On the Road Again...

I didn’t realize how far Hudson had come since his first surgery just over 4 weeks ago. On Thursday morning we headed back to the surgeon for his check up/x-rays/next surgery. Hudson was so excited to be there; of course he had no idea what he was in for. He was just excited to get out of the house for a few minutes.

Setting up this appointment was probably the most confusing thing we have encountered throughout the whole process. This appointment was multi-purpose. First, we needed to take new x-rays to see how the healing was progressing. Second, we wanted to be sure his other hip was still a candidate for the TPO surgery. To do the x-rays, he would need to go under anesthesia so they could get good images in uncomfortable positions. Since he would already be under, it was important to us that if he is a candidate for the second hip, that he go straight into surgery to avoid both the cost and toll on his body of another dose of anesthesia.

Of course, that can be kind of difficult to explain to the person trying to schedule an appointment. I probably explained it 3 times, and then called back 3 times to check that they got it right. I wouldn’t have been very happy to find out that Hudson looked great, but the surgeon was all booked for the day and couldn’t do the surgery. Eventually, though, the got it right.

When we got there, the surgeon wanted to take him back to a carpeted area to see him walk. While I understand the reasoning for having linoleum floors in a vet hospital, it is extremely difficult to walk a dog with unstable hips across that slippery floor.

Anyway, the vet came back and said that he was pleased with Hudson’s progress and felt comfortable going into the x-rays as if he was going into surgery. In fact, he said that Hudson was back with the vet techs running around like a crazy man. For my sanity, I am going to believe that he was kidding, but a separate vet told us the same exact thing after he was neutered.

He said they were going to go ahead and do the x-rays, and unless Hudson wasn’t a candidate for surgery, we wouldn’t hear anything until the surgery was completed. Talk about a long day of waiting.

By noon or so, we felt pretty confident that Hudson was having the surgery since we hadn’t heard anything, but it is still a lot of waiting. Around 4, the surgeon called and said Hudson was out and looked good. Hudsy’s first hip was around 70% healed already, so that was great news, and he was recovering comfortably from his second surgery. Just as last time, Hudson would stay overnight at the hospital, and we would schedule a time to pick him up as long as he was still doing well the next day.

The vet called early the next morning to say Hudson looked good and was ready to go home whenever. Unfortunately, I had to work, so we made an appointment for 4:30.

We weren’t as nervous to pick him up this time, but my heart still dropped when I saw him limping into the room. My poor guy was back in a cone to keep him from bothering the long row of staples he has across his hip. His right back quarter is now shaved down to the skin, exaggerating the length of the hair on his left hip. It’s now about ¼” long.

Since we were old pros at the recovery process, we didn’t need to talk to them much. We basically just grabbed the paperwork, the pills, and left. This time they gave him some extra pain medicine and a sedative for the first few days. I guess to give him a little more time to heal since he doesn’t have a good hip anymore.

So far, recovery has been uneventful. It feels like we have taken a few steps back. Back in his cone, not wanting to stand up, trying to figure out a way to eat laying down, but just like last time, we will get through it.

This time, though, we are on the real road to recovery.

Look Mom, No Staples!

I didn’t realize I hadn’t written anything since 4 days post-op. I guess in this case no news is good news. We are now 3 weeks out, and everything seems to be going well.

For the first day or so without his medicine everything seemed fine, but after the last of it was out of his system he wasn’t putting much weight on his leg. I called the animal hospital to see what they thought and they said he was probably fine since he wasn’t holding it up while walking, only when standing still. They prescribed him another 10 days of pain medicine, along with a sedative to help him out as he is starting to want to be out of his crate.

The pain medicine has really helped and he is back to putting weight on his leg. As for the sedative, at this point we have only used it once, and only because we were having people over and didn’t want him to get too excited.  Of course, he was still too excited and left his exercise pen through the small food door when he saw my mom. Duh, turn the door so it pushes in from the outside, instead of out from the outside. I can’t say we are brilliant all the time.

On a side note about having people over, Aiden brought Hudson this great baseball cookie. Lincoln got a cookie shaped like pizza, but he ate his too fast to get a picture. Thanks, Aiden!

Hudson got his staples out on Thursday, so that was his first trip in the car since the surgery. He was so excited to be out that he couldn’t stand to lay down in the car. I was in the back seat with him, obviously having a nervous breakdown every time we went around a corner and he shifted his weight on the bad leg.

