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.