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.