Ideas for abdominal surgery issue?

[Nichole]

Sadie had pretty major abdominal surgery yesterday - thread about that here: http://www.pitbullforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=153094

Sadie has to be carried up/down stairs, lifted on/off the sofa, etc. She tenses her abdomen while picked up and held. She makes "this hurts" noises while I assist but not nearly as much when she does it herself. I think I'm doing more harm than good when I do the lifting vs just letting her do it herself.

Thoughts? Would a sling around the waist work? Another idea I have is to get a large board to act as a ramp for her. I'm trying to find a way to obey the vets orders but lifting her isn't the way to go. I'm going to sleep downstairs with her to avoid that set of stairs, but she still needs to tackle steps down to the potty area.

[nic]

Sorry I don't have any advice,I go the easy route and crate them for a few days after surgery,but I just wanted to say I'm so glad your girl is back home with you,and I hope she''s good as new in no time

[afrikaPB]

How are you lifting her? How does she react to you holding her chest and rear in your arms, while cradling her weight against you?

[buckaroo]

Put her in a crate and carry it down the stairs.

[Enigma]

I think I'm doing more harm than good when I do the lifting vs just letting her do it herself.

I never carried Brina up and down the stairs after her surgeries, she's quite heavy for me and I would defenitely do more damage if I would try to carry her. We have a lot of stairs and when it was time to go out I held her and we walked slowly, one step at a time. A dog tenses up when you lift him up, plus when your dog is stitched up from her chest down to the end of her tummy, there's nowhere to hold her safely, in my opinion that can do more damage than slowly walking up and down the stairs.

[suzanne]

What kind of pain medication is she on?

Just so you know, certain drugs can make dogs dysphoric and make them vocalize and sound like they are really sad and painful when they aren't.

After reading your other thread, I would probably keep her doped up on ace and crated so she can't jump on the furniture. I agree that I don't think lifting is a good option. Maybe to carry her upstairs at night, but I would keep her crated and quiet for at least 7 days post op to make sure she doesn't harm her incision. After 7 days it should be well started in getting on the mend, she still shouldn't do tons of jumping at this time, but it would be less detrimental and she would probably be less sensitive to being carried at that point.

[Nichole]

She is on tramadol for pain. She has been on it before so I have a good feel for how she reacts to it. Sadie isn't a dog who says "this hurts" often (that is why the vets thought she was fine when in fact her stomach and diaphragm had been perforated) so when she says "this hurts" I listen.

I am sleeping downstairs with Sadie to avoid that flight of stairs. The main issue is going outside to potty since my house isn't ground level and stairs have to be dealt with to allow her to do her business. Gonna look into making her some kind of ramp today.

[Misskiwi67]

I would put one arm under her chest and the other around her butt.

Stairs should be safe if she walks up them slowly (I always worry more about people tripping with the dog in their arms, I see more injuries from this than from dogs being too active), I usually recommend the pet be leashed while walking up the stairs to prevent them from doing the multi-stair leap.

Furniture is a definite no-no, too much stretch to the abdomen, but slow inclines should be OK.