Two Steps Back...

So, yesterday, Tia decided to bolt up the ramp to the porch and then slip when her back legs hit the porch floor. She didn't fall, but her recently repaired leg did slip underneath her. Lovely. I can't tell if she's favoring it or not. It seems sometimes that she isn't putting as much weight on it as she was, but it's hard to tell. I can't watch her walk from behind until Jim gets here so he can walk her around on the leash while I watch. Ugh. I'm sure if she is favoring it, it's just a muscle strain, but how do you know for sure without going to the vet and having x-rays taken?! I'm just not letting my brain go there right now. I just had an unnecessary urinalysis done for her yesterday. She was begging to go out to potty 7 and 8 times a day, but she would never do anything when she got out there. She would wait until 11pm to pee or poop and that was it until the next night around 11pm. Eliminating once every 24 hours just didn't seem right to me. Since she's prone to urinary infections, I assumed she had one. If I had spoken to the vet before I had them send her urine off, she would have nixed the test. If the vet assistants at the animal hospital had asked the vet before they sent it off, I wouldn't have been out $65. Oh well. My fault. At least I know her kidneys are functioning perfectly. The vet thinks she's a)bored to death and just wants to be outside and b)possible in need of  having her anal glands dealt with. Yum. I'll be that's why she went to Vet school! Yuck. Anyway, Tia's fine, and I'm over reacting. Per usual.

I've made a pot of tea and am taking a break from getting all of my this's and that's together for my trek over to Mom's tonight. I'm leaving poor Tia and Jim here to fend for themselves for Thanksgiving. I hate it. We decided that it would not be in Tia's best interest to be at Mom's with her cousins Marcario and Marley this early in her recovery. Since she can't stay by herself all day, Jim is going to stay with her. I hate that. My two biggest 'Thankful Fors' aren't going to be with me tomorrow. Jim is loading his bisque kiln this morning, and once it gets hot enough to close the lid he's headed back here. I'm making him a big pot of his favorite ham and bean soup, I got him a big bag of Frito's Scoops, and there are two bombers of beer in the fridge for him to choose from. The batteries are in the charger, so he can play Incredible Hulk on the XBox for the next 36 hours straight if he wants to without fear of running out of controller batteries. I think he'll be ok. I hate that he won't get to hang out at Mom's and drink beer and pig out with the rest of us, though. It should be pretty interesting. Mom had surgery today on her foot, so she's not going to move from her recliner much. My sister and I are going to do the final prep tonight (I'm sure I'll end up making the pies when I get there tonight - she didn't sound like she was over eager to try rolling out pie crust). I'm sure my brother and sister-in-law will be over tomorrow to help cook. Ok, sister-in-law to help cook, brother to drink beer and watch.

I do hope that Tia doesn't spend the next two days whining and crying like she has been. I know she's bored, but I don't want Jim to call me tomorrow afternoon and tell me he's done babysitting! She's been quite the little pill.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families and/or friends. Remember, no turkey bones for dogs!

One step forward....

I was so excited today to see Tia sit squarely on her haunches for the first time. Since the surgery, she has persisted in the crooked sit with her leg stretched out. I guess she's improving. Definitely good news. I think I'm going to take a sample into the vet tomorrow to see if she has a UTI. She's been really strange with her potty breaks this week. I know, she's always strange with her potty break, but this week she's been crying all day (FUN!) and acting like she really needs to go out. Of course, we go out and circle the yard for an eternity, and nada zilch zero potty action. She's been doing all of her business once per day, usually around 11pm. Strange. Odd. Uncomfortable? We'll see tomorrow, hopefully. At least she's crashed out in her crate (and silent) for now.

It's the small things, really...

...that make a girl smile. This morning, Tia came up to me in her normal way - butt first, of course - for her morning butt scratch. For the longest time, it has been a scratch like that on a chalkboard. It made me shiver to see her leaning so hard on her 'good' leg during said scratch. I cringed for all the stress she was putting on that joint. Today, as I serviced her in her morning itch, I noticed that she was standing nearly square. Oh, that made me smile. She still lists to the right when the scratch gets so good she can't stand still, but hey...baby steps, right? We definitely have progress.

Day 24 - Really? Wow.

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted an update on TaterTot. Chalk it up to us falling into the recovery doldrums, I guess. I'm not sure when it happened, but Tia is suddenly much more stable on her leg. She doesn't seem to be doing the knuckle thing anymore, and she isn't leaning as hard on her other leg when she's standing around. She did try to kill me yesterday by launching off the side of her ramp. I nearly had heart failure. In retrospect, it wasn't much of a launch, she just tried to take a short cut and hopped off the side. But at the time, it felt like she fired up the rockets and tried to reach geosynchronous orbit. I was certain that she had completely ripped out her screws and caused her leg to implode. Didn't happen. She was thoroughly unfazed. I think I heard her snigger a bit after - like she enjoys causing me heart failure. She did the same thing last time, so I should have expected it. Of course, last time it was less planned. I'm pretty sure she was walking down the ramp and just suddenly fell off the side. It was pure grace. That time it was me sniggering. Definitely. I guess payback's a bitch.

