Saturday, July 31, 2010

Day 23

I was slammed at work this week, so look for a real post tomorrow after I catch up on my sleep.

Until then, enjoy Clover at 5 months, and then at 13 years 4 months.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Day 17

Sadly, my camera has officially kicked the bucket. So I'm going to ask you to mentally photoshop the previous post's picture of Clover in his life jacket with this one from last March:

I will be honest, the actual result of taking Clover swimming was hysterical.

First, I imagined at 9:30 on a Saturday morning after it had down poured, I would be alone on the beach. Yeah, not so much, actually. There were several families there, along with a tent that was clearly set up for a wedding later in the day. Well, fine. Dogs are ok on the beach, and mine had a legit reason to be sporting a bright yellow PFD.

So I carried him out over the sand, got in just over knee deep, and put Clover down. Clover has gone swimming before, but I'm sure it's been at least two years.

He didn't quite remember.

First, he sort of splayed all four legs like a falling cat and sort of bobbed in the tide. I took the handle on the back of the PFD and started backing up, at which point he started frantically paddling with his front legs, leaving his hind legs sticking straight out behind him. I glanced behind me to make sure I wasn't walking into anything, then looked back and he was still swimming oddly. It wasn't until I picked him up I noticed I hadn't tightened the front chest strap enough, and he'd managed to thread on of his legs into it. As I went to fix it, he actually then put his other front leg into it, and sat pretty contentedly, just floating, his front feet resting on the chest strap of the life jacket. He was very proud of himself. That is, until the next ripple of a wave passed through and he nearly capsized. So I took him back to shore, tightened up his life jacket, and headed back into the water.

This time, I lead him gently by the handle and by his chin, and he got it down. If they flail, it's bad, but a nice, even, determined swim is a very good thing, as it's a full range of motion with absolutely no press/stress on the joint. So I sort of based up and down the shore (remember, I'm only in a bit over my knees) where Clover would either swim or just barely touch bottom and walk. Walking like this is also good for the same reasons, there is a lot less stress on the joint; many rehab facilities use swimming and water treadmills.

Anyway, I was at the beach for perhaps half an hour and Clover swam perhaps 10 or 15 minutes all together.

He slept so hard when we got home he was dreaming and whining on the sofa. I had to wake him up to take him outside, and he came back in and passed out. I had to wake him up to feed him dinner! Amazing. And even today, he's still pretty tired. I love it. This is exactly what we both needed.

I am currently thinking he can swim once a week for a few more weeks, until our six week follow up with the surgeon, and go from there. Really, by mid-September it will likely be too cold anymore, but we should have a pretty good start by then.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Day 13

Clover had his stitches removed yesterday. It went something like this:

Lindsey, my charming local vet, wanders in with the Vet Tech, who is pretty much there for show, since a vet could have done a knee surgery without a sedative and Clover would have remained stoic. Lindsey is the daughter of a nearby IG breeder I've known for some time from dog shows. She is young, pretty, wavy hair, but rumor has it that her love life has been somewhat affected by her honest answer to favorite part of being a vet: Neutering.

Lindsey: "Oh, look at that haircut. He looks like a Portuguese Water Dog instead of a Lowchen this time."

He does. The front leg is less shaved, and they've shaved from ribs, up his tail a bit, and down to his foot. She looks again at Clover standing on the table, head pressed into my hands, hoping if he doesn't move, she won't see him.

Lindsey: "Wow, he's weight on that all ready. How long has it been?"
Me: "Two weeks on Thursday."
Lindsey: "Really? Most dogs are just toe touching around now, that's great."

Lindsey finds her small, angled scissors from a drawer and starts snipping.

Lindsey: "Oh, that incision is really nicely healed. When did he have surgery again?"
Me: "July 8th."
Lindsey: "I'm impressed, Clover."

Lindsey brushes the black remains of sutures into the trash, puts down the scissors, and picks up Clover's knee, and tests the stability, then the range of motion, and furrows her brown.

Lindsey: "I'm sorry, when was the surgery?"

I should take a moment to mention Lindsey is not, in any way, dense. In fact, we have very intelligent discussions about things, and I have great faith in her.

