Quad to Tripaw

It has been about a month since the surgery and Sawyer is doing amazing. He’s pretty much back to himself. Wrestling with his brother a little. Hiking. Interested in the hunt. Smiling. Good appetite. Enjoying all his attention. I am so happy that we went through with the surgery otherwise, he would be in a lot of pain and may not even be here. Thanks for all the support. Here are some pictures of him.  

Today was Sawyer’s first tail wag since his surgery. We mentioned a walk and got his collar out. He pooped right up, wagging his tail and looked really happy. We went for a very short walk just to the start of our normal trail then came home. He was not happy with the length but we want him to take it easy.

We also finished the raised water bowl box that we made for him. Turned out really well.

We also got a bunch of runners to make him a path throughout the house. He seems to like that and stays to the carpeted areas.

Sawyer got up this morning and looked great. Very alert and spry. No problems going outside and pottying. Then he went up 3 front porch stairs before I could stop him to see his siblings. Hopped to the car and was happy for our road trip.

The Surgeon was very happy with his progress and he got his stitches out. We discussed his medications and decided on a plan to wean them off. Sawyer got his Chemo then he practically pulled us out the door and to the car. He was very happy to get home.

Then tonight we gave him his Tramadol and now he’s like a Zombie. He’s been on this dose of Gabapentin and Tramadol since October and never seemed to effect him this way. But maybe it’s like humans and once the pain stimuli is gone then the medication just makes one dopey. He’s also had a busy long day so maybe just worn out.

Overall a great day and so great to see him getting back to himself! This is the first day that I feel like we made the right decision.

Sawyer seemed pretty good when I got home. The vet and I had discussed playing around with his medications if I thought one was causing issues. So I did not give him his Tramadol. I gave him his Gabapentin at 6pm. By 7:30, he was flushed, panting, anxious, glassy eyed, dilated pupils, crying, unable to get comfortable and a little trouble walking. Called vet who said it could be side effects from the Gaba but no need to take him in emergently. By 9pm, he was much better.

It seems too much like a coincidence to be something else. But he’s been on the Gaba for months withou an issue.

Post-op visit tomorrow so maybe vet can help. I’d like to wean him down to just the Vetpeofen.

anyone else had an issue w Gabapentin?

 

He seems better this evening. He mostly slept all morning. I had to go to work for a few hours. He seemed good when I got home.  Here’s what I’ve figured out:

1. Maybe the Tramadol. We had increased it and the Gabapentin 2 days ago. Both to 3x per day. So I cut Tramadol back to 2x per day. He doesn’t seem as drugged. And in general he doesn’t seem in pain.

2. Slipping. I think a lot of this might be a traction issue as was mentioned. We put down rugs in the main area where he has been staying for his recovery and I put the Toe Grips on him. Toe Grips work pretty well but the vet cut his nails really short during surgery so he still can’t get great traction with them. I feel like he mostly cries in the kitchen and outside (conceret slab outside entrance which gets slick) where he feels unsteady. So tomorrow we’ll go buy a bunch more rugs.

3. Maybe right hind leg is bothering him from compensating. He seems to drag it a little. Our post-op visit is tomorrow and I’ll make sure that they really check out all his limbs.

4. Going to work actually made me feel a little better although I worried about him the whole time. But good to get out of the house a little. And I had a chocolate milkshake on the way home. When I got home, Sawyer was very interested in my milkshake. Too bad it wasn’t vanilla so he could have a lick or two.

5. His random yelping seems to have stopped and he’s not having the twitching at his incision site like he was before. Not sure if that’s the increased Gabapentin or just healing time. I give him a massage 2x a day and he’s not tender in that area. He has never really been interested in his incision and has had to wear that dumb cone only minimally.

6. Nothing really makes him perk up. I think his tail has been untucked once since he got home. He was never a tail wagger. Not like Rosie who’s tail could power my house if I could harness it’s energy. There aren’t many things that he loves. He’s never been into toys or food. When I rescued him 6ish years ago, he was being crated 14+ hours a day. His front teeth were worn down from chewing on the crate. He had toys in the crate and I think that since then, they’ve just never had any appeal for him. He’s always been pretty content to chill on the couch. Mostly he loves me, hiking and running. The thrill of the hunt. That’s Sawyer. He is pretty fond of belly rubs and being brushed which we have done a lot.

7. Murphy is much better with tough love. I have really tried today and yesterday be more nonchalant. When he cries, I just try to give lots of positive reinforcement. But I am breaking the cardinal rule and “babying” him a bit. I do bring him his food and water. I’m afraid that he won’t eat or drink if I don’t. He’s never been into food and when his leg was hurting him before the amputation, it got to the point that he wounld’t eat unless I stood by him. Also M or myself have been sleeping with him since the surgery. Usually, the dogs take turns sleeping with us because 300lbs of dog is too much. But our bedroom is upstairs. So one of us has slept on the couch near him. We did help him upstairs last night because neither of us could take another night on the couch. And he was acting so weird that I was afraid to leave him alone. He slept between us and was happy as a clam. He was not excited about going down the stairs and M basically had to carry him down. My next house will be all one level.

Thanks for everyone’s support and suggestions. Someone helped me start a Forum but then most of the posts and replies have been here so I just stayed in the same place.