My dog is crying and I feel helpless.

[Madrone]

:(

He had TPLO surgery on Thursday. I brought him home yesterday. He managed to chew up his bandage enough this morning that I had to remove it - it was sliding down over his staples. All he has for pain management is 150mg of Rimadyl every 24 hours. His wound is still seeping. He has to wear a lampshade so he won't lick it. He hates it.

He's been crying pretty much since I took the bandage off. I just gave him more Rimadyl. He's just miserable.

He's only supposed to go outside 3-4 times per day, but he keeps crying and staring at me and responds when I ask about going outside so I take him. Like just now - I'm afraid he has to poop, but he hasn't yet. Argh. This sucks. Going to try taking him out again... but I don't know if THAT's the right thing to do either.

Just venting. I guess if anyone else has been through this and has any advice I'd be happy to hear it.

[malta blue]

1. Poor dogger....

:hug::hug:


I hope he gets to feeling better really soon....

[Madrone]

4. Thanks.

Me TOO. Keeping him immobilized for 2 months is going to be a challenge in the extreme.

[Madrone]

2. Still no poop.

I think he just wants to be outside. I just got him to eat something by giving him canned food. If he loses interest in THAT - then I'll really worry. ;)

He just won't settle down. The lampshade seems too tight - it's off for the moment, but probably not for long because I'm really afraid he'll lick his wound.

I don't want to give him Benadryl just to make him chill, but I'm thinking about it.

[StarryNite]

3. Oh, poor baby.

Just don't be afraid to call your vet if you have any questions or doubts. That's what they are there for.

:hug:

[CountAllVotes]

5. my late dog had one of those collars

it is called a "Queens collar" I believe. My dog hated it too as it freaked him and my cats out totally. So, what I did was put it on him so as it went down around his chest and back and it prevented him from being able to lick his leg/incisions. He got used to wearing it that way quickly and he seemed content enough.

If your dog is small enough, this might work. It is worth a try I believe!

Best of luck.

[livetohike]

6. It's the effects from the anesthesia and the painkillers

I've been through it several times with various dogs. Don't worry. He'll be back to normal soon. His elimination problems will resolve themselves. :hug: for you and an "Arf!" from my Cindy and Murphy.

[Eurobabe]

7. Oh, how is your pup doing, better?

Hope so. :hi:

[Madrone]

8. He's doing better.

He pooped last night and this morning. :D Sad when we're excited about animal poop, eh?

I took the bandage off yesterday after I caught him CHEWING on it - it had slid down enough that part of the wound and some staples were showing. It was really runny/oozy for awhile, but that seems to have gotten better. I iced him about 3 or 4 times yesterday, and only one of those times he didn't freak out about.

I still think the collar is too tight, but it's what they gave us at the hospital and I have to use it on him to prevent him from messing with his leg.

I was worried about the little dog bothering him and trying to lick his wound - so far that's not been a problem.

I'm letting him sleep in the bed even though he's not supposed to - I made a ramp for him a while back and I walk him up the ramp to get into bed, and down it to get out. He was trained as a puppy to stay IN bed at night or he'd get put into the crate - during potty training, once he was old enough to physically hold it, if I caught him trying to get off the bed to go to the bathroom I put him in the crate. I only had to do that a few times - anyway, that's still ingrained in him so when he goes to bed he stays PUT and really doesn't move much if at all for the duration of the night. He also will not get OUT of the bed until I tell him he CAN - and I suspect not allowing him to sleep in the bed would mean MORE movement during the night, if I didn't wake up to find him in it anyway. It's that or make him sleep in the crate - and I'm not down with that. He's already crated all day when I'm at work.

I do make him sleep with the lampshade now that there's no bandage covering his wound. He's not happy about that - and I know it's not comfortable for him. This morning when I woke up I took it off him before I even got out of bed. After doing so he laid there and trembled - so I'm not sure what that's about.

He has a build up of fluid hanging out down around his hock - I suspect (and hope) that it will just reabsorb at some point.

He gets 150mg of Rimadyl every 24 hours - the crazy dog accepts and swallows them as if they were a treat.

He's obviously in a lot of pain, but he's so stoic and accepting of everything that's happened. He's using his leg considerably more than was expected - was doing so, in fact, while still in the hospital right after surgery. They were very impressed and amazed by his "bounceback" - He's such a very good boy, and I can't wait until he's sufficiently healed to get his life back. He's been restricted for far, far too long - it will have been a year by the time this is all over. I'm looking forward to taking him out on hikes and to the lake and/or river again - and taking him in the car all the time like he's used to.

