AL - Recording baby steps: Newest Addition

[AL]

I had actually contacted the trainer prior to finding out this surgery was a possibility again. I had lost touch with her and found her on Facebook of all places. Rio has decided he wants to be a little dog aggressive (probably protecting that leg) so I got some tips from her on working with him, even while he is down from the surgery. He usually (usually) minds pretty well, but he just gets nuts at the vet for some reason. He isn't afraid at all. he LOVES them - the tech taking his temp was getting a waggy-tail beat down in the process! He was pretty subdued at this vet, at my vet there is one tech that Rio loves. I think he would go home with her HAHA. He hears her voice through the door and perks up... then explodes into a frenzy of happiness when he sees her.

My vets and their staff used to call Rio "Buford on crack" lol.

The surgeon was talking about how a lot of times Labs are kind of structurally / genetically predisposed to ACL ruptures, but that the way Rio's knee moves and "sticks" it is more like a traumatic injury. I gave him "the look" and said "see how he acts here? multiply that times 100 when he is around my other dog"... of course it is traumatic!!!

 

[savingdogs]

Awwww, Rio sounds so cute! He knows who the nice people are, doesn't he? He sounds like a smart boy.

 

[AL]

Rio had his surgery this morning. I was a nervous nellie all day long and really wanted some of OFG's pie...
anyway, surgeon just called and Rio did fine. His ACL was tearing (no duh, doc) so they did the TPLO. The surgeon was still puzzled by how "inconsistent" Rio's pain was. I assured him the pain was constant, but Rio is an idiot (I say that with love) and if he wants to play he would play with the leg hanging half off. So then the surgeon says "I think I'll send sedatives home with Rio" hahahaha
FINALLY he catches on!
I finally remembered to ask him about the osteosarcoma. He said it was a frequent problem with the original type welded plates, but he uses a different plate, different manufacturer with a different weld and it has very rare occurences of bone tumors developing under the plate. He said it isn't really any more common now than with any time the bone is fractured or "otherwise p!ssed off"

He also said that he did an x-ray of the left leg "just for the heck of it' and that I need to go ahead and plan on having that knee done in the fall.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

oh yay! (about him doing so well)
oh no! (about the other leg)

well.. here honey - have some pie.. what a day!

 

[i_am2bz]

Glad to hear Rio came thru the surgery okay. Sorry to hear about the other leg. Start saving your pennies. :/

 

[Farmfresh]

I understand that stress. They may just be our dogs but they are so important to our lives. Glad things are working out OK.

 

[AL]

oooh mercy! I almost had an epic OFG meltdown at the veterinary surgery center.

I had my usual insomnia last night and got about 1 1/2 hours sleep. I finally fed the critters and decided to see about Rio. I called before I left the house and asked if Rio was ready to come home. She said she checked with the tech and yep, he was ready to go. So I drive 20 minutes to the clinic in my parents big ol' honking 15 passenger van that has a wheelchair lift. I get there at 8:05. I was the only client in the building. At 8:55 they said he was ready and I could check out!!!! (about 15 minutes into it the receptionist tells me there is a new vet and new tech doing rounds, but there are only 3 dogs counting RIo so it'll be just a minute).

So I pay the ginormous bill and the receptionist says oh dear, she forgot to get the surgeon to fill out the insurance paper and he is off, so I will need to drive back down there tomorrow to get the forms.
Then the tech comes to give me aftercare instructions . As she got further along the page, the written instructions became more vague and so did she. I didn't care, whatever, I know how to tend an incision. Then she starts talking about physical therapy and using the cold gel pack they provided but she "didn't know how to use the pack. Just read the book. I think it is 10-15 minutes or something after you walk him or at night, but it's in the book just read it". And the aftercare mentions supplements, she says "talk to your family vet or come back tomorrow and see the surgeon about those, I don't know what your dog would need".

I am seething. She starts to go get Rio, I say "He is going to freak out knowing I am here, go ahead and put his own collar on him so that is one less thing". Nah, they've got it.

