre-emptive scratching! PT consists of full body massage (especially all the legs - as he's over-using 3 and not using 1), passive range of motion extensions on all 4 legs, a brief walk outside in the sling for elimination, and then cold packs on his repaired leg. He seems to like all of it (except the PROM extensions of the injured leg, which he doesn't "like", but tolerates well). He even left the cold packs in place while I got back to work, one under the leg and one on top, wrapped in towels (see picture).
It will be a very long, busy 8 weeks. I am sure looking forward to the Winter Solstice, when all of this is behind us! Please keep those positive vibes coming, we sure appreciate them!
Great blog, Russell, and the perfect way to update the world on his progress. I'm so glad to hear he's recovering so well. And having done the "sleepover" with the sick dog (too many times, I'm afraid!) I know it helped Bo be comfortable. I'm sure he appreciated having Ann and you nearby.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity—did you learn to massage a dog just for Bo, or is this something you've known how to do for a while? My older collie could definately use that, and I can't imagine any dog anywhere who wouldn't love it!
Take care,
Gina
Thanks, Gina! I hope I don't upset any trained massage therapists, but I never really "learned", I just do it. I gently rub his muscles, the way I like to have mine rubbed. I've been massaging cats most of my life, and just apply the same techniques to dogs. Our adopted red heeler "Lucky" developed bad arthritis in her front shoulders her last couple of years, and I started on her. Never really had a need to do it on Bo, (previously, the youngster) before, but he aged a couple years the last few weeks... It was recommended in some of the literature I've devoured about TPLO surgery and confined animals the past couple of weeks. He loves pretty much any contact anyway, but now that he's cooped up, he particularly enjoys it!
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