Our gimpy girl is home and recovering from ACL surgery.
She was so delighted to be home and laying on her favorite place on the sofa. Homecomings are the best, aren't they?? And recuperating happens best in our home environment. All the dogs gave her the once over, as I sure she came home with a multitude of smells. They were probably all hoping they wouldn't ever have to go through what she went through.
All in all, she's doing well. However, when we put the dreaded cone of horror on her to protect her from licking her incision it really took the wind out of her sails. The stubby tail that was going wiggle, wiggle, wiggle slowed to a little slow motion wag. She wouldn't move, wouldn't look up at us. We're supposed to take her outside on leash for the first ten days. With the cone on, it's not an issue. Between the injury, the insult of the cone, and the indignity of having to pee while on a leash, she will barely move at all. She's not a happy camper. She doesn't, bless her heart, exactly relieve herself on command.
It will get better - there is just no way to reassure her of this. We laughingly guided her nose to her food bowl and centered the cone for easier consumption. She won't go hungry, that's for sure. But she certainly isn't thrilled with life right now.
I plan to check out other options for lick protection devices and see if we can't raise her spirits a bit. In the mean time, life's a little rough for her. This too shall pass, and a few extra liver treats may speed the process along.
Life with dogs. A little humor, a dash of play, a seed of faith, and of course, some dog fur.
2 comments:
When my foster (now adoptee) had bilateral hip surgery, we used a collar. He tolerated this much better than the cone. It's made of the same material.
I've since fashioned her a padded collar and so far so good. Yesterday was a rough day for her, today she's improved significantly.
Thanks for the information - this is our first (and hopefully last) canine ortho experience!
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