Today, she suddenly overcame her "I'm not running around so I'm having trouble working up a poop more often than every other day" phase. She peed roughly four times and pooped twice! I'm not sure if it was the double batch of excitement she endured, Jim coming from the studio for his babysitting stint while I went to Knit Night and then me coming home from Knit Night, or if she was just making up for lost time. Whatever it was, she was Olympic quality today. I'm so proud!

I really enjoyed Knit Night tonight. I was desperate for a break from Miss Thang's incessant whining, and Madalene cracked me up tonight. Have a good trip, chica! I'm very lucky that the girls at KN are crazy and make me laugh.

Mmmm....Cozy

So Tia hasn't worn the sweater that her Aunt Jill made for her since she came home from her surgery. Mommy had this unbearable 'nails on a chalkboard' reaction every time she thought about the sweater snagging on the staples. oooblegggled. Just happened again. Anyway, as we got the staples removed this afternoon, I thought Tia would like to put her sweater on. Vpppt. Out like a light. For a couple of hours now. I'm serious when I say there's something odd about that yarn! I don't know who got the greater gift with that sweater. Tia because it relaxes her and makes her yummy snuggy, or me because it shuts her up for hours at a time. Thanks, Aunt Jill!!

Day 14 - Staples OUT!

Took Tia to the local vet to get her staples removed. (Thanks to the vet at Hawthorne for removing them for free.) Ooof. I need a nap now. She had so much energy that it was nearly impossible to keep her from digging in with her back legs and pulling. I'm sure she has a permanent sling mark under her belly now. She was so incredibly excited to see other humans again that I though she was going to cry. It would have been funny if I hadn't been so worried about her leg being stressed. She was a wiggle worm through the entire staple removal, not from trying to escape the removal, but rather to get her slobbering end closer to the vets face. She just wanted to tell everyone how wonderful it was to see them. Poor thing. The vet did say that there was some oozing at one of the staple sites. It isn't infected, just a fluid buildup. That makes sense, because it is at her ankle where the bulk of the swelling occurred. Other than that, she said the wound looked fantastic. Thank God. I was very concerned about it. Not that Tia has been bothering the staples, but you never know what your dog is doing while you're blinking. The bonus in the whole affair is that she had worked up quite a poop by the time we got home. I'm sure that has been the cause of her infrequent evacuations. She just hasn't had enough activity to spark them.

The funny part of the vet experience was the other dog that arrived. We were standing on the carpet in front of the desk, where mommy feels more secure, when I saw a woman walking a leash up the ramp outside. Assuming there was an animal on the other end of the leash, I was concerned that Tia would flip out and want to play. The woman opened the door, saw Tia, and immediately closed the door. When she opened it again, she had her little yip yip dog (generic term encompassing all miniatures, yorkies, teacups, really anything that will fit in your purse and still leave you room for your wallet and cell phone.) in her arms. I'm not sure if she was certain that Tia would eat her puffball or her puffball would try to eat Tia. I can't be sure of her dog, but my dog just wants to be loved by all other dogs. I'll never forget the little teacup something-or-other that we had in class. Her name was cupcake. She was so small I was afraid I might hurt her. Tia just walked up to her and sniffed, while I held my breath and hoped she wouldn't snort her up, and walked away. It would have been a cute picture if I was the kind of person who always had her camera ready just in case. Big black pit bull mix trying to inhale a teacup cotton ball. Too cute.

Deer Antler Chews

Our first attempt at placating the whining dog is Deer Antler. Tia likes to chew on the basic natural bones you find at the big pet stores, but they splinter under her dainty nibble. That frightens me. So, I found these deer antler sections at our local pet boutique, Four Muddy Paws. They retail for around $20, depending on the size. They are full of marrow, so that should make them irresistible. The clerk at the store mentioned that some people boil them to make them more tempting to the reluctant pup. Since Tia isn't a hard-core chewer, I did try that. It instantly piqued her interest in chewing on the antler. I think she still prefers a bone stuffed with cheese, but who doesn't? Cheese makes everything wonderful. She has chewed on the antler many times today, but it hasn't held her interest as much as I hoped it would. However, for the voracious chewers, I think these things would be great. They're supposed to be nearly indestructible, and are not prone to splintering like beef bones. I'll recommend them to several friends with dogs who love to chew.

Day 11

Since it is in the upper 70s today, I thought we could all use a little sunshine. I broke down Tia's crate and hauled it outside, coaxed Petey the Parrot into his little cage, and we all spent a couple hours outside in the sun and breeze. It was lovely. Tia was calm and relaxed in her crate, and she managed to behave herself when the neighbor dogs came out and barked. I was actually impressed. I managed to get a tiny bit of yard work done, so I'm happy.

