Well, day 1 went just fine.
Diggs spent most of the day laying in his bed enjoying the Nick & Amy food delivery service. His medicine schedule is pretty easy to deal with and I’ve been rolling the pills in peanut butter which has been even funnier to watch him try to eat while he is doped up.
I made an entire batch of chicken and rice to give him to guarantee that he eats. I wouldn’t say he has lost any of his appetite at all, he’s just too lazy to reach the bowl. If I stick it in his face he usually eats without hesitation.
He hasn’t let out a peep so far which means the nerve block they put in him is still working. I’m pretty grateful for that. They sent us home with a sling, which is essentially a padded piece of material that goes under his belly and has a handle at each end so I can assist him in getting around for the first few days. He peed on it every time we went out yesterday so I finally got smart and folded it in half so it didn’t reach all the way back to his good stuff. Now we just have to learn how to miss our front leg and we should be golden. They told me at the vet that he didn’t have a problem pooping but I haven’t been able to get him to go since we got home. That is really my only concern so far. Once he does that, I’ll be much happier. (Never thought I’d ever say or type something like that. Haha)
His scars are pretty gnarly so we put his t-shirt on him. He seems to be handling everything pretty well. We are trying to ice him down 4 times per day and otherwise just let him sleep. Tomorrow he should start to wake up a bit more. We will just take each day as it comes.
Diggs & Nick
Haha about poop! Fallon finally pooped 3 days after she came home, and she was in the hospital for 3 days after her surgery. So it was going on a week for her, and no one worried but me. It was momentus, and we blogged about it.
Sounds like things are going great, despite the circumstances. You’ve got a strong, tough boy there.
Dawn and Fallon
(and Paul and Maggie)
I was stressed about a non-pooping Layla for the first three or four days or so of her recovery as well. The anesthesia and the pain meds that they are on can definitely cause constipation, so it seems that is something to expect. I gave her a Kong with canned pumpkin in it that I frozen for a day or so as a treat and crossed my fingers…and either that did the trick or it was just time anyway, because that had the desired result. After that, for as long as she was on the pain medications, I added a dollop of pumpkin in with her breakfast and it seemed to combat that bad effect of the meds!
Your boy is obviously well loved and in the best hands for his recovery! Every day of recovery, and so many of the things that happen during that day, are great milestones. Good boy, Diggs!
Oh yes, we celebrate all kinds of achievements here… our “poopie dance” is very special 🙂 🙂
Glad to hear the good news, you guys are rocking it!
Jackie and Huck
Poop, Diggs, Poop!
And enjoy that food delivery service! The hard part is over, now get your balance and strength back so you can get back to enjoying a wonderful life!