Chloe the Boxer

At day 11, no significant updates to report. Chloe is definitely showing signs of muscle fatigue/soreness at the end of each day but that is largely our only issue at the moment.

We’ve begun to taper the Gabapentin, she’s only getting the dose at night now. So far, so good. Her panting seems to occur in the evening, after getting her meds, and it’s not significant. I’ve read that panting can be a side effect from Tramadol, so I’m not too concerned. Chloe has always been a needy dog, so the panting and wanting to be by our side is also a semi-normal behavior for her.

A few people have asked how the kids are adapting. That is also going better than I expected! Ava, our 19 month old, doesn’t appear to be impacted at all. She hasn’t really noticed, doesn’t speak well enough to ask questions, and she still loves on her dogs just the same as before. We have not been allowing her to cuddle with the dogs, which is one of her favorite things to do, so that’s been our only impacts with her. We tried to explain a bit about what was going to happen, to Jack who is almost 3 1/2. Before Chloe came home, he just did not really seem to understand. When Chloe was gone for the procedure, he mentioned missing her and wishing she’d come home. Once Chloe came home, Jack gave her a good look, getting very close to her stitches. He said he was mad, that he wanted her to have 4 legs. We explained cheerfully but very to the point – that Chloe’s leg was sick, and the only way to help her be healthy was to have her leg taken off. We asked him how many legs he has, and then said “See!? Chloe still has one more than you!” which he thought was silly. He’s always been really sweet with our dogs, but now when she whines he tries to comfort her – “It’s ok, Bear-Bear. It’s ok.” The one thing that he has a hard time with, is when she’s yelped out in phantom pain. That scares both of the kids and makes them very upset. We spend equal time comforting Chloe and the kids when that happens. Jack is otherwise really great, and tells people very matter of fact “My dog was sick and had surgery! She has three legs now!”

We ordered our harness, and we go in on Monday to have the stitches removed! It’s going by so quickly. Hopefully once the stitches are out and we can fit the harness, we will try the stairs with her. I have a feeling she’ll do better than expected, but I don’t want her to overdo it.

Joe snapped this picture of Chloe out in the yard today. It’s a balmy 40 degrees in Minneapolis, and sunny. Of course, Chloe wants to be outside sitting in the sun. Yuck, the yard looks gross. We can’t wait for spring!

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Here we are, 9 days post amputation.

I think Chloe had another good day. She was being a pain in the butt, licking the air a bunch tonight, and panting a bit. She is resting fine now, and the licking and panting is an old occasional habit of hers, so I’m hoping that is all it was. Looking, listening, worried that I’m missing a sign

She must have been feeling strong today – Joe reports that he walked away halfway thru changing our sheets and she jumped up on the bed in his absence! She’s not allowed on our bed often, and it’s pretty high off the ground. Naughty Bear!

She got some sunshine without the cone, but once she came back inside, she tried to lick her stitches. So, back on it went!

 

 

 

We are hanging in there. This evening felt like a challenge, so hoping for a better tomorrow.

Chloe had a really good night last night. So great, that we slept through our alarm to give her 2 am dose of Tramadol, and she slept thru it as well! BIG oops. But, she didn’t seem to miss that dose this morning. We are going to try decreasing her pills, to 2 Tramadol every 6 hours, and see if that still works well.

I’m back at work today, but my husband Joe is home with her – I told him I needed pictures today! I snapped this quick one as she was seeing me out the door at 6:45 am.

See how great she looks?! Her skin looks much less inflamed around her incision/stitches. So proud of this girl. We can tell her muscles are tired by the end of the day, but no one could have ever convinced me that she’d be doing this great, 8 days post amputation. They truly are amazing animals.

Life lesson number 1: Be More Dog.

One week! It’s gone by quickly, yet not at all.

Our Chloe-Bear is doing so great. Last night was another good one. Pain was managed, and she didn’t yelp out once. She had no anxiety attacks and slept most the night – two potty breaks. Her amp site looks to be calming down – it doesn’t look as bruised, the skin tone is evening out, and there is very little fluid build up. Amazing!

She is still a little picky with her food, so we are doing 1 cup of kibble (soaked in broth) with 1 can of wet food, and she’s leaving a little in the bowl each meal. She has started to get very picky about her treats/meds, so we’ve had to break out the cream cheese & braunschweiger. Yuck! We have fed her a limited ingredient potato & duck kibble for most of her life with great success and very few stinky Boxer toots, but with all the “junk food” she’s been eating post-amp, the toots are burning our eyes!

My dad stopped by unexpected, and Chloe happily wagged her nub for him. She even kidney beaned! Jenson got over excited and smushed into her amp site, which did give her some pain. I’m impressed with her, though, she recovers so fast from those painful moments and goes right back to being her happy self.

Our house was a little chaotic today – both of our kids were home sick, and our dishwasher recently broke but the new one was delivered today. She barked and wagged her nub for the delivery guys, and tried to “help” Joe work on the installation. She handled the excitement like a pro, though. Joe picked up a second dog bed at Costco because Jenson has started to bed hog. I did see her curl up tight today – first time since surgery.

I will be back at work tomorrow, but Joe will be home with the dogs (and the kids, who still had fevers today). Hoping for another day like today! Woof!!

 

Day 6 – high paws!

Last night was so much better. Was it because we removed the fentanyl patch? Because of the essential oils? Because we are just one day further into healing? I don’t know, but I feel relieved. Our entire house needed the sleep we got last night. Chloe yelped out in (phantom?) pain once, and went out to potty twice. She had her overnight meds as scheduled, but all in all a really great night.

Today has been mostly good. Her appetite is improving – she ate two full meals at her normal time. Meals were half kibble (softened with chicken broth) and canned food. I hope we can slowly transition to kibble only over the next week.

Mobility has improved a little bit more, and once again Chloe tried to push the boundaries by attempting to climb up on the couch. She has been a little needy, wanting to sit right next to us at inconvenient times – like when I tried to wash dishes and again when I was chopping veggies. Small price to pay, though. We are so glad to have seen some improvement today!