whew, I can't believe it has already been 3 weeks since George's surgery.
I still feel a little bit like I am in the middle of a nightmare. George got
his staples out last week, it is lots easier for him to find a comfy position
now. He has an ulcer from the anti-inflammatory, that is why he was not
wanting to eat and throwing up. The poor little guy lost a whole pound :( He's
been on new medicine for his tummy and is back to being hungry and wanting to
eat his whole meals. Thankful for that <big sigh>.
George is obviously feeling better which is wonderful and a huge relief, but at
the same time it is making it really hard to keep him calm so his bones can
keep healing. He has at least another 3 weeks on restricted activity. If he
doesn't heal right or dislodges a pin or the transposition, he would need
another surgery and his prognosis would be less optimistic. The only thing
getting me through this process somewhat sane is that hopefully I made the
right decision for him so he will be able to run and play and jump and chase
without pain for the rest of his life.
Anyway, he is really hyper. He has always been super energetic, even more than
most of his puppy friends, but it was a good thing, he always wants to play and
gets the zoomies 4 or 5 times a day. Now it is working against him and making
me a worried wreck.
Up until Friday, he was doing great in his little playpen, then he started
bouncing. He is normally a bouncy guy, but I honestly hadn't even thought of
that as being a problem during healing, surely he wouldn't feel good enough to
try and bounce on his newly operated on legs, right?! Then, he decided he was
gong to try and jump OVER the wall. He is not a jumper, so this blew my mind.
He won't even jump on the couch, and the pen is 3 times higher than that.
So, I put him in his crate, and he was so full of energy that he was actually
make the crate move with his bouncing and trying to get up on the sides.
putting all of the stress on his knees. I went and bought him a new, smaller
crate, just big enough that he can barely turn around and stand without his
head all the way up. He is still making the crate move and ramming the door to
try to get out, again completely stressing his knees. So, now he is the
bathroom, literally bouncing off the walls and trying to get out to be where I
am. It is heartbreaking, I have been in tears for the last couple of days
because I feel like I am torturing my puppy. Also, with all of the bouncing I
have gone back to carrying him out to go potty and picking him right back up.
Even on our attempts at "slow leash walks" he has started bouncing from place
to place instead of walking. Put him down to go potty, and he sniffs and
bounces sniffs and bounces until he finds the right place, goes potty, then
bounces again.
I would give my right arm for a sedative that would help him relax. The vet
sent him home with Acepromazine, but George had a scary reaction to it, so I
called for a different drug and they told me the only other option was
benadryl. I tried benadryl yesterday, and it made him a little bit spacey, but
made him really reactive to noise and movement, so he barked and almost
panicked to try to get out continuously for 6 hours. I can't do that again.
Anybody have any experience with other sedatives, herbs or homeopathic remedies
that might help. I have been giving him chamomille and rescue remedy already.
Also, any ideas to help him sleep? He has been going, going, going until he
can't stay upright anymore, then he crashes for about an hour :( Sleep for all
of us would be a really good thing!
My other dog Rylie is really depressed, I let her be outside with George for a
few minutes. Her and George have been attached at the hip since we adopted him.
They were so excited to be with each other, I kept picking George up to get
him to calm down because he was bowing and jumping and bouncing like a crazy
dog! All I heard in my head was "NO JUMPING or RUNNING, NO EXPLOSIVE ACTIONS
during the first 6-8 weeks post-op". All I did was freak out and tell Rylie
"no" over and over and play body blocker when she got excited and wanted to go
be with her brother, all I could see was her going to take out his legs and
knock him over and jump on him. She looked at me like I was from Mars, and went
inside to lay down. She has been sulking since then. I feel horrible and like a
failure for both of them.
This has got to get better, and I need to be able to let my dogs be with each
other for everybody's sake.
still exhausted and a little stir crazy,
Quinn, Rylie and George
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
