Gracie’s 8 yrs old today! Yep, 8 yrs ago I found pics of her litter, put my dibs on HER, & began the count down to the day I got to bring her home. A cute little feisty girl then, & now. Jill, who has posted in the comments, went w/ me to pick her up. I took a cage for her to ride back in but Jill hopped into the back of the suburban to hold & cuddle her on the way home instead of ‘getting put into that cold cage’, as Jill envisioned it :-). Thanks Jill!
Recovery-wise, she seems to be doing very nicely. Again, the cone seems to be the biggest hurdle to get over now. Even the vet yesterday said he HATES the cone. I still have no idea how long I’ll make her wear it but at this point I’d rather err on the side of caution. When we take the cone off now for brief periods of time, eating, whatever, she doesn’t hesitate to try to lick. And she continues to try to lick w/ the cone on. It’s pretty pitiful to see her licking the inside of the cone thinking she’s at the itchy spot. And today she tried to scratch her ear – y’all can imagine what claws scratching plastic sounds like. And she’s adding the funny sight of running out to her ‘potty’ area but not doing anything, just standing there a few seconds, then dashing back, looking up for her treat. The incision looks ok, still some scabby areas, which I’m hoping is ok. I just read someone else’s blog w/ a pic of the dog’s front incision on day 11, & that dog’s incision looks quite a lot better than Gracie’s.
Happy birthday Gracie! I remember the day well that we went to Georgia to pick her up. What a cute little ball of fur she was! ( : Still keeping her in my prayers for a quick and full recovery.
Hippo birdy two ewe!!!! Hope you get cake and ice cream like a birthday girl should!
Don’t base Gracie’s recovery time on anybody’s schedule but her own. Although you can make generalizations about how they should feel, look, etc. at a certain time, each pup is different, and each recovery is unique.
Also, there are a lot of alternatives to the “cone of shame” out there… inflatable rings, soft “cones,” and more. Maybe she’d be more comfortable in something like that.
Glad to hear the girl is doing well, though. We’re having extra treats for your birthday, Gracie girl!
Rio’s mom, et al
Hi Jill! Hi Rio & mom! Thanks for bday wishes.
Rio’s mom, we tried the inflatables. 1st one from the vet’s office – that didn’t work. Way too bendable so I went to the pet supply store to find something else. They didn’t have any cones but had another style of inflatable, for a “mere” $25. I got it w/ high hopes. It was a thicker material but it also was worthless. The first night she wore that she licked all night long resulting in the incision looking awful & inflamed w/ more missing stitches the next morning. So we graduated to the cone. After all those trials I went to another link provided by this site’s owner & read that the inflatables don’t work for rear amps. Sure wish I would have found that bit of info at the beginning. I was reading as much as I could in the initial stages of Gracie’s diagnosis & planning for surgery. There was just so much to read. Again, I hope these postings about Gracie’s recovery can help someone else who is in the first stage of their journey. And I certainly hope our vet now knows not to send a rear amp home w/ an inflatable.
Boy, I feel your pain re; the licking. Asia is 13 days post-surgery now and she started licking at hers (also rear leg) about day 10. That must be when it starts getting itchy. Luckiluy for me, Asia is a retired racing greyhound and they all get sent home from the adotpion group with a kennel muzzle. They really should have these for all dog breeds. With the muzzle I can put duct tape on the bottom two rows and she can still breathe through the top but can’t lick at stitches. You can imagine how large a cone a greyhound would require and the muzzle doesn’t knowck lamps off tables at least. Asia still hates it, but it does the job.
I would imagine that if you’re ten days out your dog should be almost healed up and maybe the vet will give the thubs up in a day or two and then licking won’t be such a problem anymore. In another few weeks this will all be a distant memory to you and to Gracie. Maybe some birthday ice cream will make her forget that pesky itching for a little while.
Happy Birthday Gracie! You are adorable! I just wanted to let you know a few things we are doing that has helped Coop. First is his Kong, I put treats and peanut butter in it and he just lies there with it in his front paws licking licking licking. Takes his mind off and gives an alternative. We do this when we leave him for a while and also if I see him going at it. Also we use lick guard and that works well. Bad tasting but it wears off so you have to reapply every few hours . Our vet didn’t want Coop to use a cone because he feels it interfers with the learning of balance. Now that Coop has his balance we may try it. Good luck and have a wonderful day!
Gracie, I missed your pawty but I still want you to know that I wish you all the hoppiness in the world and send lots of birthdya love! I’m sorry you had to spend your big day in the cone of shame but next year, you’ll look back at this and giggle, I know it.
By the way, you look far younger than your years girlfriend! How DO you do it?