Great news

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Door Hugger Land http://paws4paint.weebly.com

All my children have paws!

Thank's it certainly is. Even if he does have the other one done at least we know how to deal with it now.

He's been a model patient and I never thought he would be as he's young and can be a little nutter at times, lol
Lets hope this will make him grow up a bit.

It amazes me how well they cope if it was me Id be ouch ouch ouch & sorry I missed the bit about his other hip I do hope he dosent need to have another op & if he does not for a good while at least x

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Door Hugger Land http://paws4paint.weebly.com

All my children have paws!

Thursday 2nd September. (Sixteen Days - post op)

10.15am.
Flynn slept well last night, toileted just before bedtime which is lovely as you feel he'll have a good nights sleep and is quite bright this morning. I have taken off his comfy collar and he shows no sign of wanting to get at his scar, just has an itchy area around his knee and heel that he nibbles occasionally, I expect the new hair growth has something to do with that. It's quite strange how the fur on his back and upper leg is growing more rapidly than on the lower leg, say from the knee down and the new growth is a bit like a greyhounds coat, all smooth and velvety. Unfortunately the rest of his coat is still shedding despite daily grooming, do these Mallies ever stop? you wonder, lol.
Now that the staples are out his scar has flattened more and apart from the occasional scab is hardly noticable.
As from tomorrow he will be taking just one Rimadyl tablet daily and I am gradually cutting his sedatives down - he now has two doses per day and I will see how that goes and go on to cut it down to one, then stop them altogether. I will take it one day at a time and see how Flynn reacts to the lower doses as he's still in the "critical" period of his recovery but to be honest I think he will soon settle without them, because even when I have decided he can skip a dose he's still been very calm.
As I said yesterday for safety sake I will continue to use the sling for longer than needed - I just feel that we've done so well a couple more weeks of caution can only be beneficial.
As everything is going so well with Flynns recovery - touch wood - I don't think there is any need for me to update on a daily basis now. From now on I will continue to update my diary and post weekly.
I hope this diary helps anyone who's thinking of going down the same road as it's a hard decision to make, you wonder if it's the right thing to do, if you can cope with this recovery period and mostly if your dog can cope with it and benefit from such invasive surgery. I haven't done it to persuade anyone into having it done, just for them to see how our experience has been and how our dog has coped. I am more than willing to speak to anyone who would like a chat and if you send a pm will get back to you.
If ever you consider it for your dog and it isn't crate trained the one thing i'd suggest is to buy a crate, or even make one and try as early as possible to get the dog used to it. The only time Flynn has ever experienced anything like a crate has been on the three previous occasions he has stayed at the vets and they were only day stays, one being overnight.
I would also suggest taking your dog in the garden on a lead to toilet a while before the op, as this was the one area that I found so alien to him and a bit worrying for me. Also adding plenty of veg to his diet and sliced peaches/mandarins may help from preventing constipation, Flynn has always liked fresh raw veg so was more than willing to eat them and the tinned fruit (juice/syrup rinsed off) were an added treat - lucky boy.
The thing is I literally only had two weeks to do all of this and that included ordering his crate and waiting for it to arrive, so he had around ten days or so to get used to the crate and I never considered taking him in the garden to toilet on the lead, although I have to say that he soon got used to both and as I had no other option consistency paid off, as i'm sure it will with any dog eventually. The sedatives have played a huge part in Flynns recovery, keeping him calm and stress free - me too, lol, and though I know not all vets prescribe them and also that not all dogs will need them, Flynn being a young Mallie and I have to admit a little spoilt has definitely benefited from having them, so if your dog is stressed I personally would ask the vet to prescribe sedatives for the first few weeks. They are only for short term use and can prevent an injury from a hyped up dog leaping around on his new hip.
I hope everything continues to go well for my boy and am very proud of him for taking this all so well.
Will keep up the posts weekly as said but it's bye for now - be back in a week.

Loved reading you updates. Domino will start his hydro at 7 weeks post op but as he is doing so well he has lots of exercises he can do, they include digging and walking along a plank on the ground.

Val xx

Well done Domino - keep up the good work mummy.

