Shake a Leg

Buster remains restless.  Right now he's giving an indignant look about his imprisonment.  He paces a little and shakes his back half, something I don't recall him doing after his last surgery.  He certainly was more heavily drugged after his first TPLO.  He certainly is quieter when he's more heavily drugged.

He continues to be needy.  He even barked at me when I went upstairs to fold laundry.  I try to make it up to him by staying close and spending time giving him attention and affection but I can't spend all day at his side.  So I try to leave for errands every day, whether I go to the gym or to Costco (where we buy his frozen blueberries).

He did drink this afternoon.  He continues to drink water with diluted amounts of broth, a bit of pumpkin, or other flavoring.  We make plain water available to him at all times but he does not drink it.  So we offer the flavored liquid after meals and once or twice a day, allowing him to drink as much as he wishes when he will drink.

When he steps outside for his 2- to 3-minute forays, he is quite fast and heads off to the plaza every time.  I'm amazed at how fast he can move, despite the surgery.  Dog loves his plaza life.  I had to carry him home again today when he would not come back.  So much for my heavy lifting training!

Today Buster would like to give a shout out to his cousin, Hannah Hound.  Hannah was a stray who got hit by a car, which broke her leg.  A vet pinned her leg and later removed the pin.  Hannah went to the PSPCA, where my sister recommended her to Karl when he wanted to adopt a dog.  Hannah, in turn, recommended Sharon to Karl and a few years later they wed.  Good girl, Hannah!

The life of a stray is dangerous, as Hannah and Buster know.  They also know that most abandoned dogs don't end up with animal-loving families like theirs.  Spay, neuter, adopt, and keep your animals for life.

My family has a lot of pets.  If I work them all in, you will hear about dogs, cats, horses, lizards, and ferrets.  Those are just the current members...many others have spent their lives with us.  We are the better for it.

A Big Drink

Last night Buster would not go to sleep.  We went to bed and a short while later, he started barking to us.  I got up and checked that he was okay and gave him a sedative.  I held him and petted him and returned to bed. A few minutes later, he barked.  I had to lie down and hold him until he fell asleep.

Monday is a busy day in our house.  Buster spent part of the day alone, resting.  I came home and took him out briefly.  He trotted further today and I had to carry him home because he refused to come back.  Let the record show that I can carry a 70 pound dog half the length of a football field.  So, Buster is a fitness motivation for me...I have to keep up with my dog!

Today was the first day that Buster drank a lot.  We keep a bowl of water in his confinement area but he does not touch it, presumably due to the big Comfycone.  Sometimes he refuses a drink when we offer it.  Tonight I mixed a little liquid from garbanzo beans with a little chicken broth and a bit of pumpkin and diluted it all with water.  We think Buster drank a quart!  We added diluted broth to his breakfast and he still gets about a tablespoon of yogurt.  We'll need to devote a post to why Buster gets yogurt every day.

Today was the first day that Buster eliminated twice.  I mention this only because people who are nursing dogs after a surgery need to know that surgery can slow digestion down for a while.  It's been 10 days since Buster's surgery and related effects are still present.

Buster alternates between touching down, weight bearing, and carrying.  When he does bear weight, it is very light.  Nevertheless, he continues to improve.

Today's picture shows Bup just before bedtime, on his cushion, under a big grey towel, and in his Comfycone.  His big head is all that shows.

Quiet Sunday

Buster rested a lot today because we gave him a sedative.  He's really hating the restriction and having to stay home to rest.  So he stands up and talks and wags his tail.  He will not settle unless he has narcotics.

He also refuses plain water so we're continuing to mix a little pumpkin with a small amount of chicken broth (made by boiling a skinless breast without salt) into his water.  He drinks that better.  We add a little of the broth to his dry food and give him some yogurt each day and some fruit.

We roasted another pumpkin and started freezing it in cubes.  If you are local, decorated with small pumpkins for Halloween or Thanksgiving and you plan to throw them out, we will take them.  If they are in good shape, that is!  If you have a dog, put the pumpkins into the oven whole (without cutting them open or removing the stem), roast for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Let the pumpkin cool and slice it in half with a knife.  It should be easy to cut.  Scoop out the seeds and peel off the shell by hand.  You'll have an instant healthy treat for your dog.

Buster is bearing weight lightly.  We saw him doing it last night at dinner.  Today he has mainly rested but we've noticed a slight regression because he's carrying more and touching down less.  It is normal for a dog to show progress and then to plateau or even fall back a little.  We remain encouraged that he is doing so well.

