OT - Dog Surgery

[sfavereau]

. Now we'll both be able to set off security alarms at airports. :rollseyes:

Yeah, I thought of that yesterday when we were on our way home with Colorado.

No, he's not minding Owen Potato's advice of minding us! He's very determined, but on the plus side the surgeon told us that as long as he wasn't straining the operated leg, he could do what he wanted, since forcing him to do something he doesn't want might make him try to run from us using the bad leg. I see his point...

Hope your knee is doing well, WynnieG! I hate knee pain and am terrified of knee injury, which is really bad since I'm an avid hiker. I have a "bad" ankle from a really bad sprain about 15 years ago, and I don't need any other injury.

I started Colorado's physical therapy today. We have to do a massage, starting at the toes and going up to the hip. I pretty much skip the the knee area and he tolerates it well and seems to relax. Then I do range of motion, by flexing his knee until he resists, and holding it there for 30 seconds. He tolerated that fine for about 3 reps. I was told not to force any of it and to stop as soon as he wanted me to, so I thought that went well. The last part of PT is icing. That's the only thing he HATES. I'm supposed to ice the knee for 10 minutes after PT, but he only tolerates 1 minute. Ahhh well, overall, I'm pretty happy with the rest of it and I won't force it. The last thing I want him to is jump up and run from me and the bag of frozen peas ice pack.

Hugs for all of you! Glad to hear he's recouperating well, and what a great vet you have to call and check on your baby!

And I agree with Colorado re the ice pack; it is not very comfy! (Though frozen peas is my favorite form of ice pack.) Alas, though, it is a necessity. Maybe you can work up from one minute to ten

[mks22300]

I'm glad that Colorado is doing so well Stephanie!!

[WynnieG]

Have you tried maybe a thin tea towel over the peas? It mitigates the freezer burn feel of icing. Or perhaps you can knit him an ice pack cozy?

My knee is hanging in there although these weather fronts keep me in a constant state of ache lately. The weather has been mild, but a bad freeze is coming...which means I'll have to dig out my cleats again when it comes time for walkies.

Some days I wish I had a pair of Wallace and Gromit's Techno-Trousers.

[dustinac]

glad to hear everything went well they become our little furbabies with that first look!!

[bjc1050]

Glad to hear that Colorado is doing well. Hope he continues to do so.

[sfavereau]

Have you tried maybe a thin tea towel over the peas? It mitigates the freezer burn feel of icing. Or perhaps you can knit him an ice pack cozy?

I have tried a thin tea towel, as well as a thicker towel, but he just doesn't like it! His swelling is so minimal and he's really good about range of motion exercises, so I doubt he's in pain. He just doesn't like the cold feeling, I guess. The problem is that he tries to run from me when he sees the bag of peas now. LOL I don't want him to run, though.

He began bearing weight on his operated leg this morning! The vet said he would start really soon, and he was right. When he wants to move a little faster, he picks it up and hops on 3 legs, but when he's walking slow, he uses all 4! Amazing!

Thanks for all the kind comments, everyone! It's really helped me get through the first anxious days. Now, it's just a matter of slowing him down, I think.

Glad to hear that your knee is hanging in there, WynnieG! Good luck with the walkies. I call them walkies too! But, I've been shying away from using that word lately.