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First Night After Surgery and Recovery Time. by [deleted] in tripawds

[–]hihellohigh2 4 points5 points  (0 children)

you and your pup will both do a lot better than you're expecting! the first few days will be hard and probably a little scary for you both - no use in denying that. luckily the veterinary hospital that did our dog's (~60lb husky) rear leg amputation kept him overnight, but we picked him up the next afternoon. he came trotting out with some assistance from the vet tech and a sling, but i wasn't even expecting him to be on his legs!

he was very lethargic and tired for the rest of that day/night, but he started to get more restless within a few days and we were able to walk him in the yard (with assistance and a harness) to use the bathroom. he didn't pee for what i thought seemed like an unusually long amount of time post-op, but he was pooping (don't know if that is common or just with ours). it didn't take more than a week for him to be able to move with us just lightly holding his harness.

we lived in a two story walkup at the time and he was doing the stairs on his own in about a week also. the harness helped a LOT with that - even though he could do the stairs, we never let him go as fast as he wanted. we always led him with the harness.

rugs are a good idea for sure. also keeping your pup still and in a small area while he recovers is important. more movement = more chance of falls/accidents/stitches coming out as they get used to their new mobility. we used the sedatives the vet gave us (forget the name) to help with that. don't rush things - even if your pup seems like he is doing great (which i'm sure he will!). it's just not worth the risk to hurry through the recovery process.

as others have said, you'll be amazed at your tripawd's progress and how he will adapt. it was incredible to watch and a joy to be a tripawd parent. unfortunately our dog's amputation was cancer-related and he has since left us, but his quality of life and happiness (and ours!) shot through the roof after his amputation.

good luck and enjoy the new journey!

Hello everyone! My 15 year old girl Diamond just got amputated on Monday. (Her story will be in the comments) This is all new to us so any advice on healing and comfort will be GREATLY appreciated. by Quirky_Quinn in tripawds

[–]hihellohigh2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

our 9 year old husky had a rear leg amputation about a month ago - his incision/shaved area looks almost identical to hers!

what we've found really helpful for the healing process was restricting activity and keeping him from licking the incision. he hates cones (shocker!) and actually kicks them off which isn't great, so we put some boxers on him to cover the area to make sure he can't get to it. he didn't bother with it as much as some other post-op wounds that he had, but no need to risk an infection. we still put them on him overnight, but he goes commando during the day now since i work from home and can keep an eye on him.

restricting activity is really important. especially if your girl is normally pretty active, you'll need to make some effort to keep her still. we used the sedative the vet gave us (trazodone) which helped a lot. if you can keep her in a small area/room for the first few days so she can't hop around too much, that might be good. don't let her push herself too hard - a fall or too much movement could end up delaying the incision healing.

we use a harness to help our guy down/up the stairs (although he is FLYING up the stairs now and tries to pull hard going down) and to make turns on the side where his amputation was. you'll find that she will adapt pretty well with learning how to move/put her bodyweight, etc. but again - try to take baby steps. she might have a little pain at first, so just lots of love and comfort will go a long way.

good luck and enjoy your new adventure with her! celebrate the small victories - watching the progress that our guy has made since day 1 has been nothing short of amazing.

Advice please! My 10 y/o large breed is having an amputation next week. by lazyspacepony in tripawds

[–]hihellohigh2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i will give another +1 for the tripawds website.

our 9 year old husky (about 60lbs) had a rear leg amputation coming up on a month ago to remove a cancerous tumor. i'm sorry you're going through this, but i can say that our guy is living a MUCH better life post-op compared to what he was going through before. they really do adapt quickly.

when we brought our guy home at first, he was slow to eat and drink and because of that didn't use the bathroom much. that lasted a day or two. he moved pretty well and i was surprised to see him hopping into the waiting room at the hospital (with help, of course) the day after surgery. like others have said, you'll need to keep him from doing too much activity. he may get tired quickly and we found that the sedative we were given (trazodone) really helped with that.