Me: "Twelve days ago."
Lindsey: "I would be happy to see this level of healing, pain control, and range of motion on a four year old dog who was five weeks out of surgery. He's 13 isn't he? Twelve days? I guess bionic suits him."

I guess so. Hopefully the weather clears this week and we can start swimming soon. There's a nice dog friendly (if you don't bother anyone) beach up the road and the dog needs to burn some energy.


PS, I actually attribute his good health and fast healing in large part to his magic green powder. I started taking their spirulina and man, it really is a super food.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Day 10

Clover is doing pretty well. He's less out of his mind today for no apparent reason, but I'll take it.

While he was napping in the pack'n'play, I was going through my closets. I am moving next month to a smaller apartment (partly due to me $2500 dog), so I'm trying to get rid of some stuff. And since when I open my wallet bugs fly out, I'm trying to sell at least some of it.

Such as this awesome Agility Trial Day/Weekend Warrior bag set I put together (Clover Not Included).
This set includes a positively adorable, blue, padded, messenger-style bag. It has mesh pockets on the outside (outside is perfect for leashes and pick up bags). Inside has more mesh pockets (treats), and a waterproof zipper spot for two foldable soft water bowls (included). I'm also including a hand-made martingale style lead. This is a one piece lead/collar that slips over the head and then you can slide down a buckle for a tight, slip-proof fit (my friend who makes these has Italian Greyhounds and they are IG proof!). It's nice and wide for little throats, brown seude outside and a sassy leopard print inside. Leopard print goes against the throat, and the black webbing goes over the ears. It might not fit REALLY big Havs but it's a pretty good size, ask for a measurement if you're worried. Dogs won't really be too small for it because of how it adjusts. Also included is a cool-down mat that has thirsty crystals in it. Soak in cold water for 15-30 minutes and it stays damp and cool for 24+ hours. I'd roll it in a cooler with some ice packs, and Clover loved flopping down on it after a run. It's not big like a bed, just a little patch of coldness in the grass. And finally, two one-use pouches of Meyers oatmeal dog shampoo, perfect for when putting a dog that dirty in your car isn't an option.

I am asking $40 + shipping for this set but accepting bids.

I also have a larger, bed-sized cool down mat available. Asking $15 + shipping.All items are gently used but seem to be in good order. The smaller cool down mat seems to have one half of one 'tube' that doesn't fill up, but I couldn't find any evidence of a hole or leaking gel. I soaked both of them today and they seemed fine.

I have some other stuff on Craigslist... if you're interested in a corduroy messenger bag, cute Route 66 luggage, Red Sox '07 victory signs, let me know.

If you're interested in any of the stuff here, please leave a comment or email me Narwyn at Gmail dot Com

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Day 9

Still waiting for those tranquilizers. I am debating a trip to the nearby amazing organic store for some melatonin, which I've used in the past as a reasonably effective chill pill for dogs. My only hesitation is that he's on so many other things right now. But to be fair, I both of his painkillers are "10 days then as needed." So I might start a slow taper tomorrow. I certainly don't want him to be in pain, but he seems to be a little bit too comfortable for how fragile his knee is right now. Hey, maybe if I don't give him the melatonin, I'll just take it.

In an effort to induce sanity, I put Clover in his bag and headed for a couple of pet stores today. Now, I feel that I should note that I'm generally not a proponent of the dog bag. Aside from the fact pets are not fashion accessories, even tiny dogs have legs and should use them. And like to use them. Also, taking your dog everywhere sets them up for some major separation anxiety when you cannot. However, there are some times having a slightly incognito and portable bag comes in handy. Perhaps the best example is visiting my brother in Boston. On a nice spring or fall day, Clover can walk around outside, and hop in the bag if we wander into a store or coffee shop. Most places that don't sell food don't mind a small dog who can't do any damage to their products. Also, many restaurants around town are happy to have a well-behaved dog at their patio seating, which makes for a nice lunch.

