today we went to the park with shari and trillian. trillian had already had a walk but we thought she might need a bit more adventure so we took her along.
bohdan was really good with his walking, the larger childrens play area had two toddlers and two parents, who trillian got to go and visit with. after adventuring around the park, bohdan settled about 30 yards from the play area to watch trillian and the children.
bohdan was a very good dog, he didn't growl or bark or lunge even when one of the little boys came running towards us to see the puppy again.
bohdan moved closer to the childrens area, but still was quiet. when it was time to leave he didn't want to get up and move, so trillian and shari moved towards the car. once they were out of sight bohdan began to panic not wanting is puppy to get too far away.
he got up and waddled to the where they were, once he was within site he decided to go the other direction. i told him no, and we went back to the car, he was tired.
that was our adventure in the park.
well it wasn't all that boring, but it was pretty routine. i put bohdan in the car and we went to the park, today i thought we would take a bit of a different approach to the park... and walk around the perimiter and then enter from a different place. we got about half way around and bohdan decided that something was scary, he grabbed his leash in his mouth and purposefully marched himself back to the park.
we wandered around and rested here and there. while we were resting there was a little kittie in the park who came to say hi, bohdan had to chase him.
we did a little chasing of the kitty and then we had to rest. it took us about a half hour to get back to the car. he was very tired and his front right
leg was shaking uncontrollably.
when we got home, i was trying to get bohdan out of the car and heather asked us to show her some houses that were for sale. we drove around the neighborhood for a bit. when we got back home it was time to convince bohdan he was getting out of the car, once out he lay down on the front lawn. i pestered him for a little bit and he went into the house, where he slept for at least an hour.
today we went on a walk around the block. we havent' been walking ina few days. we got 3/4 of the way around the block and we rested. bohdan's from legs were shaking and quivering. i let him rest and we made the the rest of the walk home no problems. when we got into the house his legs were shaking again.
a fairly uneventful walk but we did it...
today i took bohdan to the vet for his 16 week x-ray check up.
i also thought he had some tooth decay so we were prepared to clean his teeth while he was under the anesthetic.
our old vet is no longer at the clinic so we were meeting with a new vet today. his name is dr. hill, a very nice man. i spoke with him on sunday to make sure we understood what needed to be done for bohdan and that they didn't expect me to just drop him off and pick him up.
we arrived and had a short wait in the lobby, then when we were called bohdan just wouldn't get up, it was pretty embarassing.
bohdan weighed in at 154 pounds today.
we went straight to radiology, where we first went into the room, i got bohdan to lay down and help him, then the new vet came in and examined his knee, listened to his breathing etc. we then put him out.
the techs lifted him onto the table, they took the x-rays and then went on to
look at his teeth, they laughed at me for thinking he needed a cleaning, they were very pleased with how clean they were. what i thought was decay was just staining of his teeth. they were quite pelased with how clean his gums are.
we then looked at the x-rays and everything looked fine. we had bohdan taken off the gas and he began to come around. i sat with him for nearly an hour watching dogs and xats coming in and out of the x-ray room.
bohdan got very excited and howled at the animals, and when another animal was crying bohdan became very concerned and tried to go into the room and make sure the animal was not being hurt.
i tried to get bohdan to leave sooner, but he was not stable on his feet, and then the radiologist told us we could stay as long as we needed.
all in all this was a very good day for us. not only did it cost us only 78.00 it was only 2-3 hours of time rather then what i had expected.
we have a houseguest today so shari thought i should take bohdan along with us when i helped her pick up her car that has been in the shop for a week.
i thought why not, then we could go for a walk in the park.
bohdan and i arrived at the little park a few blocks away and he was
so excited to be there. he thought it was great. started crying before i could park the car.
we spend half an hour walking around the park and inspecting. we kept getting closer and closer to the little kids play area that was occupied by a bunch of toddlers and their mom's.
at about 15 yards he stopped and lay there watching them. he was very curious as to what they noisey odd moving creatures were.
we then headed home... when i got into the dirveway i could already tell i was not going to have an wasy time of getting him into the house.
so i left him there, it is a cold overcast day so there was no risk of over heating in the car.
two hours and fifteen minutes passed before i could get him out of the car... now he is parked on the livingroom floor napping. he had fallen asleep in the car and was in such a deep sleep that he didn't move when i went out there and peered in the window.
