Filed under: 1 week later and feeling rough
A week ago yesterday Charlie our 12 year old black lab went in for surgery. They rook his left arm and shoulder. This has been the longest week of our lives. It was so gut wrenchingly horrible to see him in such pain the first few days. We stayed up with him all night just to make sure he was comfortable. We carried him up and down stairs just to see if want to go potty (not easy with a 80 lb lab and a fiance that just had major back surgery).
I have to admit I have been a little jealous of some of the new tripawds I’ve seen on Facebook that are up and walking already. Our Charlie has basically just slept the past week and could barely hold his head up. We have tried everything to help him move however I think he has been on so much medication that he couldn’t function. We decided to wean him off of so many pills (with vet consent) and low and behold this morning he was awake and ready for the day!!
We are having some trouble with him sitting flat on his booty when he sits with his back legs sticking straight out but with a little push he is standing and we are doing practice laps around the living every few hours just to get him up and moving.
We also got him a harness from the tripawd website before his surgery and anytime we attempt to put it on him we cant get it to adjust right and not slide up. If you have any thoughts on what we can do to help him steady his legs better and how to get the harness to stay put it would be a tremendous help. Also any advice on how to encourage him to get up and move more on his own would be great!!
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- Charlie 2 days after surgery.
Hi there
Tucker, my nine year old chocolate lab, had his right front leg and shoulder amputated three months ago and he is doing great!
A few things……Tuck was very tired at first too. I was very worried because the vet kept him in an extra night as he was a bit slow to move around at first. In Tuck’s case, it really was about the medication he was on. The meds (Tramadol and Metacam) were so important for his recovery but they did make him sleepier and he didn’t move around a whole lot at first.
I noticed a really big difference at the two week mark – he got his sutures out and the “cone of shame” came off. It was like the old Tuck was back!
You also have to remember that Charlie is 12 – so like Tuck – an older amputee. It will likely take him longer to recuperate – but he will – you will slowly see him coming around….tail wagging and so happy to be with you 🙂
Tuck and I went for a walk in the snow today….he loved it…I was a bit worried he would slip or get too tired…but he knows when he has had enough and he lays down…or I hold onto the handle on his harness to help him take a break.
I just have to say…..it really does get better….relax (if you can), rest (when you can) and slowly you will see your old Charlie back again.
Hugs
Linda and Tucker
Oooops! Let me try again!
So glad you’re having a better day today!
You have DEFINITELY come to the right place for support and information!
My Happy Hannah was not a “quick recovery” either! I found this site and posted my first hysterical “What have I done to my dog?” posts! The community threw me a life line…assured me she was very early in recovery…assured me some dogs recover quidker, some slower…assured me, assured me, assured me for many, many days!! And then I started seeing the sparkle come back, slowly but surely!! Best decision ever!
I never used the harness as Hapy Hannah wouldn’t buge if I tried using a towel sling. She’s a rear leg amp so different issue, to some degree, from a front. With one front leg gone, he’s still adjusting muscles, the best position for leverage, balance, etc. It’s really good that he is now moving about. He’ll get the hang of it more and more each day.
Recovery is no picnic, that’s for sure! Humans would still be in the hospital for weeks!
It was well into the second week before Happy Hannah actually got up to greet me at the door. I remember I was so thrilled! You may not see that type of reaction for another weekish. But you can try ringing the door bell, or knocking on the door…or have so eone come over he really likes and walk in with a real upbeat attitude calling him. Really, some of these things work.
As you continue to get the meds balanced and as recovery moves forward, you WILL see his sparkle come back more and ore! He’s a big dog and VERY early in recovery. At twelve, he may have some arthritis issues that didn’t show up before so that could cause a little slowness in gettin up. Right now rest is good, of course with some walking around as you are already doing.
Is he eating, drinking, pooping, peeing okay? His incision looks good? I’m sure you’ve tried food as a motivator to get up…but jave you tried a just cooked steak?
You are doing great!! He is clearly a very loved boy! Would love to hear more about him AND see more pictures!
Please keep us posted, o,ay? And klw that you are ot alone! You just joined the ost supportive family in the world!
Hugs!
Sally and Happy Hannah
Aww. Please try not to compare your pup’s recovery with others that you see, always remember that all dogs are different. There are so many factors that contribute to the rate of recovery. For more support please come talk with others in our Discussion Forums. I’m glad he’s doing better (yes, getting a better hold on pain management will absolutely help).
Meanwhile, which harness did you purchase? Again come to the Discussion Forums and post in “Hopping Around” so we can help you better and faster.
Otherwise, I’m glad you’re keeping a blog so that others whose dogs are also having a slow go of things can see that not all dogs are up and hopping around right away. Hang in there and lean on us, things DO get better!
Howdy do and yay for brave Charlie!
The harness can be a puzzle. We have two left-front amputees and the harness rides sideways, slides up, and goes all over the place, ALL pretty much correlated to the antsy-ness of the wearer and surrounding dogs and tangling. The perfect dialing in of the harness WILL yield to persistence, but is not as easy as one might hope. With a lab, you hopefully are spared the extra puzzle of putting a warmth layer under the harness. THAT is extra puzzling.
Pain management, according to us, consists of spending the first few days very doped up on tramadol and barely moving. You’re already past that. Our amputees were 6 and 8 years younger than Charlie. Probably others that make you envious are also much younger. You should factor that into your expectations. To use the old hack of dog years, it’s like a human having an amputation at age 84.
Through 5+ years and two major surgeries on two dogs and nearly three total years of chemo on my Gabby, we have learned lots of lessons. One of the best is the overwhelming power of FROZEN FISHIES. Gabby’s worst chemo days when nothing else interested her could still be made better with a little frozen chunk of fish. We get a couple fillets on sale, cut into chunks, freeze on a tray, then place into a Tupperware in the freezer for easy dispensing. We learned this from the excellent book “Help Your Dog FIGHT Cancer”. According to us, there is no foul mood or despair that a frozen fishy cannot lift.
😀 Looking forward to hearing more.
…meant to say about the harness, look closely at ALL the adjustments. There are lots.