Days 2-4 Recovery

The first day I brought Sampson home was probably the easiest so far. The other dogs were out of the house for the day and he was still rather sleepy from the surgery so he cozied up to me on the camp mattress set up in the living room and we took turns napping away and icing the leg with frozen peas. In the past this was part was a real challenge, but this time around I massaged his back and neck while holding the frozen peas on the surgery area and he didn't seem to be at all bothered by this. He slept through the first night without any issues.

Day 2 - Sampson was obviously feeling better today and to have the other dogs around put him back in play mode. He was already putting weight on the back leg so we decided to try a very slow walk to the mailbox. It worked out really well. Once out of the driveway they all got in their normal walking rhythm, but we kept it slow and easy. We continued the day this way, with lots of little breaks outside and an occasional slow walk back to the mailbox. It was all seeming pretty routine and as normal as can be expected.

Day 3 - Sampson was appearing to be a little restless, taking more caution in how he would lay down for rest. The camp mattress didn't last long so that was replaced with five dog beds, comforters and sleeping bags set about the living room so that he could lay down anywhere for a little rest. The other dogs loved it, the only one that didn't seem to take to it was Sampson. The problem was that he had begun to favor the back right leg throughout the process of the previous surgeries on the right leg. To watch him try to lay down was like watching dog gymnastics. He would hold himself up by his front legs and swing his back end from side to side while trying to figure out how to lay down comfortably. It was hard to watch and no matter what I did to help out it only seemed to make it more difficult for him. That kind of restlessness lasted throughout the rest of the day and when night time came around he began pacing around the house with even more frustration. It was a long, sleepless night for everyone, because the only way to settle him for any length of time was to take him outside for a quick potty break and then do some massage on his back. Luckily I had stocked up on a good supply of frozen bones and those got us through the night.

Day 4 - After a sleepless night, it was looking good that Sampson was going to rest up and relax a bit, but those hopes were short lived. He was obviously ready to head out the door so out we went. We ventured a little further than the mailbox and again he was walking really well, at a nice, easy pace. At this point the knee area was looking really good, no redness or obvious swelling, and he was letting me do some slow stretching with leg and seemed to almost enjoy it.

From the previous surgeries we learned how priceless "Bitter apple spray" was to prevent licking the area that had stitches / staples. It saved us again. When dogs undergo this surgery they must shave such a large area and in the days that immediately follow and the hair starts growing back in, that is when he became almost fixated on the entire leg and would want to lick and bite at the leg incessantly. The only problem I found with the spray was that it was cold and kind of shocking to him on the bare skin, so I have started putting it on a warm cloth, then dabbing the entire leg with the saturated cloth. It has worked great this time around and has deterred that licking behavior that can sometimes reopen the wounds. What I found so funny about this day is that I had almost covered the floor in large, puffy dog beds and comforters and found it funny that his place of comfort turned out to be a small, oval rug in front of the kitchen sink. As long as he was resting, it really didn't matter where he chose to lay down, as long as he was relaxed. I had called the vet during the day and told him of Sampsons restlessness the previous two nights and he gave me a slightly stronger pain medication, and assured me this was not going "sedate" him. So when ten pm rolled around I gave him the new pain meds with his favorite cookie. We started off on one of the doggie beds with a little leg stretching and massage and by 11pm he was resting easy and didn't wake until 1am for a potty break and another at 4am. Even though this was another night of broken sleep, it felt heavenly and we all woke at our normal time of 6am with a short walk to the mailbox. It started snowing as we walked so the dogs had no problem coming back in the house and cuddling up on their warm beds. With bloodshot eyes, I am hoping that the day ahead will be one of rest and easy walks.