Friday 3rd Sept. ( Seventeen days - post op)

8.30am.
Alls well with Flynn this morning, eating and toileting normally and quite bright in himself.
3.00pm.
On taking Flynn out to toilet have noticed a swelling around his anus - as it is all completely shaved it's plain to see. My first thought was a kind of blister but on closer inspection could see the skin was too thick for it to be that, so suspected an anal gland abscess. Called Fitzpatrick and was told to inform my vet immediately as he would need antibiotics asap. Made the call and took photo's - didn't really want to have to take him down as all the excitement and stress of examination wouldn't be good for him. The vet (not Hugh my usual vet - on holiday, again) prescribed him Noraclav 500mg, to take 1 1/2 tabs twice daily for seven days. Got back home at 3.15 and gave him a dose by which time the abscess had burst. Poor boy, this is apparently a very painful condition yet he was still his usual self this morning and there was no sign of any swelling when he toileted four hours earlier. I am amazed how quickly this came up and burst. The only thing I did notice was around 2.30pm when he was panting in his crate so I turned the fan on to max and he soon stopped, it is quite a hot day and just thought that the vet bed was making him hot.
I cleaned the abscess with tepid salt water - he had to have lots of bribes to let me do it and got loads of "gunk" out - brave boy!
So the comfy collar has had to go back on and the Rimadyl which was supposed to be cut down to one a day has now been put back to two for the next four days while it begins to heal.
Flynn has always had anal gland probs, mainly because they keep emptying on their own, i'd say at least once every day and although he's seen two different vets, each time they have said they are empty and it's healthy for them to empty on their own. They never look like they empty them properly though, and i've always had a feeling they are a bit scared of Flynn as he doesn't like it being done, don't know why as he's never even growled at a vet! I am going to change vets when all this is over but I have to stay there at present as they know Flynn and will prescribe without seeing him at times like this, obviously a new vet would have to see him first. So for convenience sake i'll stay there for now but as soon as he's out of the woods he'll be going elsewhere.
At least he's comfortable now, had his antibiotics, sedatives and pain relief - poor baby as if he isn't going through enough already and i'm sure this could have been avoided if only they'd listen to me - i've had dogs all my life and never experienced this kind of anal gland problem in any before. The thing is Flynn isn't a scooter and doesn't bite at his tail, so i'd always thought they were right - not now though!
Have looked on you tube at how to do it myself and successfully emptied Kali's with no problem, where as the vet makes a right performance and does it internally. I know it mustn't be done too often as that can cause probs too, so will try every three months or so as he and Kali have to go to the vet for this regularly.

Saturday 4th Sept. (Eighteen Days - post op)

10.30pm.
Alls well today, Flynn still walking very well - looks a bit fed up at times but with the anal gland abscess i'm not surprised. he doesn't like it cleaned but it has to be done - twice daily.
Everything hip wise is going great and for the first time I actually took him out to toilet on my own, he was a good boy for me and the trip was successful. Won't push it though, just wanted to give Emma a break and not wake her up for once. Bought him another toy but still not interested, his idea of play is usually tearing about like a loon throwing his toy in the air - never mind, he'll be doing that soon enough.
He had a lovely pig leg for his dinner, thoroughly enjoyed it and aleviated the boredom for a while - at least he hasn't lost his appetite.

Sunday 5th Sept. (Nineteen Days - post op)

11.30pm.
Flynn has been very bright today, more his usual self. Has started to have more of a play, like tug and catch - a little difficult in the lying down position but at least he's game.
His abscess is looking all nice and clean and the comfy collar is now off, so at least he's got a little more freedom.
Has had an extra time out of the crate and enjoyed his chicken legs and particularly his mange tout which at the mo is his favourite veg.
The good thing is that he's not at all bothered by his scar or his abscess which has now completely gone down and can hardly be seen. As soon as he has recovered from this abscess I will see if his anal glands need emptying but that won't be for a while as he has to heal properly first. One thing's for sure I won't be taking him back to my vet for this as they don't seem to know how to handle my boy.

Monday 6th Sept. (Twenty Days - post op)

10.30pm.
Flynn's still doing great with his walking, no sign of a limp still and has been quiet most of the time. It's hard getting him to play today but having said that Emma seemed to manage okay, started playing with her immediately she tried, poor boy is most likely fed up with me constantly by his side when he's out. I do tend to overdo it and as soon as he moves i'm there - OMG I must try to trust him more. He usually only wants to get up, turn around and change position, which he does all the time in the crate but i'm so paranoid he'll trot off, don't know why as he never has. He's still being a very good boy and makes no noise when put back in the crate.
Eating, drinking and toileting well, so no problems at all really - bless him.

