Unbelievable. Less than 10 days post-amp and my dog is back. Velcro to an extreme, but the twinkle is back and I got my first kiss tonight. We also had a huge milestone in the kitchen. Samdog is a trickster… his repertoire of parlour tricks is pretty impressive. However tonight, as an experiment, Dad was asking Samdog to shake to see if he could (front amp)… and it was obvious Samdog couldn’t figure it out. He had a look like – I know what you want, but I can’t do it. Seeing the frustration in his eyes and Dad’s disappointment, I asked him to give me 10 – which used to involve balancing and putting both paws up. Tonight – it only involved one paw, but he got it up there and hit my hand. So, our “gimme 10” is now our “high five” and both Sam and Dad looked really happy!
I took him to work with me this morning. I worry (of course) when he is home alone that he is going to slip or trip and rip a stitch. We left him alone last night for the first time to attend a going away party for a friend of mine and I worried the whole time. So, today we braved the car and went to the office, where he sat under my desk and got loved on by the staff who wanted to say hello. One of our best pals actually sat on the floor with him for about 1/2 hour while we caught me up from my absence last week. Sam didn’t mind at all.
Getting into the car this morning – he surprised me and just jumped in! Getting out the car – a little less graceful, but no problem. This afternoon… he must have been a little tired because we both ended up crashed on the back seat – a lot less graceful. Getting out of the car this afternoon, was actually scary. I need to find a solution and we need to get his harness on him – but it rubs on his incision, so I’m not sure which is worse – the rubbing or the crashing into the ground. I’m thinking the rubbing is the lesser of the evils. He didn’t complain, but we can’t afford for him to hurt his ankle, which he has started to turn in so to better center his weight. He is pigeon-toed! I can’t imagine dropping 80 lbs onto a crooked ankle – that has to hurt.
Moving in a straight line – he is fast! I keep trying to get a good video to share with you… but if I don’t keep up he stops and turns round with this look on his face… “mom, which way do I go? I’m not going out there and then have to turn back, so you better catch up and don’t point me the wrong way” So, I can’t get him far enough away from me to pull out the video camera. But I will keep trying.
Oh, and there are some weird things… I’d be interested if this experience has been shared. My dog no longer wants to eat popcorn. He loves popcorn! But I gave him a piece and he actually spit it out. It makes me wonder if he knows that he needs to go on a diet. Maybe only his right foot liked popcorn?
Thursday we are going to the vet to get the staples out and learn about chemo… that will probably be the next news to share so stay tuned.
I can’t help you with the popcorn mystery, but weird things do happen after becoming a Tripawd. Our Max NEVER dug a hole in his life. Then, about a month after the amp, he all of a sudden started digging a hole in our backyard (he was a front left amp). So, he never did it when he had two feet, he only started when it was much more difficult to accomplish!
As for getting out of the car, you might want to invest in a ramp until he’s able to wear the harness. The harness will be very helpful to you for getting in/out of the car. But we also waited until his incision site was completely healed and he was laying on that side again. We wanted to make sure the harness didn’t cause any pain, b/c we wanted him to associate it with good things. I recently bought a ramp for our 7 year old (chubby) lab, because she hurt her front paw getting out of my car one day. She won’t use it to go up, but she has no problem going down. I think I paid about $60 for it, it’s one piece, has marine grade carpet, and rubber bumpers so it won’t skid once it’s at the proper angle.
Maxi mutt, can you tell me the brand of ramp you liked or where you got it. I’m confused by all the choices, that all seem like the same choice or are crazy expensive.
I’m tempted to just built a box, like is used in agility training, only about 10 inches. I bought some steps, neither of us like them.
I also find it hilarious that your pup started to dig. I hear this voice in my head. “huh, look at what I just did. Hey, this is kinda fun. Why didn’t anyone tell me this was so much fun?!?”. I saw a video of a pup digging a trench on YouTube. Any chance that was your pup? I made my hubby watch – he proclaimed it fake until the camera scrolled over and the pup started maniacly digging again. Hilarious!
can you put a sheepskin halter cover on the harness? I did that with Riki….
YEEHAW again. Here’s a big “high five” to ya Sammy. Incredible. It really won’t take him long at all to be just like Sam was but a tripawd, which is just OK for Sam. We’re thinking of you hoping all goes well tomorrow. I love hearing this good news which seems to keep getting better.
Glad you have such a great supervisor and you can take your child to work…
lv
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Such a wonderful progress report on Samdog!! High Five!! I can’t imagine going through this with a big dog. Our 20lb’er Charlie is easy to assist. A ramp for Samdog does sound like a worth while investment even post-recovery. Probably better for his joints and his pawrents too! (for the ‘downs’)
Our Charlie gets his staples out on Monday!! His incision is looking fantastic!! Without his dragging leg, he can maneuver turns much easier. He can almost turn on a dime!!
The digging thing peaked my interest. Pre-op our Charlie was able to bear weight on his ‘bad’ front leg (his paw tucked under) He was amusing us with his one paw digging, balancing on his bad leg. I figured he’d loose that ability once the bad leg was removed. But maybe not? I have NOT asked him to ‘give me five’ since his surgery (felt it would be a mean trick) Maybe he’ll master a High Five soon!! 🙂
Can’t wait to see a video of Samdog!!
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!!
Charlie & his mom….
PS…. you may want to check amazon.com. I’m wondering if this is the ramp that MaxiMutt’s mom got. Not sure how much Samdog weighs……but this one holds up to 150lbs. I find reading personal reviews of products is the best way to shop online. Good luck!!
http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Gear-Travel-Bi-Fold-66-inch/dp/B002RT8QR6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1346965122&sr=8-3&keywords=dog+ramp
Thanks Charliewarlie! I’m so glad your pooch is healing well and has already discovered his new and improved abilities to turn corners!!! I can’t wait to hear if he relearns how to dig.
hugs to you! Keep it up, Charlie!
-The Samdog and his peeps