The vet tech took him out of the room to remove the staples. I was kind of curious to see how they were going to remove them, but pretty relieved to not watch him struggle. I get too nervous that he is going to hurt his leg and cause the surgery to fail. They said he did fine though, although it did take two people to hold him still enough to get them removed. That’s my boy.

The incision site looks great!

The vets at the hospital work a 2-week on, 2-week off schedule, so we met with a different vet than usual, but he said Hudson seems to be doing well, so we made an appointment for June 7^th to have his check up x-rays done. At that point, they will put him under to do the x-rays since they are uncomfortable, and it is important for them to hold still. As long as his left hip is healing properly, and his right hip still meets the surgical requirements, he will go straight into surgery for his second TPO.

Until then, it’s the same drill. If we are here, he get’s to be in his 5x5 exercise pen. If we are not here, he goes to his crate. He looks great walking, His limp is much less noticeable at this point, but he is still only able to go out on a leash, with his sling, and only for quick potty breaks. I feel bad that he can’t be outside more, as I can tell that he really wants to just be back to normal. Someone suggested we try antlers for a chew alternative, and that has really been a lifesaver. Hudson loves it, probably more than a peanut butter Kong, if you can believe that.

I guess the only thing that has really changed for us is that he doesn’t have to wear his cone anymore now that his staples are out. His corner of the room has quite a doggy smell, but nothing like when he was wearing the cone all the time. He needs a bath, but it isn’t really an option at this point in his recovery, so we will give some bath wipes a try. Hopefully that will help out a bit.

I also finally worked up the nerve to call the breeder tonight to let her know that the dogs she is breeding has these genes. The breeder wasn’t there, but I talked to her husband briefly and let him know that the puppy I got from his wife, and wanted to have a chat about his dysplasia.

He went silent.

After a few seconds he said I could call back the next day. If she wasn’t aware she was passing on this genetic issue, she should have the hint now.  I’ll call back tomorrow and let her know what is going on. The fiancé didn’t think it was nice to call on a holiday weekend. I figure, if I have to pay $6000 to get it fixed and crate my puppy for a minimum of 10 weeks, she can deal with it on a holiday. Hudson’s pain doesn’t stop because it’s a holiday.

Settling In

We are now 4 days post-op, and things are beginning to settle down for us. Hudson is still getting around pretty well, but he is also still getting 6 pain pills a day. Day 7 will be his first day without the medicine, so that will be the true test of how he is doing. 

This weekend our routine worked out pretty well. We would go to bed around 10 after Hudson got his last pills for the night, and then he would start whimpering around 6 when his next pill was due, so the fiancé would get up and give him medicine and take him out, before falling back asleep on the couch.

Hudson has 2 areas that he can be in while he is recovering. He obviously has his crate where he has been sleeping, and a larger pen that is about 5’ x 5’. Still not enough room to run around, but he can at least stretch out a bit more. He stays in his pen as long as one of us was around to make sure he wasn’t jumping up. If we were both out of the room, he would go to his smaller crate to lie down.

We only had one incident of jumping up, which was really my fault. Sometimes in the morning if we can tell Hudson is tired but won’t lie down we will put a blanket across the front of the pen so he isn’t as interested in the activity going on around him. It had been pretty effective at getting him to relax, but he got a little too excited to hear my voice and not see me, so he jumped up to see over the blanketed side of the pen. Needless to say, I panicked a bit. The last thing we need is for him to hurt his hip and have to go in for a repair.  Once I went over to see him and say good morning, he calmed right down. He isn’t walking with any more of a limp than he had been, so it seems that we escaped any injury. 

Our main issue at this point seems to be the cone he has to wear. Hudson is quite a chewer, and would love to lick at his incisions for a while, so he has to wear it at all times. We are really running into 2 issues with this. The first, and this is more of an issue for him, is that with the cone, he can’t really hold any nylabones to get a good chew. Since chewing is his main source of entertainment right now, he is pretty bored. He did get a nice frozen peanut butter Kong today. He managed to get all of the peanut butter out, so that seems to be the way to go until his cone comes off.

The second issue we are having with the cone is the smell. Hudson has a pretty thick beard, and with the cone on all the time, his beard never quite dries out. I guess we are going to have to start blow drying it or something. That should be interesting.

All in all, things are going pretty well, so I can’t complain. Most whimpering can be settled by getting into his pen with him for some cuddling. I know it’s only day 4, but I am counting down the weeks til this is all behind us.

