So good to hear Charlie's back home and waggy. Merla says that if she ever needs another operation, could she please go your your house for rehabilitation
The Kong is obviously a great success! The challenge now is how many Kongs does it take to keep Charlie calm and occupied each day?! He's looking good, though, and it must be a huge relief to have him home.
It is such a long recovery but you will do it by the book Julie which is more than a family in our village. Sid the Boxer had the same operation as your Charlie just after Christmas. I asked the owner how Sid was and how Sid and they were coping with crate rest, he wasn't ever in a crate he was in the yard and I saw him, their teenagers walked him and not carefully. They had minimum insurance so no hydrotherapy. I spoke to him last week and he said that Sid has pretty bad muscle wastage which I think is due to their lack of commitment to his recovery. Poor Sid he is a very tall Boxer aged 7. Greg used to jog with him and he has been told by his Vet not to take Sid again. I really hope his other leg doesn't go as I am not sure what they would do Keep going it's worth it xxx
Charlie is indeed a good boy I'm sure this op and the recovery will be just as successful as the last one. No need to feel apprehensive about it - you're a veteran of this now.
That's so very sad about Sid. There are loads of studies now that show the benefit of proper rehab for cruciate repair. And I'm lucky, I have insurance, but a great deal of it can be done at home. A huge part of it is just very, very careful timed walking and that's free.... Tonight, we're quiet, settled and peaceful (mainly because of drugs and kongs, but still...gift horses and all that... quiet now by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
Poor, dear Charlie, I do feel for him, but he will soon be feeling so much better. I don't envy you the enforced rest (having been through it with a puppy), are you putting him into a recuperation 'hospital' as you did last time or doing the nursing and physio at home? I don't let my dogs play for the fear of injury; though a large greyhound did attempt play with Rourke and Rourke was on three legs the next day.
He is staying at home this time, although will go for physio and hydro to the same place, but as an out patient.
We had a bit of a wobbly time last night and early today - Charlie seemed very, very, nervous. He didn't want to come out of his crate, and was shaking outside of the house. The surgeon had said that Charlie had a less than ideal reaction to opiate based drugs, so I guess that was it...a hang over from the higher dose of drugs used early in the week, maybe.... We seem to have got him settled into a routine throughout today though, and he is much, much, better now - like the old Charlie. Whatever was causing the reaction last night and this morning has worn off, anyway. He has also dramatically improved physically throughout the day, with not much reluctance to get up and down, and seemingly quite comfy on his leg. He even stood on it to have a pee tonight... We are working out our routines - controlled slow walking, ice, proms, massage, cuddles, company, cratetime...rinse and repeat. The routine is comforting for all, especially Charlie. Ice station.... ice by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr Massage duty.... massage by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flick
Glad he has settled down over the day. Opiates can certainly do odd things (have I told you how much I don't like tramadol....?) Really glad to hear he is responding well to routines. Poor chap. Hope you are both bearing up too xx
He is on tramadol, yes. It was because of the tramadol he had to stay an extra night until they were happy with the dose. OH doesn't like him having it at all and is arguing to reduce the dose. I'm adamant that we are sticking with the prescribed dose. The dose reduces in 2 days...and the reason he is on it is because if he uses the leg sooner rather than later, that speeds healing. We also had to mess around with the NSAIDs - 2 different NSAIDs have made Charlie vomit (previcox and metacam) so we are now on rimadyl carprofen. Tricky business, these drugs...
Indeedy. Lilly is on Previcox. Think she was on the Rimadyl when she got a tummy bug and vomited blood up (unsurprisingly) You trust your vet and should follow the advice to the letter. If you think things are not right, then ask them. And I know you know that, and will do that. Hope you get a good sleep xx
Poor Charlie, glad e's responding better to routine, I'm sure the main problem was the drugs still in his system from the op and then the tramadol on top. 2days isn't long until the reduction and as with most things it's a trade off between using certain drugs and reducing recovery times. I tend to be on the side of the drugs as long as there are no bad reactions.
Sounds like the routine is really helping soothe Charlie and although the opiates maybe making him peculiar I guess it is a case of weighing up pros and cons of feeling uncomfortable versus the opiate induced wobbly. At the end of the day, no-one knows Charlie better than you both, he is in the very, very best possible place.
Charlie certainly looks comfortable having his massage. I hope the side effects of the strong drugs have worn off completely now and Charlie has no more wobbles poor chap. It's great he's happy to stand on the leg already. Keep those kongs coming Julie.
Coincidentally, a couple of days ago, I was talking to a vet re Tramadol and she said it can have very unpleasant side effects on some dogs. Years ago, dogs didn't have pain relief after ops (only an injection immediately post op) and they do withstand pain very well, not like us. I would be tempted to not give it to him now, but of course you must consult with your vet and take his advice.