Anyway, today Clover got to ride around in Petco and Pet Supplies Plus. I admit, I felt the need to tell everyone he had knee surgery, and that the bag wasn't just for kicks. He likes being in the bag (I imagine it's like being carried) so he'll just sit or lie down and look around. I bought him a bone he's not that interested in eating (surprise, surprise) and a shampoo on sale. He got to sniff everything I picked up, got pet by several people, and generally got some much needed mental stimulation.

I have an appointment for his stitches to come out Tuesday evening, but I really think they could probably have come out yesterday with no ill effects. This photo's pretty bad because, well, so is my camera at this stage of its life. I should have taken a picture of day 1 for comparison, but as you can see, it looks like a pink scar with stitches through it more than a wound that needs to be stitched together. And he's got a tiny layer of fuzzy growing back, although as I learned, the hair will be six months in the making. It really does look like a chicken leg, doesn't it?

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Day 6

.... and one of us needs a tranquilizer.

I don't know what it is, but he seems like he's weeks ahead of the last recovery. Maybe the absence of the cast? The extra fluids post-op? The lack of this being a novel experience?

Every day he is putting more and more weight on the leg, which is good. But every day he is more and more INSANE.

Yesterday, he came inside and grabbed a toy and started bouncing around, so I picked him up. He tried to push off my leg and yelped because, shockingly, trying to shove me into the next township so he can get the squeaky duck back in his mouth kind of hurt considering he's less than a week out from knee surgery. He would happily run around on however many legs he currently likes. This evening he was in is pen and when I brought his dinner over, and the dog had the audacity to try to raise himself onto two legs!

To give you a baseline, most vets are very please if a dog has started toe touching - and that is NOT limping along the leg, that is literally just starting to put its toes down for a few seconds at a time - two weeks post-op. Clover started toe touching the next day, and his now limping on that leg about 60-75% of the time. Limping, as they are comfortable with it, is a good thing, as it increases strength and circulation. But beyond a slow, light limp - bad.

Before you think this is great, Clover is doing so well, why is she so worried - let me explain.

Basically, Clover has a very slow-dissolving suture that I often refer to it as fishing wire strung around the outside of his knee to hold the upper leg and lower leg bones together to form an actual joint. This is what the CCL did before its vanishing act, except it strung under/through the joint (a technique that just doesn't work as well artificially and is rarely used anymore).The problem with too much activity to soon is that this suture can actually rupture or stretch. Obviously another rupture is bad news, but even a stretched out can lead to more knee instability that can, ultimately, make the surgery fail.

Clover, being not much of a chewer, is hard to entertain. Plus, even if he did, there's only so many more calories I can get in him without him gaining wait, which will only put more strain on the knee, also not a good thing.

I'm not anti-medication, per say, but I'm a big fan of keeping it pretty minimal, and using alternatives as possible and practical (my dog eats garlic instead of pouring a topical flea/tick pesticide down his back every month). But I am seriously thinking I might need some mild tranquilizer to get us through another week or two. Granted, the dog is on three medications that should be making him sleepy, so what else can you do? But having him wreck his knee won't do anyone any good.

Poor guy. I don't know who is more frustrated right now, my dog who whines all night because he doesn't want to be confined to a pen yet again, or me, who would really just like to get some sleep.

My camera seems to be broken again (it had a near death experience with Victoria Falls last April) so there are no recent pictures. So I present you with Vintage Clover, from his very first obedience trial EVER in 2001 (age 4). Clearly we had a good result - first place with a score of 196.4 out of 200. Fritz Clark of The Standard Image took the photo, if you're ever at dog shows in New England, he's a good guy and a very talented photographer.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Day 4

Clover has a long way to go, for sure. But his incision is all ready healing up, yesterday's toe touching is today's slight weight bearing, and last time's happy medicinal buzz is today's "NO YOU CAN NOT RUN I DONT CARE HOW WELL YOU CAN MOVE ON 3.25 LEGS."

I don't know who has lost more of their mind, my dog who is crazy bored, or me who is going crazy trying to stop him from being bored.

I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery.I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery.I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery.

Though that's better than the alternative. It's going to be a LONG 12 weeks.

