The good, the bad but nothing ugly

friday_walkTuesday was a rough day. His appetite wasn’t that great but he did eat. The weather turned gloomy and had threatened thunder storms. I imagine, like most dogs, he gets really depressed when its rainy out and we have rain in the forecast all the way up to Monday. I decided to get him out back for a short bit while the weather was still cloudy. It started to sprinkle sometime after noon so I went out to fetch him. I was thankful that he got out for an hour. Instead of using the gate to get back into the house he decided he wanted to attempt the back deck stairs. He fumbled up the first step but made it up none the less. I’ll count that as the victory of the day! The rest of the day was spent with some anxiety and depression. I struggled with wether to give him a Xanax or not. By nightfall the weather wasn’t getting any better. The rain was becoming heavier with the potential for thunder. I could tell his uneasiness was increasing because he followed me from room to room. He never does that. He’s a pretty independent dog and rarely looks to us for comfort in that way. His safe place during storm’s is usually the TV room in the basement. He can’t make it down or up those stairs just yet so finding a temporary safe place is a bit of a problem. I tried to make him as comfortable as possible by closing all the curtains and I finally gave in and gave him half a Xanax before we went to bed.

Yesterday morning I found him underneath the dining room table looking pretty disheveled. He had the look of, who are you and how did I get here? So the Xanax must of worked. Score. His appetite still wasn’t that great but he did eat when I encouraged him by hand feeding him a bit. I got him out to pee a few times, in the misty rain, before I left for work. The rain had stopped a bit by the time I got home so I decided that maybe we could attempt a small walk. He saw me pick up his  harness and immediately got up. I didn’t even have to say the “w” word to get him up and motivated! (Now I know if you are reading this you are obviously a dog owner and you know never to say the “w” word unless you mean it and you also know what the “w” word is.) Out the door we went. His new harness was a little to loose and I’ll adjust that but otherwise he looks pretty darn handsome in it. He decided he really wanted to go across the street and up a steep hill into a neighbors yard for his first adventure. He mastered that hill like he had just climbed Mt. Everest. He did his business and clambered back down to the street. Thats where the harness comes in pretty handy. The handle on the back was helpful in aiding his descent down. He decided he wanted to continue with his exploration by heading back to our small court. The only thing I don’t like about the new harness is that the leash attaches to the back and not the front so its hard to get him to turn when I don’t want him to go somewhere. He can be pretty bull headed about the direction he wants to go in. After some sniffing around and marking new spots we headed back into the house. Not bad for our first attempt at a walk! I handed him his new bone, that my husband had bought him the day before,  and he sat very happily munching away, then took a nap.

It wasn’t raining before dinner so we decided to try and take him out for another walk. Steve (my awesome husband) had the brilliant idea of putting his new harness on and placing the old harness on top of it. The old harness has a loop up front for his leash which makes it much easier to control his sometimes stubborn, unwise choices in where he’s going to walk. It worked like a charm! He had a pretty successful mini walk down the street and back home! I gave him dinner but his appetite still isn’t that great. I’m going to try and not worry about it to much. He’s about 11 lbs less than what he used to be so maybe he wants less. It could be that he is finally on to me hiding his Tramadol in his food. I’m not sure what is going on. Maybe its weather related. I don’t know. Over all though, the day was excellent! Its been 17 days since surgery. It was almost like he was his old self again.

Loves his bone!
Loves his bone!

11 thoughts on “The good, the bad but nothing ugly”

  1. Yay Buddy, all-in-all, really good progress! You are experiencing the two steps forward, one step back that is the Tripawd journey. We also struggled with the wanting to eat issue with Nitro….eventually he came around and now is excited to eat again. Keep up the good work.

    Paula and Nitro

    1. Oh gosh. That’s so good to hear. Just when I think he’s doing great , he’ll do something like not eat. Thank you so much for the encouragement. It really is so helpful to hear what other people have gone through. 🙂

  2. Xanax worked wonders for Shelby as she had a rougher recovery once off her pain meds since those made her psychotic and we needed them. But he looks great!!! And it sounds like everything is as normal as can be.

    We didn’t have an issue w/the food but maybe just mix up what you offer? Give some “high value” snacks/treats sometimes (like stinky stuff or wet food if you want to).

    But all in all sounds great!

    1. I hear good things about Xanax in dogs! Thats great! I stuck a little bit of chicken lunch meat and that seemed to do the trick! Thank you!:)

  3. Gosh Buddy, you are an amazing pooch! If anyting, you might be overdoing it! It takes a lot of effort to do all that walking around you’ve been doing Mister! But you sure are enjoying yourself and that’s really all that matters!

    Is Buddy still on anynpain meds? Some of the restlessness could be a sign if of pain. My Hap p y Hannah had to stay on some dose for three weeks.

    I love in Virginia and this non stop rain is making everybody a little “off”! I know my dogs are tired of it too!

    As far as food…keep trying anything and everything! Yes, the surgery and meds do seem to mess with appetite with some dogs.

    One little “trick” that works sometimes…get something real l y good on your dinner plate (cheeseburger, macaroni and cheese, stinky liverwurs…act as though you are eating it, then put your plate on the floor and walk away.

    Another trick…have someone else walk in with a goody…maybe a piece of steak, or even salmon, and have that person be all excited and upbeat offering it to him.

    If he acts like he’s not eating because he’s nauseous or his tummy is upset, ask your vet to give you something for that. He is eating some, so that’s good!

    And clearly he loves his bone!! I keep scrolling back up to look at that picture because it just makes me sooo happy!!! Tripawds have NO problems enjoying their bones!

    Maybe stick some peanut butter inside or a few chunks of chicken as an extra treat.

    Buddy really is doing incredibly well! He’s happy and he’s stepping back into his “normal” routines. AND, it’s still VERY early in recovery!!

    Loving this Buddy fella’! He just melts my heart! 🙂

    Looking forward to more updates and adorable photos!!

    Love!

    Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!

    1. The Dr. wanted him on pain meds for another week to be safe. Thats makes me feel better for sure.
      We are trying to be super careful with walks to make sure he doesnt over do it. I let him take the lead to tell me where he wants to go but I don’t let him get to far! I think he is so desperate for his regular walks again!
      I finally listened to everyone and stopped putting Tramadol in his food and YAY!! That did the trick. Now I give it to him separately.
      We live in Virginia too! Rain, rain go away!!
      Love, Buddy, Tracie, Steve and the kids!

  4. It didn’t show up til now…saw the little silhouette of a woman walking her dog in the rain…..PERFECT!!!!!!

  5. Buddy is such a sweetheart! I love that picture with the bone – it is just too sweet:)… He is doing SO well!! What an amazing guy! Our Mani (who otherwise was completely food-driven) refused to eat when I put Tramadol in the food. It scared me to no end, but then I realized that Tranadol is EXTREMELY bitter, and completely changes the taste of food. As soon as o removed it – food problem was solved. We used pill pockets to give Tramadol separately..

    1. You all were absolutely right about putting Tramadol in his food. He is food driven as well! I stopped sneaking it in his food and and lo and behold… he ate his dinner!! YAY!!!
      Thank you for pointing that out!!

  6. Wow what progress! My Louie is nearly 2 months post amp and we haven’t walked anywhere except from the car to the vets or around the yard. Sounds like you guys are doing awesome!! I think Buddy will eat better when the tramadol is finished and he feels like his old self again! Keep up the good work Buddy!!

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