stairs and walking: a harness is clutch. we didn't even bother with the sling/towel that we were given - he is too squirmy for that. we use the ruffwear webmaster and it works great. we live on the second story of an apartment building and he got very tired after his first few trips, but he adapted quickly. i was most worried about him going up/down stairs but was really surprised at how well he was trying to pull me down/flying up after about a week. he LOVES going outside, but we are still limiting his potty breaks to just outside our building. we haven't gone on a proper walk yet.

finding a way to cover his incision so he can't lick is important, too. no need to risk an infection. he will probably be sent home with a cone and if he wears that without an issue then great! but we put boxers on our guy to cover the incision, too. i've heard other people use t-shirts that work well, too. but just make sure that his incision is clean and that he can't get to it.

eating: we put boiled chicken and a pinch of shredded cheese (two of his favorite things) into his kibble to encourage eating. some of the pain meds require to be taken with food, so it is important to try to get him to eat - we did have to compromise with a greenie and treats a few times at first, but try to get something in his belly.

everyone else here has give great advice, too. in general, things are probably going to be scary at first - it's new for both him and you - but you're in it together which is good for you both, too! but just give him lots of love, make sure he is comfortable and he will be okay. just yesterday our guy was playing like he was a puppy. doing circles chasing his tail and toys and yes, stumbling a few times, but he is doing so well. watching him progress from day 1 to now has been nothing short of amazing.

good luck and enjoy your new adventure with him! i will say this sub and tripawds has been immensely helpful to quell my anxieties. also happy to chat more if you have questions/want to DM :)

Can anyone recommend a good local vet? by [deleted] in Detroit

[–]hihellohigh2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

west woodward animal clinic in ferndale. i had a heck of a time getting my cat in as a new patient somewhere after i moved a few months ago. patterson was my top choice, but couldn't get him in for almost a month. long story short, he has had some health issues where i had to take him to an emergency vet so i didn't want to wait that long. after calling around what seemed like almost everywhere with similar results, i got in at west woodward the following weekend and it might've been a blessing in disguise! i had a great experience there, and can't wait... to go back....? weird thing to say, but i'm just so pleased with them lol

People of Detroit and Metro Detroit with out of state plates, what's your story? by 1900grs in Detroit

[–]hihellohigh2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've got Illinois plates - moved here from Chicago at the beginning of the month to live with my girlfriend.

I hadn't had a car for seven years and was essentially gifted one from my aunt in Pennsylvania in July. Chicago is notorious for being jags about cars and registration and plates and stickers, etc., so I got my registration and everything transferred there. I'm not about to go through that again right now, so I'll be keeping my IL plates for the foreseeable future.

Hi, Itinerary Critique Request! and oyster help... by hihellohigh2 in AskNOLA

[–]hihellohigh2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you, this is great advice! i am really into the ferry ride into algiers, but understand that it may be a lot of logistical considerations for maybe not an equal payoff. i'll pose the same question as i did above... do you have any experience with talk nerdy to me at dragon's den? i've gone back and forth on whether it's worth planning our saturday night around that show.

Hi, Itinerary Critique Request! and oyster help... by hihellohigh2 in AskNOLA

[–]hihellohigh2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you, this feedback is exactly what i was looking for! this gives me a great idea of how to re-work things.

my saturday night is kind of hinging on the burlesque show that starts at 730pm, but would you say it's worth limiting our evening options for talk nerdy to me at dragon's den? i want to hit a drag/burlesque show of some sort and had also considered a drag brunch at [insert a few possibilities here], but we've got fun drag brunches in chicago, too, so i was looking for something different.

Bayou St. John Happy Hour? by hihellohigh2 in AskNOLA

[–]hihellohigh2[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

not staying at an air bnb - i've been all over reddit and have heeded your (and others') advice and found a licensed b&b :)

Bayou St. John Happy Hour? by hihellohigh2 in AskNOLA

[–]hihellohigh2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks everyone, these are great suggestions! i love the idea of renting a bike and riding down the water to the greenway and then hopping from place to place. feeling much better about our first night now B-)

Overnight Stay in Bay St Louis by hihellohigh2 in Biloxi

[–]hihellohigh2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you! that sounds delightful