No, you know what? Let's break this up into small increments. Seven more days and the battle of Kat vs. Clover vs. his stitches is over. Looking forward to that. Meanwhile, any good ideas of how to cover a stifle? He won't pull off anything (vet wrap, socks) but they all slide down because his leg tapers. Sigh.

I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Day 3

So it was an eventful weekend - but not for Clover. My aunt scurried up from PA to breed her Havanese (the enchanting EllieMae, who I showed to her championship last year) to another handsome champion Havanese who is about an hour north of me. I had offered a long time ago to help her when the time came - and, I will admit, it would have been REALLY nice if they time hadn't come when my own dog was quite so post-op. But alas, such things happen, so I had my aunt and her two female dogs crash with me this weekend (my uncle and the male dogs crashed with my parents about 40 minutes north). This also included shuttling my aunt and her little girl around, assisting in the actual breeding, and providing a supply of Nature's Miracle and clean towels to her to clean up the pee spots from her other little girl dog. Anyway, we'll see in about a month if there are puppies on the way.

Clover has been a lot more with it in this post-op period. A bit odd, as it was the same doctor, same surgery, same medications, probably the same anesthetics... perhaps this time it's just not a novel experience. He was VERY happy to see my aunt and uncle, and the girls. Of course I had to keep them separated, as the knee repair is very fragile and will be for several weeks, but there was some quality tail-wagging through the ex-pen. There was also some growling when he was on the sofa with me and the puppy was trying to poke at him, but, that's reasonable.

He will lick at his stitches when he's bored (nothing a layer of vet wrap isn't fixing, at this point) and definitely sleeps a bit more than usual, but is otherwise happy and comfortable. He is mostly holding up his surgery leg, but even in the past day has start gingerly putting it down with a little bit when he stands. This is very good - many dogs won't bear ANY weight for weeks - they were impressed last time when he was doing so ten days out. Although you don't want to over stress the knee, some weight on it will enhance circulation and prevent excessive muscle loss, so it's good. Later there will be range of motion exercises (our favorite is repeated sit and stand to flex the joint and lightly weight bear), but for now, whatever he is comfortable with works for me.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Home Again

I am happy to report a surprisingly chipper Clover came home today! Last time he was extremely out of it as we left the vet, this time he hopped out and was wiggling and whining and happy to see me. He stared out the window through the crate door on the way home (ok, he's a little spacey) but when I put him in the pen when I got home, he happily hopped over and snatched his ball.

As you can see, no cast this time. The tech sort of shrugged and said there's not any proof they do better or worse without it (which I had also read). I admit, the cast was really cute last time, and I was kind of looking forward to it. The incision looks lovely and he's leaving it alone. He's barely toe-touching right now, but that's pretty expected. Last time he was putting pretty reasonable weight on the leg after about 10 days, which was much to the delight of the vet, so I'm going to try not to worry.

I moved the pack'n'play to near the sofa so he can hang out in it while I'm here. I admit - when my mother first said she picked up a soft sided baby holder for my dog, I judged a little bit. It proved to be a life saver though, not only for its portability, but because Clover seems to have no issue whatsoever hanging out in it while I'm around. He'll whine and want to come out of a wire expen if I'm around, but this thing is just fine with him. He'll also sleep in it at night. Of course, I don't leave him in it unsupervised - the wire pens are fine for that - but it's been a surprisingly big help.

In other news, Clover's BUN (kidney) levels were elevated. Granted, he's on a higher-protein diet (Wellness Core Oceanfish) because I've been trying to keep him off grain, but, not at the expense of his kidneys. So I'm exploring other food options. I am thinking that I might be able to get aware with a healthful grain food. Most grain-free are also very high-protein; Wellness Core is around 32%, but some hit 40%+, which is way too much for a toy breed. I think my first choice is going to be the Wellness Super5 Fish, which drops down to 22% protein. Also, Taste of the Wild's salmon recipe is similar at 25% protein, and grain free, but I will have to see if I can actually get that anywhere.

Clove is happily asleep now. I'm having some visitors this weekend but hopefully he can stay calm and I can, perhaps, finally take at least one deep breath. Many more to come.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

PHEW

I handed over Clover to the capable hands of Dr. Weitzman at Acorn Animal Hospital around 8 this morning. I didn't cry this time (only slightly teared up) and managed to avoid a panic attack most of the day. It's nerve wracking to hand them over, because with surgery you just never really know what can happen, even in very capable hands.