Right now the main concerns are keeping him immobilized so he won't injure himself or break his plate and/or screws , and praying there's no infection.

[ginnyinWI]

9. just a thought...

I know that dogs pick up on their owners' feelings very easily. Try to be calm and cheerful around him, or he'll be all the more stressed out. Try to act as if nothing is unusual and that everything will be fine, and I bet he'll feel better because of it.

[elleng]

10. (((Hugs for you and him!)))

Do check with hospital/vet if you think 'collar' is too tight; they should adjust it.

[Eurobabe]

11. What happened to your dog?

Was he injured or something? Sorry, I may have missed the thread. Poor thing! :hug:

[Madrone]

13. He blew out a ligament in his knee.

He had very invasive surgery to help re-stabilize the joint. Now he's got a rather nasty wound and a bare-minimum 2 month recovery. Likely longer than 2 months for full recovery, but he may be able to start having regular length walks on lead in 2 months. Until then, he's on LOCKDOWN.

[Silver Gaia]

12. I haven't been through the exact same surgery with my dog, but

he did have a tumor removed from his rear leg a few years ago, so his surgery was in a similar location. We also had quite a time of it with him trying to chew the bandage off, and with that cursed collar. Good idea CountAllVotes had about turning the collar around to protect the hind limbs. I doubt that would've worked with my dog, though. Nothing worked with that collar. Whatever I did, he could get it off in about 30 seconds flat.

What I eventually ended up doing with him was making him a pair of "jammie pants" out of an old pair of sweatpants. I cut the legs off so they were about ankle-length on him, and cut slits at the bottom to thread some soft cord through to make drawstrings. When they were on him, these drawstrings could be tightened up (firmly, but softly) around his ankles so he couldn't pull the legs up. I cut a hole in the butt for his tail, and then made a couple more slits in the back at the waistband to thread some more soft cord through. I put his halter on him, put the pants on him, and tied those cords to the halter so he couldn't just pull them down at the waist. (Hope that description made sense.) This was mostly quite effective. Better than the collar. It was a royal pain in the butt having to take it off and then put it back on every time he had to go outside, but it was worth it. He was much happier with his "jammies" than with the collar. He never chewed through them. He licked the leg of the pants a lot, and they had to be washed daily, but it worked. A bonus was how CUTE he looked in his little pants! LOL

I'm glad to hear that your puppers is feeling some better. I know how awful it feels to know they're in pain and know there's nothing much you can do to help. :( An ice pack can help with the pain if he'll let you hold it on the wound. It numbs the area for a while.

My guy's still doing well. In fact, I just had to interrupt this post to take him outside for a late-night pee-break and possum hunt (a nightly ritual--tracking the mamma possum that visits our yard... I carry a big stick just in case we encounter her).

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

[RedLetterRev]

14. Sorry to hear

he's in such discomfort. One of the most helpless feelings is having a furkid in pain and he can't exactly describe what and how much it hurts. Does he like rice? My furkids love the stuff and we offer it as "comfort food", especially when it's been simmered up in chicken broth with some veggies in it. That'll help his poor tummy regulate, too. At the worst, your activity and his enjoyment of a healthy treat will keep both of you from fretting too much.

Yeah, those elizabethan collars are the pits :( Furkids hate 'em and they're a pain to deal with. But it beats getting that wound even worse irritated or infected.

Warm, healing energy from our home to yours.

[RebelOne]

15. Please do not overdo with the Rimadyl.

It has been proved to damage the liver. Rimadyl has killed numerous dogs.

[Madrone]

16. I know.

I was a bit freaked when I found out that was what they prescribed him. BUT - they acknowledged my concerns and said that those cases were more of an issue in the long term. My dog got 150mg every 24 hours for 7 days. He took his last pills yesterday, and he is doing GREAT. TOO great. Keeping him from running, jumping, playing, etc is not that simple. He doesn't seem to think he had major surgery a week ago.

Only 7-11 more weeks to go. :crazy:

[Branjor]

17. Pffft....

My dog died after a 13 day course of rimadyl.

[Madrone]

18. Wow! I'm so sorry. That's horrible.

:(

I'm extremely thankful to have only had him on it for 7 days. He's in a bit more discomfort now, but not anything he can't live with. Staples come out today! :woohoo: