Well, Mona had a great first night. Since we know her well (she’s 8), we knew the E-Collar was more upsetting than it was worth, so it was the first change we made.
She navigated things well. We used the towel sling, just in case, but she did the hop well. I think the pain meds plus the loss of the right-side counterbalance has made it less sure than hopefully it soon will be.
She’s pee’d but not pooped yet. Seems a bit sad, but likely that’s the drugs and the effect of surgery.
Needs to do the front-paw adjustment (to the center) soon. Anyone know when that might happen?
Thanks for the nice comments all. This is a tough process, we’re 3 nights in and it’s still unclear if this was the best thing for sweet Mona. Hoping for clarity soon.
Here are some pics:
A steak treat (with meds).
Sleeping on the wound. A good sign, I think. Agreed?
aww.. she looks great.. pretty in pink!!.
my girl actually took a really, really long time to center that front foot.. she managed to do this unequal balance thing.. she must have had great core muscles..lol.. now she does it now.. finally figured out its easier than like side tipping..lol.
You did the right thing! You took the mass away.. it just so happened to be her leg, because it would have taken over the leg if you hadn’t thats one for sure thing you do know.. everything else is just figuring it as it comes day by day!! Keep helping her along, no different than you would a human recovery and then all of a sudden shell be all on her own. I know some say their dogs take off like the same or next day, but as someone whos in rehab, I liked the idea of slinging and assisting while the other leg and back muscles adapt and build strength, less chances of over stretching tendons and ligaments.. well my girl was pretty big though too.
Good luck.. your doing pawsome!!
Neka & Steph
Good job Mona! Surgery is over, you are home and on the road to recovery!
And you get steak treats? Play your cards right and youy be getting steak a couple of nights a week! Ya’ see, it’s impossible to resist spoiling a Tripawd!
You’ll near this a lot here, but every dog is different and every recovery is different! Right now Mona is kind of woozy from the pain meds and balancing on three legs is quite an adjustment. She’ll get the hang of it and adjust her gait accordingly.
Some vets say it takes about two weeks to recover from the surgery itself, and about thirty days to adjust to mobility issues, realignment, etc.
Walking on three legs takes a lot of energy.
For whatever it’s worth, it took me about three weeks before I could say I did this FOR my Happy Hannah and not TO her! Also, it took Happy Hannah FIVE WEEKS before she lay on her amp.side! So I’d say right now, Mona isn’t feeling too much pain!
Any you’re right, pooping may take several days. That’s “normal”. It’ll happen! We’ll celebrate with a Hoppy Poop Dance when it does!
Update when you can! And try and get some sleep when you can. Getting to this point is physically and emotionally draining.
Eat CHOCOLATE! It helps!
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Mona we love you!! don’t feel alone we all need to work on our core!
Yes, these are GREAT signs! Everything you describe sounds completely normal for recovery. The poopin will happen soon, really (this even happens to humans after surgery, so not unusual at all). You can speed things along by adding a bit of metamucil or olive oil to her food.
This is a scary time when we aren’t sure we did the right thing, but in a couple of weeks you will wonder why you were so freaked out. Mona is going to AMAZE you when she stops seeing pink elephants from all those drugs. Hang tight and think pawsitive, you can do it!
Keep us posted and keep sharing photos, she is so pretty!
Oh, and she will get the Tripawd stance soon, as soon as she’s not so dopey. She’ll do it before you even realise it.