I'm worried about Tia's recovery. I know it's stupid, but that's what I do. I worry. When she gets up from laying down for a while, she hops on three legs. When we go out to potty, she sometimes hops, too. I've been trying to make her walk very slowly, and that seems to make her walk on the leg. I wish I knew what was going on in there. I'm also really concerned about that other leg. I'd like to know what kind of damage we did by waiting so long for this surgery. Oh, it's all so difficult!

Tomorrow, I'm going to go shop for an interesting toy. She's so uber-bored, I can't stand it.

Day 10

Of all the great inventions in the world, who would have thought that I would most appreciate crappy american cheese singles and stuffable rubber dog toys. Tia is driving me nuts today. She's been whining all day. I'm sure it's a combination of sheer boredom and the discomfort from her decision to potty only every other day. I finally decided to bribe her to shut up. Enter the Kong. I find that if you shove a whole slice of american cheese into the Kong, nuke it til it melts and then rotate it as the cheese slides around the interior, it gets a doggie mesmerizing coating of ooky gooky cheese. She'll work that thing for an hour and a half trying to clean it out. The annoying sound of her working the Kong is definitely less obnoxious than the whining...for now.

Dr. Punke said that Tia's meniscus was undamaged in her left leg. I'm still hearing the popping sound, so I'm a little afraid that she damaged her right leg while she was waiting for the surgery. I notice that her knee on that side is very lumpy. I'm just imagining things, probably, but maybe I should have them x-ray both sides when we go in for her 8 week. Sheesh.

Day 7 Post-Op

Well, Day 6 was interesting in the I think I'll hold it all day just so Mom can freak out a little more than she already is" sort of way. Seriously. She ate all her food, and drank a respectable amount of liquid, and then it just sort of...evaporated. *poof* It's impressive, really. You wouldn't expect such a thin dog would be able to smuggle that amount of ... um ... excess. I gave her ample opportunity to rid herself of the baggage, but she just wasn't interested. She did me the kindness, however, of interrupting my first night of sleeping in my bed again by needing an emergency evacuation at 5am. Yay. Seems today, she's working on a replay. She just ate her breakfast, and she hasn't peed or pooped at all today. What a weirdo. She's never one to potty very early (she sometimes waits until early afternoon), but this is ridiculous. Let's hope she does something before 5am this time.

Other than the lovely early morning stroll through the dewy grass, my night was very restful. Not quite the wake up in the morning to cartoon birds singing on the windowsill restful, but I didn't sleep on the floor. That's an improvement. I managed it by ditching the e-collar and covering her stitches with a sexy combo of a cloth held in place by a knee-high with the toe removed. Yowza. What a looker she was!

I didn't give her the middle dose of Tramadol. I think that may be causing her some problems. She's not interested in much, and I think it might be because she hurts more today. I'll give her another dose in an hour or so. That should help.

I'm Not Handling This Well........

So after several nights of sleeping on the floor to keep my un-ecollared dog from licking her staples, I decided to collar her, put her in the larger crate in the living room so she has some wiggle room, and sleep on the couch. Surely that ought to be some sort of decent compromise. So, I'm trying like mad to sleep through her whining and then the panting starts. Honestly, this has to be unhealthy for her. I know it sure as $#%% is for me. She starts panting so hard she vibrates the crate. It's unreal. I know she's drooling hard core, too. That kind of stress can't be worth it. I know the threat of infection to the wound and devastatingly worse, to the bone, is very real. But there has to be another way. When I found myself ready to roll over and scream at her, I decided I needed to do something different. If I don't get a good solid night of sleep soon, I might be the one who ends up wearing an elizabethan-collar. Right now, as I'm yawning so hard I have tears streaming down my face, she's quiet. She's still wearing the collar, but I opened the door to her crate. She didn't come out, but she piped down. I've got the baby gate locking us in to the living room. I'm going to try it this way for a while. God help me. If it doesn't work, you know where I'll be. On the friggin' floor again.

Here Comes the Boredom

Tia has stopped complaining of pain today. She seems to be fairly comfortable. Unfortunately, the Incessant Whine of Boredom has begun. I stuffed a kong, and that helped. For a hot second, anyway. It's time to start looking for toys that will hold her attention. I found a line of toys designed by Nina Ottoson that are designed to make the dog think their way to a reward. I'm hoping one of those will hold her attention. If anyone has any suggestions about toys that have a high enjoyment level, a puzzle factor (to hold their attention!), and don't encourage physical activity, please let me know. I'd love to try them and review them for the site.

Dr. Left Leg (aka Dr. Punke) sent us copies of Tia's pre-op and post-op radiographs. I'll be posting them on the site this weekend, but here's a preview of one of the post-op images. She'll never make it through a metal detector again!