Luckily, Clover made it through with just a few extra fluids. Despite his less intense limping, he apparently did just as much damage to his knee as he did the first time (which was pretty extensive). His CCL had torn so completely that it basically wasn't there anymore. Brave little dog to even try walking on such an unstable knee...

They keep him overnight and expect that he will be fine to come home tomorrow. As memory serves, he'll spend the weekend passed out, only waking to eat and medicate.

Here's a picture from the day I brought him home last time. Shaved, casted, and he was so cold he is wearing a hoodie and passed out in front of my space heater (it was December).

Wonder what color the cast will be this time?

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

T Minus One

So Clover is all set up and packed for the vet tomorrow.
The big expen is set up in the living room with every imaginable thickness, fabric, and type of bed imaginable (granted, the taller ones will be removed while he's gone tomorrow as a cast and tall bed don't really mix). Might as well keep the dog comfortable since for the next six weeks he'll be in there a good 23 hours a day.
The Pack n Play is set up in my bedroom for night time. If I ever randomly decide that I want children, at least I will bring some mad pack'n'play skills to the table. I can set it up and tear it down in 32 seconds flat.

I packed up tomorrow's dinner and Friday's breakfast (since he will stay overnight at the vet), the benadryl which I hope he can take post-op so he can continue breathing, radiographs, and slightly more detail list than they probably need. I'm not a list person, but the dog deserves a list.

I watched him hop around tonight and wondered, again, if I am doing the right thing. This knee seems so much better - he gets around on it so much better a lot of the time. But then he has a slow, deep limp, too. Since the last knee was pretty much obliterated, the fact this one hurts less doesn't really meal a whole lot.

Part of the list was telling the vet that if he doubted the surgery to call me and talk. I somehow don't think that will be the case. Wish us luck.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

T-Minus Two

Welcome back after the holiday weekend. It was good overall. Clover hung out with his grandparents in Massachusetts while I hopped a ferry to Block Island and rode mopeds, drank on the beach, and was as otherwise irresponsible as someone who briefly shed their firstborn generally is.

Before leaving the grandparents' digs, Clover also got is pre-surgery bath & sheering. He can't get bathed until stitches are out and even at that, his knee isn't really stable enough for at least two months for me to feel comfortable thinking about standing him on a quasi-slippery surface. It's also hard to ask him to flip around and get thoroughly brushed out. So, he gets a bath and short hair. He'll keep the short hair for awhile as the bald leg grows out.

Actually, this hair cut should have been somewhat monumental because it was the first time I would have truly trimmed the hair from the surgery leg - the last hair cut was the monumental evening out thereof. Life's always a little more complicated than we hope I suppose.

Also, the NotFuzzy dog went home on Saturday. I admit, it was sad. Merci was an Italian Greyhound from Chelsea who I was showing and had the added benefit of keeping Clover company. Unfortuantely, she really had to go home. Aside from being spring-loaded therefore a potential healing-knee-hazard, Merci was a very active dog, and keeping one dog exercised and the other rested would be a nightmare for all parties involved. This is a distinct advantage of a borrowed dog versus having another permanent addition. It was going to get hard, so Merci went home.

Also, like most IGs, she had a great desire to sleep on warm, fuzzy things. Of course, the warmest, fuzziest thing in my house was Clover. He didn't really mind being climbed over and slept on (as long she didn't scratch and dig to fluff him up more), but as soon as the knee got hurt, he just wanted no part of it. Can't blame the guy. It was pretty freaking cute though.

So the next day is devoted to cleaning up and setting up. Clover will have a big ex-pen in the living room where he will spend the majority of his time. I will also set up the Pack N Play in my bedroom for night time. Pictures tomorrow. Then Clover will get dropped off at 8 am Thursday for surgery day. The surgeon hasn't seen him or his radiographs yet, and some part of me hopes he calls and says surgery won't be needed, but I can see and my vet can see that that's a pretty unlikely scenario. Oh well.

