Here we go.... again

Well, it was 12 weeks to the day (on Friday the 13th) when Eli tore his OTHER knee up. We were doing pretty great with the walks and got the OK on February 13th from the surgeon for resumed activity. I was giving him a bath, and while drying him off, he got a bit frisky (as we all do) and he started running around me with the towel when I heard the dreaded "yelp". Leg up, he booked into the house, laid right down, and hasn't been up since except to do his business outside. Off to the surgeon tomorrow for a consult, but both Eli and I are saying to ourselves "mmmm I have some recollection of what this is all about". The crate, the pen, the mats..... they're all coming out tomorrow.

Day 17

Okay..... so I have read and re-read the instructions on Eli's post-surgery care, and have also done some research online. I have come to the conclusion that I am going to take the more liberal rehab route and start walking him... 2 ten minute walks a day. Unfortunately, Eli is not all that food motivated (which leads me to question if he is, in fact, a real dog) so getting him focused on treat dispensing toys is impossible, no matter what I put in them. After two full weeks home with little physical activity (this applies to both Eli AND myself) we are loving any opportunity to get outside to enjoy this beautiful January Florida weather. His stiches came out on Day 10, so no more E-collar for him.
More later....

Day 4 home

Well, a new problem has revealed itself.... How to keep an active dog who thinks he feels better calm and quiet for the next 24 days. Eli is acting more like the dog I recognize each day, which includes wanting to be out of the pen and wanting to spend a lot of time outside. He is procrastinating doing his business outside to be able to spend more time out there. Since I am home for the next two weeks, I have been letting him out of his jail during the day under a watchful eye. However, when given the choice, he just goes in his pen and lays down and stares at the floor. I think a trip to Petco is in order to try and get some toys that may alleviate some boredom. We tried the E-collar last night, fondly referred to as the lampshade, and we were able to deal with it until about 5am. We will try again tonight.

Day 2 home....

Eli (and I) are both doing better today than last night. He has stopped shaking and whining and isn't getting up as much. I think he is still confused and not feeling his personal best, but he's certainly better than yesterday. He's still not putting any weight at all on his bad leg, but I guess I wouldn't either. He's on a routine of cream cheese Kongs, marrow bones, and pain meds. Not bad, eh?

To the right is a pic of Brent trying to relax Eli and take some pressure off of me.

Ugh!

Well, we're about 33 hours post surgery, and Eli is a completely different dog. Wide-eyed, shaking, whining, antsy..... it's a bit much. He also continues to bleed from his leg. There's a small incision beneath the major one, and since there's so much fluid building up, it bleeds and oozes each time he gets up. There's a path of blood from the crate to the front door. I wonder if that one needs stitches too. I'll be sleeping (if you can call it that) on the floor next to his ex-pen tonight to try and ward off any licking of his wound. I am anxiously awaiting the 72 hour mark, which I hear is a good one.

Eli's home

So, I thought that my dogs TPLO surgery was as good as any excuse to start this blog. I thought that this would help me with boredom and stress for the next couple of weeks. I also thought it would be another venue aside from Facebook to let a select few know what's going on. Eli came home from the vet today after his surgery yesterday afternoon. Getting him in and out of the car was a bit sressful, but now he has finally settled down and is resting... or so I believe. I really don' t want to put the lampshade on so I am keeping my eye on him 24/7. We will see where I sleep tonight. His wound started bleeding a bit when we got home, but I guess that is normal after the movement of getting him home. He took his pain pills enthusiastically which was encouraging. It's a good thing there's a lot on TV right now!!!