IloveBlu wrote:(what's the point of making him continue to rest it, ya know?)
I wouldn't let him get too crazy even though surgery is coming up soon. Besides ligaments being torn, there is a "pocket" of fluid called the meniscus that cushions the joint – if that gets torn, it makes surgery and healing more complicated.
My recommended item list – not that I'm the end-all expert of this but we have been through it twice now
X-pen - definitely useful for confinement while allowing room to stretch. I used an extra tall one (@ 40+ inches) because that is what was loaned to me but I'm sure a "regular" height one would work too.
Sling - for supporting his back end when out on potty breaks.
Lots of
kongs – I filled them with lowfat cottage cheese and raw green beans and froze them – I know Blu has allergies so whatever you can fill them with that won't make him chunk out or blow up with allergies will be good.
Rug liners - the liners are what go under area rugs to keep the rugs from slipping. We have hardwood and linoleum and I laid down the liners over the lino and the hardwood that wasn't already covered by are rugs. The material of the liners is slightly rubbery and they are textured to provide more grip. They worked really well and I was able to wash them and hang dry (I think they would melt in a dryer
) as both of Molly's surgeries happened during rainy season.
Orthopedic foam mattress – this might be an optional item but I bought an orthopedic foam bed for Molly to rest on in the x-pen since she was spending so much time lying down.
Couch/cushions - depending on how high your couch is, I would either remove the cushions or use the x-pen to block it off. He shouldn't be allowed to climb up or jump down from the couch for quite a while. We took our couch apart (one of those ikea things that's a mattress on a frame) and set the mattress on the floor and folded up the frame for a couple months. We also took the feet off our bed so it is only 11" high (to the top of the mattress).
Stairs – if it's one or two steps it should be ok to support him with the sling but otherwise, I would carry him. We have stairs out the front door and out the back door so our choices were 10 steps or 15 steps
A ramp could work for you guys provided he is consistently guided to use it and not allowed to hop off onto the steps.
Hands-free leash - Molly pulled a lot after both surgeries, and pulling meant that she would hold up the leg that was operated on which was *not* a good thing for the TPLO (not sure if it's the same with the other repairs). I actually had Paco Collars make me a 20" leash which I called the "rehab tab" to keep her close to me. I'm not sure how much moving around you do around the house but we kept Molly in the x-pen most of the time and kept track of the duration of the recovery walks. Your doc will probably have a recommended schedule of walks and incremental duration increases as he progresses through recovery.
If your doc is prescribing acepromazine as a "calming" drug during his post-op recovery period, ask for a pill or two to try it on him *before* the surgery. Molly had a bad experience with it and we had to try a couple other things (xanax and valium) and wound up with Rescue Remedy and melatonin working best for her.
That's all I can think of for now, good luck to Blu. I think I was just as wrecked as Molly (but in a different way) after her first surgery
