Days 2 and 3 Post Op–He’s Home!

Pick Up Day

What a sight it was to see Aiden walking into the room!!–or maybe hopping would be a better description.  He was so excited to see us when we went to take him home–and we were sure excited to see him up and moving with such confidence.  I took my 6’4″ nephew with me because I wasn’t going to be able to get Aiden in and out of the SUV by myself.  It was a good thing I did because when we got to the car, Aiden thought he would go ahead and jump in the back seat like normal.  It took a team effort to curb his enthusiasm for the ride home!

They had taken off the big bandage that been wrapped around the surgery site because he had been moving around so much it was looking more like a turtleneck than a surgical bandage.  He came home on a Fentanyl patch which comes off Monday, some Gabapentin for the nerve pain, and the anti-inflammatory Carprofen. He will take the oral meds every 12 hours for the next two weeks.  Stitches comes out the day after Christmas.

I had read that some dogs do not want to eat or will have bowel issues because of the drugs.  Neither has been the case with Aiden.  His appetite is really good and he’s taking care of business as usual.  For his first dinner at home I supplemented his usual dry food with a little canned food just in case he might not be interested in eating.  Didn’t have to worry–he’s enjoying his breakfast and dinner as much as he did before. He needs to be on a weight management diet but for now, while he is healing, I will keep him on his regular food.

His chest is quite bruised and swollen, but he doesn’t seemed to be bothered by it.  He is sleeping on the amputation side even though it makes it more difficult for him to get up.  He is peeing a lot, probably because of the fluids he was given and all the water he is drinking because of the meds.

I’m not a real fan of the long-term use of pain meds–human or dog– because of the side effects.  I don’t want Aiden to experience any pain, but I also don’t want him on pain meds for any longer than necessary.  The rehab vet that has been recommended also uses acupuncture to help with pain.  Tripawds.com has some good information about acupuncture for dogs which has convinced me that if Aiden needs help with his pain after the sutures come out, acupuncture will be the choice.  Combined with physical therapy to help strengthen his other legs and help him to lose weight, this alternative should help him feel like his old self a lot quicker than being drugged up on the pain meds.

Dealing with the Pack

With the three other dogs in the house, I knew I had to work out a plan to keep Aiden isolated from the rest of the pack.  I have a small study where I set up a bed and a water bowl for Aiden.  It’s off a back hallway that can be gated off from the living room.  After he got home, I put Aiden in the study and closed the door so he could have some quiet time alone.  Today I have kept the door open so he can go into the hallway but still be separated from the other dogs by the gate.  When I need to take him out I put the other three dogs in another room or in the garage.  So far this has worked out.

The vet tech at the surgical center suggested that I not let any of the other dogs around him for the next two weeks since they might try to usurp his dominant position in the pack.  This is probably really good advice to follow as long as Aiden is on the drugs because he is not fully himself.  Of course if you know your own dogs well enough you might not see this as a problem.  I know all of my dogs really well and I don’t think this would be an issue, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.  Of the three other dogs in the house, my Sydney is the quietest and calmest.  Today I let her stay out in the living when I let Aiden out.  Of course there was a lot of smelling of going on!  She followed him around for a little while then went about her business.    I may gradually let her spend more time with Aiden as he recovers.  Cooper and Riley are a little more rambunctious, so I think they will get to do their smelling through the gate for awhile.

We’ve made it through two days but we have twelve more recovery days to go.  With the progress he has made already, I have no doubt Aiden is going to make it look easy.  We will keep you posted.