Levi, the Wiggle-Dog, Nixie's co-conspirator, July 2003
July 11, 2003/Week 7 Post-TPLO:
My problem is that she won't eat the new supplements. I've tried them straight, in
cheese (which usually works with her), with peanut butter on them,
and ground up and mixed in plain yogurt with her food. My only
thought is that she hates the liver flavoring. A week after we
adopted her (at 3 months old), she got into a month's supply of liver
flavored chewable Rimadyl pills, left over from our 100 lb. rottie.
She and the wiggle-dog spent three days at the vets getting their
stomachs pumped, on IVs with anti-ulcer medicine, getting blood
drawn, etc. This is the second set of supplements I've tried with
her.
The other question has to do with Nixie freaking out while on walks. Yesterday, I took her outside for her morning PT walk, she got halfway down the walk from our house, sniffed something in the air, turned tail and ran back up the ramp to the front door. I convinced her to go down the ramp, but she butt-tucked (which, I may add, is quite funny looking on such a tall dog) and ran to the front door. I decided not to push it and let her stay inside.
She was fine for the lunchtime PT walk, but it did take some convincing to get her to the front door. However, for her evening constitutional, I started taking her around the block, but she balked (tail tuck, body low to the ground and all), so I changed course and walked around a different block. She was fine with that, even with some boys throwing ice out of their tree house.
This morning, I try to take her out, and she won't go near the front door. That may have something to do with the fact that when I took her out at 5:30 this morning, she spotted a robin and charged, which pulled me through the doorway, thereby smashing my shoulder into the storm door (ouch), which made a big crashing sound, and that startled her. So, my husband took her out this morning, and he stated that when they got to a corner, she balked, butt-tucked, and wouldn't proceed. Now, mind you, these balkings have occured on different areas, so we can't figure out what is causing them, but they do occur after she smells something. Could it be a strange dog? We do have raccoons and skunks and cats and many a loose dog in the neighborhood. She loves going for walks, and is (usually) good on the leash, but this week has had me perplexed.
It is so hard to control her when she freaks out, I am worried that she will do damage to that knee. No yelps, yet, so I think we are ok. X-rays are at the end of the month.
Nixie's scar, July 14, 2003
July 16, 2003/Week 7 Post-TPLO:
Nixie is more jumpy now than before surgery. Our neighbors two houses up are replacing their
roof (severe hail storm last summer), and when Nixie is outside, she
jumps evertime that nail gun goes off, which was several times a
minute last night. Our walks now are a little better than last
week. She still sniffs intently, and only gets a little startled at
times, then she changes direction and walks somewhere else. I let
her walk in the direction she wants to, and not force her to go where
I want to, which seems to work. Our 10 minute PT walks turn into 20
minute sniff/walks--I think I need a stop watch to time exactly how
much time we are spending moving ;-) She loves these walks, even
when it is 98 degrees out there.
She is also jumpy around male strangers, and even not so strange men, like our next door neighbor. However, she did that before surgery, and I don't think it is any more pronounced post-surgery. She was even hesitant to meet and greet a female stranger on a morning walk this week.
July 30, 2003/Week 9 Post-TPLO:
Last night I had Nixie on her evening PT walk, and she decides she
wants to try to slip her collar in the middle of crossing the
street. You know, butt up in the air in a down-dog pose, head
wiggling trying to get out of the collar. I quickly decide that this
is a bad idea, and I start to jog towards the sidewalk. Normally,
when I do this, she trots along at the same pace, happy as can be.
Not last night. She decides it is time for an all out sprint. So,
I'm trying to keep up with her (so I don't fall flat on my face),
yelling NO, and pulling back on the leash, but not so much that she
could wiggle out of the collar when she finally flips around--one of
those 180 flips that just freak you out, and I'm afraid she's going
to pop a plate. After 20 yards, and what seemed an eternity, she
stopped and sat, because she knew I was mad. Luckily, we were only
two houses down and across the street from our house. She kept doing
the Whirling Dervish Dance, trying to get out of her collar, trying
to run, trying to get away and be FREE all the way home. I wouldn't
let her ruin the work that has been done to that knee, or let her
injure her other knee. I finally coaxed her into the house, had her
sit on the couch (you know, all four feet on the floor, butt on the
cushion), and calmed her down. Egads! My husband was outside
talking to the neighbors and watching all of this happen. His
comment was "I've never seen her run like that before." Well, I
never had either. Not even when she spots one of the cottontail
bunnies that live in the neighborhood. I hope we don't have too many
more weeks like this--she is getting stir crazy, and my back can't
handle it. BTW, she is fine after this little escapade, and didn't
even strain a muscle (I wish I could say the same!).
She has all of her muscle tone, she has gained back the weight she lost, and is looking sleek and healthy. Her right foot doesn't turn out anymore, but her left still does. We'll ask Dr. Swainson about that, tomorrow.
We take her in for her x-rays tomorrow!
Nixie's check up x-ray, July 31, 2003
Click to view the larger picture.
July 31, 2003/Week 9 Post-TPLO:
We loaded Nixie up into the dog-limo this morning and hauled her to VSNC in Loveland. We tried to get her on the scale and it read 56 pounds--I don't think so. We tared it, and got her on it again, and it said 96 pounds. Surely she weighs more than that? Maybe not. They took her back to radiology and left us in an exam room. No sedation this time. They brought her back with her film, and explained that she moved a tad, and that the x-ray was blurry. Dr. Swainson came in and looked at that film, and said that it looked like the joint was all healed. He said that he wouldn't charge us for the film, and that we could wait until radiology was available again, or leave. We decided to wait.
He then had us take her outside to watch her gait. He noticed, like us, that her right foot is better aligned now than the left--it still turns out. He thought that it may take awhile for her to get used to using both legs equally again. She walks with her weight evenly distributed, but she still stands with her right leg extended a bit. He had her lay down out in the grass and proceded to examine her knee. He said he still felt some creaking, but that would be expected with the two plates in there. She stood up, and he mentioned something about the curve of her legs and conformation. She's a rescue, so we have no idea about her lineage. By this time radiology was available again.
They took her back in, got a good x-ray, and brought her back to us in the exam room. Dr. Swainson said that she was "all healed" but that it was kind of difficult to see the whole cut because of the two plates. There is still some swelling of the joint (the milky area in the x-ray), and a little bit of arthritis. He said to continue with the post-op PT instructions, and to see him in two months. Yeah!
