I've only had Maeby for about 2 and 1/2 months now, but in that time I've heard her bark maaaaaaybe.... 4 times? 5? She's just a really quiet gal. She really doesn't whine either. We think she may be part Whippet, and that breed is generally a very quiet, un-vocal dog.
Well, I think that's going to start changing pretty soon. We started Day 3 with her whining this morning because she wanted me to wake up. Which I'm actually happy about, because now she can at least tell me she needs something!
She's putting weight on The Pink Stump now, and is actually walking on it. It's a little akward, because with all the stuffing and bandaging, it's longer than her leg should be. But she still tries walking on it nonetheless. And weight bearing is good, right?
I found out the bandage is called a Robert Jones bandage, and is used to reduce swelling. I'm so curious to see what her leg is like underneath. All that Arnica she's getting is supposed to reduce pain, inflammation, bruising, and swelling. Will her leg look like a mess when they take the bandage off? I HOPE the Arnica is doing something!!!
She is definitely feeling really great today. She wants to spend more time on her feet, exploring the living room and following me and the BF around. She also wants to spend more time outside. I'm not sure what I should be doing with her right now on her walks. She has a really short attention span and gets distracted by EVERYTHING. She will be on the verge of pooping, and if something catches her attention, she'll focus on that and forget she has to poop! This naturally results in more time spent outdoors than I feel she should be. She's not running or even walking fast, just spending a lot of time sniffing around. Is this bad?? Because Maeby ALWAYS has needed time to sniff around before she does her business.
I felt a little guilty pre-surgery because some ladies on the orthodogs list seem to take weeks off to be with their furry babies after surgery. Maeby's surgery was on Thursday, and I only took off Friday and Monday. But at the rate she's going... I wonder if I could go into work on Monday. I probably won't, just so I can stay home and be with her. But I don't think it would be the end of the world if I went in.
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So I posted on orthodogs regarding how much walking on carpet Maeby is allowed to do and I got a wonderful response: (thank you deej_612!)
Grace, I'm thrilled that Maeby is doing so well! My dog Blue had a
TPLO, and I don't remember how heavy Maeby is, but for the next 8
weeks it's standard that she is on best rest and is not to walk even
in the x-pen. If she is pacing in the xpen then it is too big for
her and she might fair better in a crate. When Blue refused to lay
down in his xpen, I threw a sheet over the top so that it covered the
sides except for the bottom 6-8 inches and so he had to lay down to
see out, and that really helped. In two days he learned to lay and I
didn't need the sheet anymore.
Maeby really needs to be laying down to let her bones knit back
together, and up and around the implant to support it, especially if
she is over 63 pounds and I'm sorry I don't recall her weight. But
too much walking will slow down the healing and risk shattering the
leg, esp. if she combines that walking with bouncing, climbing,
running or steps.
Also as she has a pressure bandage, be sure to check the paw to make
sure it is as warm as the paw on her good leg, as the swelling can
cut off circulation and that is dire if left unchecked. Standing too
much affords gravity to worsen the swelling. Ideally Maeby should be
laying on her side and when she does with the surgical leg on top,
then slip a folded towel or pillow or something under it to elevate
it so that it is parallel to the floor, to lessen swelling and so
ease pain.
JMHO; best wishes!!! Oh, almost forgot your specific question: Blue
was prescribed 3 walks a day for 2 minutes each for the first 8
weeks. Because Blue is in the habit of going out to pee at will
several times a day, and because Blue seemed anxious with the
schedule, I got the ortho's okay to raise that to 5 potty breaks a
day, 2-5 min each depending just on if he had to pooh.
The ortho was very strict about 8 weeks bed rest (crate rest), the
crate could not be large enough for him to walk around (no bigger
than 4x4 for a 96 pound dog with an ecollar), etc. The xpen ended up
being 4x4 and Blue couldn't fit in the crate with the ecollar, so I
had to go with the xpen, but with the 6 inch thick ortho bed, it was
too squishy for him to pace as all he could do was curl up in the
central dent of the nest of his bed anyway, or stand (which was not
allowed, and he got to where he only stood when he had to pee so that
became his signal to go outside), but not walk around.
Take care.
So I tried draping a sheet over her ex-pen, and she's already laying down more. WHEW!
***
Okay, so I talked to a surgeon at the hospital, and she said it's okay if Maeby walks around the house on carpet, as long as she's not running/jumping/playing, and not in a situation where she can slip. I'm sure with heavier dogs, they would need more bed rest, but Maeby is only 40 pounds. So the instructions above are probably more applicable to bigger, heavier dogs.