If all goes as planned, we have about 10 days until his staples come out, then 2 more weeks til his other hip is done, then about 6 weeks of recovery.

We can’t wait.

Heading Home

Well, we are officially on the road to recovery for the first hip. Hudson had his left hip done yesterday, and this morning I received a call that he had been up and walking this morning, so he seemed to be doing really well. Since the fiancé and I had to work, we decided to pick him up around 4:30 this afternoon. A little extra time with professionals is always good.

I was relieved to know that he was going well, but I was very nervous to pick him up. All day, I stared blankly at a computer screen, thought about everything we needed to do to prepare for him during a meeting, and mentally prepared myself for the trip to pick up Hudson from the hospital.

When it came time to leave work to go get him, the nerves really set in, but I was ready to see him.

At the vet, my fiancé and I went into a room where we would meet with a technician to go over some post-op care and get Hudson back. When the technician came in, she immediately commented on how nervous we looked. I guess it was obvious. Then she asked if he ate rocks. We said yes and explained his knack for digging up rocks in the yard. She then showed us the rocks on his x-rays and jokingly recommended that she send an estimate for rock removal home with us. Hopefully that will not be in our future.

The post-op care sheet wasn’t nearly as in-depth as I was expecting. Basically, the rules are as follows:

            - No running in the house or yard

            - No jumping on or off furniture

            - No climbing up and down flights of stairs

            - No playing

            - Confine him to a small area, especially when alone

            - Keep leashed and use a sling when outside

For such a short list, it sure doesn’t leave much to do. He is on three medications…Tramadol (pain relief), Cephalexin (antibiotic), and Rimadyl (anti-inflammatory)…for 6 days each.

When he came in, he looked just like his usual self, just with a sling and cone, until he turned to the side. About a quarter of his body is shaved down to the skin. He has 3 fairly large incisions sealed up with staples, and a large red patch under his tail from irritation both from the incision and some general irritation. We stopped on the way home to get some Desitin to help take care of that.

Right now, he has been home for about 3 hours, and we are about an hour away from his next pain pill. He is clearly uncomfortable as he is crying and struggling to get comfortable on his bed, but I want him to be able to make it through the night, so I don’t want to give him medicine too early.

Even though I can tell he hurts, he is doing a great job walking outside.

 

We just keep reminding ourselves that it should only get easier from here.

Getting Real

Google is amazing. It tells you everything you could ever want to know about a
subject. If you keep looking, it will tell you the same thing as many times as you care
to read it. For some reason, I decided to keep reading the same thing for about a
week. In case you haven’t felt the need to read every single website that mentions
hip dysplasia, it’s genetic. That means I get to be mad at both the breeder for being
irresponsible and myself for not really taking the time to find a responsible breeder.
Mostly the breeder though.

Left untreated, hip dysplasia generally results in severe arthritis by the time they
are just a few years old. If treated, the dog can live a long and reasonably pain free
life. The thing is, the surgery is not cheap. The recovery period is long and hard. And
on top of that, it’s impossible to say whether the dog will be affected by the arthritis. It’s a tough choice to make. How do you decide to put your puppy through a long recovery
process to fix something that hasn’t really started to affect them yet?

I struggled with that for a while, and I’m still not sure how you make that choice
confidently. For me, it came down to the fact that once he started to show signs,
it would be too late for the TPO surgery. At that point, he would need a full hip
replacement, which is more expensive, and probably not any easier to recover from.

When we went to the specialist, we had kind of accepted that he would need the
surgery. When he walked, you could feel his hips popping/grinding. He shows all of
the classic symptoms…the bunny hop, the side sit, etc.

When the specialist came in, he asked us a series of questions about his behavior.
Did he act like he hurt? Did he favor one leg going up the stairs? Is he slow to stand
up after lying down? No, no, no. He moved Hudson’s hips around, and noted that
he didn’t seem to be in pain. When he left the room to look at the x-rays, we thought
we might have passed. We answered no to all of the questions. He wasn’t in pain.
It sounded good. After he returned, he said this was a “no brainer”. Hudson clearly
needed the surgery. In a good hip, the femoral head would be about 85% covered.
Hudson’s were about 15%. Not good.

 



After a bit more discussion, the surgeon left us with a technician/assistant/someone
to go over the cost of the procedure. It was a lot. Like $3200 per hip.