Friday, July 2, 2010

All Drugged Up & No Where to Go

My friend Chelsea of Raindance IGs (and the real owner of my current non-fuzzy dog) said something very wise: that vets should be able to distribute some human medications.

"OK, here is Clover's Tramadol and Metacam, and here is your Zoloft."

Brilliant, right? I think so.

While I'm not on any anti-anxiety medications, Clover is on an array of pills.

After a bought of allergic bronchitis that made him lose 2.5 pounds (a lot when you only weight 11 or so to begin with) because he couldn't keep down food, Clover spends most of the year on various doses of Temeril-P. The OTC antihistamine was just not cutting it anymore in a very real way.

As twitchy as it makes me that he's on prednisone long term, a few things make me feel better about it. One, it's on as-needed dosing. There were two weeks this spring he was on it daily; in the middle of winter, it's once a week, if that. It's a max of 2mg of prednisone a day for him, which is a fairly low dose. Three, as my vet said, long-term pred use for a 12 year old dog is a different thing than a 2 year old dog. So, I still certainly get twitchy (and remember my experience with high doses of pred during the Swine Flu Incident of 2009), but this is clearly the lesser among evils - better than him starving to death or having his throat close up.

Incidentally, anyone who knows my lovely little dog in person knows he has an endearing pig-like snort. Well, turns out that part of it is his soft palate, but most of it was his inflamed respiratory system from his wicked pollen allergies. So he still sounds a little bit like a pig, but not nearly like he used to.

Of course, with the knee, there are more medications and more considerations.

First is Tramadol. A pain killer that is approved for longer-term control of chronic pain. Clover definitely gets a little drowsy from this (which is fine when he's supposed to be staying off his knee anyway), but doesn't seem to have any of the other side affects. It works well for him.

Clove is trading the Temeril for Metacam. Although both are technically anti-inflammatory medications, the Temeril is steroid, and Metacam is non-steroidal. It's just a matter of which is the best medication for the issue, and in general, Metacam is prescribed for joint problems. He won't start this until he's post-op, but a minimum of 7 days for the Temeril to get out of his system is best, so he's all ready had his last dose of Temeril for awhile.

And Clove will also be on his OTC antihistamine as needed. Luckily this doesn't make him too sleepy (impressive, since those little pink pills knock me out for 16+ hours), but combined with the Tramadol, he will probably be quite sleepy. I'm trying to keep the dose minimal, but obviously breathing is important. Luckily, Clover's allergies are worst in the spring, so he's past the worst of it for the year. If had had done this a month ago it would have likely resulted in a delayed surgery until he could really got off the Temeril, because open tracheas are generally more important than stable knees.

Of course, as we get further past surgery, all of the medications will lower the dose. The surgery is extremely fragile for several weeks after the fix. Although it's very important that the surgery and after pain is controlled, after a few weeks, you don't really want them to be 100% pain free. If they are, they will often over-extend themselves and can do damage to the knee. It's good for them to think, gee, that knee is a little sore... maybe I'll settle for an aggressive trot.

We've got a long way to go before that one, though. And despite the wonders of modern medicine, I feel that the biggest impact on Clover's health is his diet and supplements. Look for those in a future post!

Depending on the surgery and the dog, some vets prescribe other medications. The information provided in this blog is informational only, not intended to recommend, diagnose, or treat any condition or disease. You should always discuss your pet's medications with your licensed veterinarian.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Half way there

I would like to thank the contributors to the Bionic Havanese Fund. Big or small, the donations have been marvelous and helpful and I am having fewer panic attacks now than I was earlier this week. I appreciate it, and so do my co-workers.

To that end I am apparently not as paypal literate as I believed (I thought putting the donate button this page was badass, to give you a gauge) and I promise that the pending donations are going to be officially accepted/finalized early next week.

THANK YOU.

Clover finally seems to have enough painkiller in his system to be reasonably comfortable, which is a relief. A future post will discuss medications in more depth. But it's late, I went to a picnic, and I need to go to bed.

So I'll leave you with this charming picture, which was taken right after Clover's first cast was removed. It is his best Lowchen-with-battlescar impression.