Some of the neighborhood kids who adore Buster stopped by to ask if they could walk him.  I had to explain that he had surgery and cannot take any walks.  For the record, we'd never let inexperienced people walk Buster nor would we let neighborhood kids walk him unsupervised (we don't even let our own teens walk Buster).  American bulldogs are powerful, require strong, patient leaders, and knowledgeable handling when they get stubborn.

There is now a video of Buster singing.  The video is rather bad; Buster is hardly in frame because if he knows I am paying attention, he stops.  It is not his best song.  I just played it back, which made him worried and now he is whining at me.  I believe Buster prefers that we keep that video for our own private use only.  Sorry--the song of the bulldog remains a family tune.

Apples and Compresses

Buster had a quiet afternoon at home by himself.  We continue to have drainage from his leg but that's normal and its far less than it was a week ago.  The incision and stitches are visibly healing.  He still tries to make a break for the plaza whenever he steps out.  He's getting tired of the restriction and bored too.  Mom and Dad aren't as much fun, unlike Tammy, Stephanie, Kristen, Nicole...

Right now he's trying to convince us that he should be allowed to go outside to help with the grilling.  Dad needs a sous chef!  Who is better able to judge when meat should be eaten than a dog?  So the video shows Buster alternating regular barking and request barking to go outside and cook.  We tried to record him singing again earlier but he still goes quiet as soon as I press record.  The song of the bulldog is a family matter.

Bell, another of his rottweiler mix cousins in Pennsylvania reminded us that dogs like apples so he just ate a Granny Smith after having a warm compress.  In appreciation, he sent his butternut squash-sweet potato mash recipe to her.  We think the apple is another way to keep Buster hydrated and we continue to give him water with a little broth for flavor.  Also we put a small amount of broth on his dry food.

Enjoy the barking video--the tip of Buster's excited, hoop tail is just visible in the frame, over his cone of shame.

Day 2 Regular Breakfast but Leaking Stitch?

Buster ate his regular breakfast this morning--one cup of food, glucosamine, a teaspoon of yogurt and an eighth teaspoon of ground flax seed. He also had his Rimadyl. He didn't drink yet so later I'll boil some meat without salt or fat to create a broth. I'll offer the broth to him by itself and if he does not drink, I'll put it on his dinner.

We are concerned that Buster is leaking. He's certainly losing blood from one spot. We called the center last night but they told us that it is normal and to wait until Monday. We covered the floor with his blankets to protect the carpet. Jay cleaned Buster this morning with a warm towel and chlorine-free baby wipes but he is bloody again. If this is still happening tomorrow morning, I will call first thing to speak with the surgeon.

One nice difference between the two surgeries is that our new surgeon uses internal sutures by default. Internal sutures do not require removal and their scar is less noticeable. We paid extra for internal sutures for Buster's first TPLO. It just seems to me that when you're paying thousands of dollars that they surgery centers should throw in some extras like internal sutures and follow up visits.

Swelling and fluid around the ankle is normal after a TPLO. Basically gravity draws it down from the knee. We noticed a little last night so we've been sure to massage Buster's ankle a few times daily.

He is still whining a bit when we are not on the floor with him. However, we do not want to encourage that kind of dependency or expectation that whining brings mom or dad running so we're ignoring him.

First Day Home from Surgery

Buster came home today after one overnight stay. He was so excited to see us--he even gave mom a kiss. He was very bright eyed. As soon as we got him in the house, he went back asleep. We'll get some pictures later.

He has a fetanyl patch for a few days and then he'll use AcePromazine and tramadol and the-ever present Rimadyl. Frankly, part of the reason why we opted for both surgeries is that we want to stop using Rimadyl on a daily basis. Rimadyl isn't the best thing for a dog's health and we're not big on pharmaceuticals for people or animals.

The photos with this post show the meds Buster needed after his first surgery: antibiotics, Ace, tramadol, and Rimadyl plus his usual glucosamine and Bendryl. This time the surgeon injected the antibiotics and because of the fetanyl, we don't need tramadol until we remove the patch on Wednesday. Currently he's taking a half Rimadyl twice daily (which is standard for him). Tramdol and Ace are only as needed.

So far Buster is doing very well but has some leakage from his stitches. He didn't drink much today but when I spoke with the surgical center they said he'd still be well hydrated from the IV liquids during his surgery and hospitalization. He ate his regular dinner, plus a couple bits of roasted pumpkin, and a blueberry. He's been outside once. He did have a brief whining period but the drugs have kicked in and mom and dad both snuggled him until he settled. He did sleep most of the day.