Leo is doing much, MUCH better! His recovery process is going at a nice pace much to my delight and Dr Mary (Therapetics vet). We're still keeping him at home to give his soft tissues as much time as possible to heal and firm up. That said, he's already bearing weight on his 'gimp' leg, as I like to call it, and under the impression that that is enough to allow him to run around. Naturally, he does not understand the whole 'take it easy' concept, so I have to escort him outside and around the house with a leash and unless he's in his kennel he is on a leash. Better safe than sorry, right?
Leo is SO over this whole recovery process! 
Caring for Leo is rather intensive. He requires four different pills at various times in the day. Unfortunatly Leo hasn't been trained to open pill bottles, nor to take his meds himself, so it's up to me to 'feed' him pills, up to 14 per day. Of course, I have to do this by sticking most of my hand in his mouth to deliver the pills all the way in the back so he won't decide to play 'hmmm... what's this texture?' with his tongue. We have lost a couple of capsules that way. Woo hoo for trial and error!
The other part of Leo's care is cleaning, drying, and medicating his wounds so they'll close up nicely and not get infected. I have to do this at least twice a day. Sometimes I clean them more than that as a couple of the wounds are still a bit open and, well, oozy. Yeah I know, fun stuff right? Q-tips, iodine solution, and cut up strips of gauze pads (which the vet thinks is ingenious) are all utilized in this process- yes, every time I do it. Leo handles it pretty well for the most part, he doesn't mind me touching his leg or holding it gently. Cleaning his wounds is only challenging in the morning as he's particularly wiggly with energy. This is why one of his pills is a sedative though on the flip side of that I have serious concerns about making this dog an addict! :-p
Oh did I mention we had to e-collar him? Yeah... puppies don't understand not running with a gimp leg, not playing, and not licking wounds! When we had the bandages on the hardware changed the doc fitted him up with this oh so glamorous accessory! It looks like crap now, six days later, as he has chewed on it and rammed it into every surface around the house; including our legs. It's like it's not even on him! Which makes for some degree of hilarity at times.-
So we are in a routine now and things are working out. It is difficult though and it tries my patience in SO many ways! However, he's worth it. There is no question in my mind why I'm doing this and why I should be so anal/OCD about his care. I want him to recover as quickly as possible, get him back to training, and get him back to his playful, normal, puppy self.
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Not going to lie- I wanna get back to normal too!
10 comments:
hehehe your dog's a druggie. I'm glad he's doing better, but you're seriously going to have to taper. And if you ever have to become a nurse for whatever reason, I can tell you'd be a great one!
LOL yeah he's the little pill popper alright. I'm sure we're going to taper things down here soon. I was under the [incorrect] impression the first 7-10 days were intensive with all the pills and wound cleaning. Turns out it's more like the first four weeks! He still has another week of both of his antibiotics to go. So after that and all of the wounds close up things won't be as intense and full of better living through chemistry! lol
His sad little face in the first photo!! I'm so glad he's recovering well and so impressed that you're managing to clean his wounds without throwing up!
The collar is pretty necessary for dogs and cats. I sure hope Leo gets better soon and you can get back to your life and summer.
Annelise- Yeah he is strking some pretty pathetic looks. I know it's not because he's in pain, just bored out of his mind! I'm glad I have a strong stomach and no real issues cleaning the wounds up. Once my father nearly lost his finger in a lawn mower. The skin was virtually gone and nearly a quarter of an inch taken off the tip of his index finger. Because my mother was so incredibly squeamish I got the 'privalege' of cleaning it. I was only 10 at the time!
Dedene- Yes the collar is making all the difference in the healing process. I took it off for a bit to give him a 'bath' and the second thing he did (after licking his... erm... you know...) was go for those wounds! What a goober. I hope he continues healing well enough to get out and about. I know that'll help with his boredom- not to mention my sanity! lol
Thanks for your nice comment on my new blog! I'm so sorry for your poor pooch! He looks like such a sweetheart... he is lucky to have an owner like you. With this story, combined with some of my friends', I am slowly realizing what a great responsibility a pet is... not only financially, but the aspect of time! I hope one day when I am a pet owner I can be as generous as you are... I bet you're like me in that I constantly talk to dogs like they are people... and often with a baby voice. Annoying! I know! But there is just something about those fuzzy little faces that makes me melt. Hope Leo is doing better and staying on track!
Sarah P- You're most welcome, I look forward to hearing more of course! And thank YOU for dropping by here! Yes, pets are the best, but, there is the whole responsibility deal. Though Leo isn't technically mine as he will become a service dog (and thankfully that means none of the vet bills are going to me!)I am still caring for Leo as if he is all mine and it is quite a task!
I think it is worth it though because of the companionship they provide. They are such loyal and forgiving animals and their love is unconditional! And besides, whoelse won't judge you when you talk baby talk!? lol
Again thanks for dropping by. Hope you will read often. Take care and thanks for the well wishes!
pooooooooor babyyyyyyyyy... you are doing great taking care of him too. What a job! Keep it up and he'll be back to running about and annoying you in other ways soon! ;)
On another note, I can barely stand to look at that thing in his leg. It gets me queasy every time... poor baby.
Jessica- Thank you hun! I'm trying my best. It has been a VERY difficult week for me! Leo is feeling fantastic, which is good, buuuuuuuuuut, he wants to run, play, and thus when I put him in his kennel there is lots and I mean LOTS of incessant barking. It has really worn on my nerves! I may have to put him back on sedatives, which I hate to do, but, I don't know what else to do you know?
Yeah his leg is pretty brutal to look at. Good news is it looks even been than that now! He is recovering so quickly, walking around as if nothing is wrong! Animals are just so amazing that way.
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