When we left, heartbreak set in. We were really going to need to do this. A big,
expensive surgery, several weeks of down time, followed by another big, expensive
surgery, and then even more downtime. The surgeon would be able to do the
surgery the following week. If we didn’t want to do it then, we could wait 3 weeks
for him to be available again, or pick someone else. This sucks. I spent that day
at work crying and trying to figure out what to do with my puppy’s last week of
playtime.

We ended up spending his last week getting things ready for recovery, reading more
online, and playing outside. Hudson’s friend Grady – another goldendoodle puppy –
even came over for one last romp.

Hudson’s first hip surgery was this morning. He had to be at the vet hospital
between 7 and 8 this morning. I had been dreading today since I made the
appointment last week. Dreading days seems to make them show up even sooner
than they usually do. Anyway, today came. I “woke up” after a night of counting
down the hours before I would have to drop him off. We cuddled. He ran outside
one last time. He barked at me for forgetting to feed him. Then I loaded him into the
car. Of course when I put on Hudson’s leash and opened the door to put him in the
car, his jealous brother darted to the car and jumped in, refusing to get out. He hates
being left behind. Eventually, with the correct dog in the backseat, we were on our
way.

Hudson was very excited to be at the hospital. He loves to put his paws up on the
counter to look at the lady typing on the computer. I think this morning his goal was
to knock the stacks of business cards off the desk. He almost succeeded a couple
of times. I, of course, broke down while waiting for the vet to take him back to be
prepped for surgery.

After he had been taken back, I headed to work without any of the makeup I had put
on for work left on my face. At least I had thought ahead enough to skip the mascara.
At about 2, the surgeon finally called to let me know that Hudson was out of surgery,
and would be on morphine for the rest of the night. In the morning, they would test
him to make sure he was ready to go home, and then they would call to set up a time
for him to be picked up.

For tonight, it seems very weird with just one dog. Lincoln would never admit it, but
I am pretty sure he misses his brother right now.

Tomorrow the real recovery begins.

What Its All About

I never thought I would have a blog. Ever. My life is hardly exciting enough to tell anyone the details of, let alone type the details out for multiple people to read. Maybe that is still true, but my 6 month-old goldendoodle is about to start on a pretty tough journey – the triple pelvic osteotomy, or TPO.

Just about 3 weeks ago I had never heard of TPO surgery. I was moderately stressed about how to keep Hudson calm for 8 days after a simple neuter surgery. Nothing worse had crossed my mind at that point. When I arrived at the vet to drop him off for his surgery, they asked me a series of questions. Did we want him microchipped? Did we think we would need a mild sedative for the first couple of days? What about a cone to keep him from licking the incision? Were we interested in having them do a juvenile hip screen? They told me it would be a good idea since his breeds are both prone to hip dysplasia, plus he would already be asleep, which is usually required for the necessary hip x-rays. I told them to go ahead and do it, even though I knew my fiancé would think I had wasted the money. With that, I left him and headed to work. I was pretty proud of myself for not crying. I cried when I left my first dog to be neutered a couple of years ago.

 A couple of hours later, my cell phone rang at work. I was expecting them to call and tell me he was out of surgery and to schedule a time for me to pick him up. I was surprised to hear the vet’s voice instead of the technician. Then the dreaded words…I’m calling about the hip x-rays. He said we had reason to be concerned, and he feels like Hudson could be borderline for surgery. Crap. Hip surgery? I was kind of caught off guard, so I just said okay and hung up the phone and started to google.

That evening when I picked them up, they gave us a disc of his x-rays and a referral to see a specialist. Obviously, I took Hudson home and loaded the disc into my computer. Shockingly, I had no idea what I was looking at. I googled hip dysplasia xrays and compared. It didn’t help.

 My fiancé and I spent a long time talking about it, still not knowing what “it” really was. We finally decided I would call the vet back tomorrow and ask more questions. I did call the vet back, but when he got on the phone I really had no idea what to ask…it came out something like this:

           Yea, uhh, I have a question about Hudson’s hips…What?

He seemed to know exactly what I meant by my one word question. He said we should go see a specialist if we would even consider the surgery, as it could make a huge difference in the quality of life of Hudson. While it seems definite that a dog with hip dysplasia will develop arthritis, it is impossible to say at what point or to what extent they would be affected. Great. That totally cleared everything up…or something.

We had nothing to lose from going to see the specialist. Well, except for the $130 it would cost for the appointment, so we made the appointment for the next week and kept googling.

This is our little guy, Hudson aka Hudsey Wudsey