Of course the next sound is Rio choking himself straining against the slip leash and the tech angrily and loudly commanding him to "Stop it! STOP dog!". The receptionist says to her "let me help you with the door" - the reply made me so angry I was shaking and nearly bit the blood out of my lip "I don't need help with the door I need help with the crazy dog, he doesn't mind anything" and she kept on "He's crazy" "he doesn't listen"

I met them at the door and told him to settle down, touched his head and he quieted. But of course the tech said she would need to walk him out so she could use the sling and I just nodded so I wouldn't go to jail. He freaked out all the way home. My dad helped me get him inside using a towel as a sling and he still freaked out even inside. I took him out and he tried to bolt, his tail so tight between his legs it looked like he didn't have one. I finally calmed him down enough that he was able to squat and pee.... and pee... and pee... and - well, you get the idea. Poor dog must have held it all night.
I called my vet and she spent about 15 minutes on the phone with me. They are going to let me borrow a sling and they have a big sample container of the supplements. She wanted the name of the tech and said "only FAMILY can call him crazy. She can't, and especially not the way she was saying it". I didn't have her name so she said she would call the surgeon and get it - turns out my vet is good friends with the owner of the surgery place. OOPS


So now Rio is resting after a bite to eat (my mom boiled some chicken for him lol) and a good drink of cold water. It is going to be a long 6 weeks.

I gotta go.... I have a book to read



ETA photo (yes, there are 2 different beds and he is laying on the floor. I think he is hot)

 

[savingdogs]

Holy cow, and that was the specialist office? Sheesh.

Maybe they should offer you TRANQUILIZERS for the poor dog instead of acting like him being excited is his fault?

Saying something like that about the dog in front of the owner would have gotten me FIRED at the three vet clinics I worked at.

I'd ask for some ace for the first couple days or Xanax until everything knits a little, we gave Sheena just a small dose and it really helped. She would get really excited especially when my husband came home, so I gave it to her once a day, about two hours before he showed up.

When I worked at the boarding kennel and we had overexcited dogs there boarding because they had surgery, we'd give them a sedation pill first and then take them out to go potty a half hour later so they would be less excited. Did they give you tramadol for pain because that one makes them sedated. I had a couple puppies with broken legs we gave that to during recuperation time, so hard to keep a puppy down, they should not make you feel bad that he is an excited dog, they should be offering you HELP with that aspect as well.

They should have told you also to keep him in a small space, that helps keep excited dogs from moving too much after surgery.

 

[AL]

Yes, he has Tramadol and Previcox (basically Rimadyl). My vet said they will give me some sedatives because when I go back to work on Sunday Rio will have to stay with my parents - my mom is wheelchair bound and my dad is less than helpful sometimes (other times he is great - never know which dad will show up). Dr S also said we'd work something out on them keeping him some if he needs more intensive pain management or confinement. I have a big kennel for him but he would just a) scream until my dad let him out or b) hurt himself demolishing the cage. That is what I get for not keeping up on his crate training.

ETA - believe me, my vet would have fired them on the spot.
The aftercare instructions do actually list kenneling... he is fine as long as I am around, he will sleep all day even when he isn't hurt / sick.

 

[savingdogs]

Can you borrow one of those big wire cages from someone? That is what we used, not an airline crate, for the orthopedic dogs, they can see outside better and it is less boring.

Or just have them keep him in a real small room like a bathroom or a laundry room or block him into one corner of the room the people are hanging out in. I'd time his pain medication with when he is going out, usually they get real used to tramadol after a day or two and it doesn't sedate them as much as at first. Even if you have to rearrange furniture for a few days, to make him a small confined spot where he is comfy. How often does he usually go potty?

One of those slings will really help. When we had surgery, they sent us home with one, it was part of the price. And vet clinics sometimes loan or rent those out with a deposit or at least suggest you have one ready.

I was reading your earlier post, they said they would send you home with sedatives then just gave you tramadol, that wasn't very cool either. Sounds like they really need to work on their dismissal procedures. That tech should have caught that.