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.

Fetanyl and Tryptophan

Happy Thanksgiving!  The tryptophan in turkey can bring on a yawn!  We removed Buster's fetanyl patch on Wednesday night.  Buster seems more alert so it was still active.   I kept surgical gloves from CPR and CERT training in the house so Jay wore those to remove the patch.  It was very well adhered!

After the patch was removed, we had to be sure Buster didn't lick that spot for six hours.  So we put another Telfa pad and some paper tape back over the spot for a day.  (Disclosure: I'm accident prone so I keep gauze, Telfa, antibiotic ointment, and similar first aid items in our home).

Buster enjoyed Thanksgiving, despite the Comfycone of Shame and restricted activity and all that.  He had a little bit of Dad's turkey and some mashed sweet potato-butternut squash.  He also enjoyed some roasted pumpkin while Mom and Dad ate pumpkin custard.

He's continuing to make fast progress.  He touches down and even puts a tiny bit of weight on his foot when we go out for air.  He is sitting beautifully, like a dog should instead of on one hip!  Buster still tries to head to the plaza and only turns back with great reluctance and bribery.  It must also be noted that he often only leaves the porch with great reluctance and bribery, we think, because he knows we won't really let him walk.

Seepage is greatly decreased and so is swelling.  He's even drinking water that has only a little broth mixed into it.  His appetite is excellent.  The staples and the sutures all look fine.

Buster's blog is proving popular.  It's only a week old and he's had 100 page views.  Thank you to everyone who is reading this and following Bup's progress.  Buster would also like to give a shout out to his cousin, Mack, who was hit by a car a month ago and is healing too.  In Mack's honor, we're posting picture of Mack playing with Cici today.  Keep going, Macky--you're healing great too, Million Dollar Dog!

Staples and Stitches, Oh My!

It turns out that Buster did not stop seeping fluids from his incision.  We had a really hard time determining the exact nature of the fluid.  How red is red?  How red is dog's blood?  We did not have this issue after Buster's first TPLO so we were really amazed at how much fluid came washing out of his incision.  It was like a daily bath.

We first noticed it Saturday night and called the surgical center.  They told us it was normal and to call back if it was still happening on Monday.  On Sunday morning, it had the metallic odor of blood and we were concerned by the sheer volume so we called again.  Normal.  It was still happening Monday.  Finally on Tuesday we said we were unnerved and that they had told us to call if it was still occurring on Monday.  We talked to one of Buster's surgeon's made an appointment and took him in for a suture check.  As the doc said, "It's free and why not have the peace of mind?"

The fluid was normal drainage.  However, our secondary surgeon said that she could "milk" Buster's incision and so she added a couple staples to keep him sealed up.  We confirmed that we are keeping him confined to a small space (as seen on this blog--about 5 feet by 7 feet).  We also discussed keeping him drugged up to keep him quiet.  For the most part he is resting calmly.

Buster is continuing to make remarkable progress, based on our experience with his first TPLO.  He is touching down most of the time but is not weight bearing.  He has learned how to walk rather quickly in his attempts to head out to the plaza, where his friends are.  He barked to Oliver and Madeleine when they walked this evening.

He clearly is bored and lonely but we are doing all we can to play and talk with him calmly.  He sang a lot for attention and to be included in cooking dinner.  I tried to record it but every time I've tried to record Buster's songs, he quiets down.  Ah, guess only Jay and I will know the exquisite singing of Buster, American bulldog.

Three Cones in Three Days

In three days, Buster's worn three collars intended to stop him from licking: Ejay Bite Free, Procollar Inflatable, and the Comfycone.  Actually, if you count the cone of shame that he wore home, he's modeled four collars.  Today's picture is an aerial shot of Bup in the Comfycone.  We liked the Ejay collar best but soon learned Buster could lick his lower leg while wearing it.  We then bought a Procollar and learned he could lick his knee and upper leg.  So then we tried the Comfycone.  At least he can't lick anything, except his foot.

As soon as we put the Comfycone on him, he hung his head.  You know the posture of a dog shamed by a lampshade?  Yep.

The positive features of the Comfycone is that it is easy to wipe clean and is adjustable.  The edges fold back so that your pup can eat and drink.  It is softer so the dog can lie down more comfortably.  Beyond that, it has the same disadvantages as a cone of shame--isolation, inhibition of the dog's movements, blocking peripheral vision, etc...

It is bendable to make it easier for the dog to eat and drink.  We don't find that the fold makes it much easier for Buster to drink and only makes it a little easier for him to eat.  Also when it is folded back, Buster can place his front paws against the fold and try to pull it off.

The Procollar's advantages are that it is very comfortable, does not block the dog's peripheral vision or isolate the dog, and does not inhibit the dog's maneuverability as much.  Our friends at Pyrenees Pets have heard that they pop.  For us the failure to prevent Buster from licking any part of his leg led to its immediate removal and subsequent return to the big box retailer.

The Ejay Bite Free's advantages are that it gives clear peripheral vision, maneuverability, is comfortable (it is foam-lined), and is adjustable.   The negatives are the name, that you have to measure your dog and special order, and that it didn't restrict Buster enough.

Annoyingly, the surgical cone that the surgical center used was NOT reusable.  This really bothers me because plastic is not biodegradable and we would have simply placed that back on Buster but instead had to cut it off him in the first place and then had to go out and spend more money.

We are not in love with any of these products, especially given that they are far more expensive than a typical surgical cone.  In the end, your dog should be kept quiet after knee surgery and should not move a lot.  You should be with your dog when he or she is moving through a room, so you should be guiding your dog past obstacles.  You are the eyes, ears, and leader.  So these cone alternatives, like so many pet products, are more for the owners than they are for the dog.

We Have Touch Down!

Buster is doing very well today.  He had extra sedative because both parents had to work in the morning.

He has been toe touching but not weight bearing since last night.  Today he typically has the post-operative toes on the floor without weight.  This is especially exciting because it is normal for a dog to begin touching down within 24 to 48 hours after a TPLO.  Buster took much longer after his first surgery so it is really exciting to see him progressing so quickly.

The edema at his hock is nearly gone today, whether because he had a lot of broth to flush his system or maybe from massage.  Also exciting to see so much immediate response.

He did try to head out for a walk today when mom came home from work but she made him turn around and come back to the house.  Surely he was strolling to Tassajara Commons and his many lady friends at the hardware, vet, and pet store.  Oh, and to visit the gorgeous blonde hair dressers too.

The leakage from the incision stopped.  So we didn't have to take Buster back to the vet today.

We don't think his fancy bite-free collar was working for him so he's now sporting an inflatable.  Seriously it looks like a swim ring.  He'll be able to go boating after he recovers.  Maybe that's mom's excuse to get a paddle boat.  Will they let me take out a dog on a paddle boat at Del Valle?