Tuesday 7th Sept. (Twenty One Days - post op)

9.30am.
Another milestone - three weeks post op and all is well - thank goodness!
Lazy boy still sleeping at the mo, I tried seeing if he wanted to go out but he doesn't so i'll leave it for a while but he'll have to get up soon as I need him to eat and have his meds, particularly his AB's as I like an even gap between the two doses.
He's more like his usual self, never gets up much before 11am if I leave it to him.
As he hardly ever chooses to lie on carpet or his sofa I have kept the patio door open all day and night since he came home - a bit cold at night for me but if it's closed he pants and can't bear the thought of him being uncomfortable, especially as he can't move from his crate and the fan doesn't seem to keep him nice and cool. Sleeps like a babe with the door open. Just hope a blinking fox doesn't decide to pop in - that would be a disaster, so the door is open just enough for a breeze to come in and nothing else, lol. His crate is quite near the door so he's nice and cool and in the past i've had trouble getting him in at night - he'd love to sleep in the garden but I like them all indoors.
The vet bed is wonderful and being non slip is ideal but Flynn usually lies on the laminate flooring with his legs up the wall - now he has to lie like an ordinary dog, very different to how he'd choose i'm sure.
His abscess has completely dissapeared but am still bathing the area twice daily and it's looking very clean, I can tell he's more comfortable with it as he doesn't mind me doing this now. At first I used very diluted Hibiscrub but that seemed a bit stingy for him so I changed to good old slightly salted tepid water and he was much better with that. At least he doesn't have that to deal with now.
He loves going in the garden, sniffing the fresh air and munching a little damp grass - can't wait til he can spend more time out there and go for short walks.
In himself he is getting a bit fed up with always having to lie down, after all he was such an active boy in the late morning and afternoon, evening he'd just lie in the garden but having said that he is coping very well and being so grown up about it.
He is still taking Rimadyl twice daily but after today i'm going to cut it down to once as he doesn't seem uncomfortable at all and it was only continued for a few more days because of the abscess.
I give him his sedatives when I think he needs them now and have cut the dose down to 25mg, if he isn't excited when we take him in the garden I skip a dose as he doesn't always need them and it's nice to see the "old Flynn" emerge sometimes.

Wednesday 8th Sept. (Twenty Two Days - post op)

11.55am.
For the first time in ages we took Flynn out to toilet at 3.55am this morning, I woke up and he was standing in the crate looking at the patio door panting - woke Em up (poor kid) and off we went. Successfull as he didn't wee just before going in the crate at bed time. Don't like to take him out on my own at night in case he see's a fox and gets all excited - it's never happened though but it could I suppose. Went back in the crate and was snoring in no time.
I don't like seeing him in the crate so much so I try to make his times out longer now but to be honest HE doesn't seem to mind, though he does look a bit "down in the dumps" sometimes. In the garden the other day a siren started going off - lovely - he took full advantage and started a long howl off with all the Mals. It was so nice to see him enjoy a good old howl, usualy i'd try to get them to stop but this time they were allowed to go on for as long as they wanted - which is ages after the siren stops, lol. That's my boy, more like the Flynny we all know!
I had thought there would be some muscle wastage by now but there doesn't seem to be, looking at his shaved leg and hip it's still lovely and plump - I put that down to good old BARF feeding - but then I would, lol.
He is walking beautifully, so much better than ever before and I am so pleased with the job Noel has done - not even the slightest sign of a limp. The fur is growing well and the scar all healed. The right hip is making a little more noise now though and I expect that is because it has had to compensate for the repair of the left, hopefully when he starts his hydro in three weeks time and can have more exercise it won't be so bad - however I would definitely consider having that one replaced too if Noel thinks he may need it but only after a few months, he needs time to recover and so do we, lol.
I sometimes find it exhausting just sitting with him, as i'm not usually a sitting for long person and to try and find things that interest him is actually quite hard at times. I bought him a Holeee Moleee and put treats in it, he wasn't at all interested then Emma put one of the little dogs squeaky pigs in it and PRESTO he can't leave it alone - he's convinced he can get it out, it's safe though and quite a job to get in, in the first place. Another fave "toy" of his is an old tea towel with a knot tied in it, he plays tug and catches it when you throw it in the air. All the expensive toys i've bought him and he only really likes these two - typical!
He's eating well and if he's not too keen will take food from a fork, after a while he then eats it, same with a chicken leg, if I sit and cut peices off it starts his appetite and then he'll enjoy the rest. There are times when he has to eat in order to have his meds, so I know he seems spoilt (cough cough) but he's not really!
I have been so lucky that all has gone so smoothly since the op and know it could have been different. The risk of complications with a THR is 10% and I knew we could and still can, be in that category as there's a way to go yet but i'm hoping "someone up there" likes my baby boy and is helping him and us through all of this - he's not ready for the bridge yet and we're not ready to let him go there.
More updates in a week or so.

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Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

Some recent pics.
How he looks now, fur growing back nicely.


Close up of his scar, still nice and plump.


Trying to get the toy out of his Holee Molee.

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Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

Two more.
Playing tug with the tea towel "toy".


Lording it up, eating off a fork - not spoilt - honest, lol.

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Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

Awwwwwwwwwww bless it looks fantastic considering all you've been through

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Door Hugger Land http://paws4paint.weebly.com

All my children have paws!