my dog is so strange....
so after our visit to the vet, bohdan was doing very well no limping he didn't look too stiff etc. so i thought another walk would be good for him.
so we set off around the block around 10pm. he was walking fine eager to be going. i thought i would see how he was doing and we would maybe go back at half way around the block or we would continue on.
he was doing well at the halfway point so we continued on. he lay down on the front lawn at one of our neighbors houses. i let him rest, catch his breath and then asked him if he was ready to go. he got up immediately and we continued on. we hit this last 6 house stretch to our house and he wanted to go the other direction. i told him we were going home, and he immediately flopped on someones lawn. i thought oh no i had gone over his limitations poor boy is in pain.
people passed us on the street and bohdan didn't cry, lunge or bark.
i was able to get him up and get going, but he only went a few more steps, so i called shari and asked her to come down to the end of the block and bring trillian so we could maybe get bohdan home.
he looked like he was in so much pain, limping and not moving very far, and when he was laying down the was happy as a clam.
i went home and got a towel and we used it as a sling to bring him home.
and i was beating myself up for over doing it with him and trying to figure out what was hurting him.
about 45 minutes after getting bohdan back into the house he got up off the livingroom floor and walked just fine on his own.
i think he was faking it...
this week i decided to take bohdan to the chiro it was time, his shoulders were locked up again... so into the car and off we went.
dr. szabo did the adjustements out front of the office, on the street.
this was amazing and wonderful for bohdan, he was much more relaxed. this vet office has very slippery floors which makes it very hard for bohdan to stand and this makes him very edgy.
after the adjustements, bohdan was able to just lay on the street until he was ready to get up and go.
we then went for a short walk down the block we went for about a half block walk to stretch him out and to keep him from getting further locked up.
today shari decided to work from home so as part of her break we took both dogs down to the beach. they were antsy and needing some exercise. i have been unable to get bohdan to go down to the sand, but with trillian and shari he felt that he had to keep up. we walked the short walk to the sand and then lay down in the warmth.
trillian would not rest in the sand but instead decided to go down to the water, bohdan needing to keep up with her went down to the water as well. his legs were giving out, i could see that he was having problems keeping himself up.
when we got down to the wet sand he lay down... but decided he needed to check out the water, since that is where trillian was. we got to the waters edge he needed to lay down. shortly after he lay down a big wave came, he was facing the shore and didn't see it coming. he got the shock of submersion, and since i was attached to the other end of the leash got soaked up to my knees.
suede shoes and all.
we slowly made our way back to the car resting in a few spots.
we stopped at the picnic benches and were greated by an off leash dog. this was great for bohdan as he has not had much interaction with dogs since his surgery.
we are home now. he is sandy and damp, but drying off. and he is very tired.
We were going to take the day off on Tuesday, But shari wanted to take trillian on a walk and bohdan thought that he should be allowed to go as well. Since
they were just going to walk to the end of the block, I thought it was worth a try, he could get out, do some moving around and then have had a little exercise for the day.
Bad idea. We made it to the end of the block, and about two houses on our return when he lay down. He was breathing pretty hard and I wanted to just leave him, but he was on a neighbors lawn who I didn't know.
And there were neighbors out and about. So I helped him get up and he made it back a few more houses and stopped on another neighbors lawn, two houses from ours.
I know this neighbor and she would not have minded his resting on her lawn, had he not started to bark and howl. It was around 11:00 pm, and out pops our neighors head. We apologize and I get him moving. He is set to go home. there is no lawn between this neighbors and our home.
He stops and pees on the fence inbetween and the leg he has lifted gets caught in the chain link. Normally this would not have been a problem, but his lateral
stability is till not so good. His right leg gave out and shari helped ease him down.
I took trillian home, much against her wishes... well once she realized where it was that we were going.
Came back and helped bohdan get up and we walked home. His right
leg is definately sore. I am not sure what to do to help him. I gave him Arnica
in hopes that it is just swollen and sore muscles. I might try icing it again later today.
Despite all of this we are making forward progress.
we are at 15 weeks post OP. We should be further along then we are, but we knew recovery would be hard, he is overweight, and such a big guy to begin with. That mixed with the fact that I don't have him on strict leash access to the yard and I have let him run and manage himself is probably not helping, but he is so sad being confined like that... so I made the decision to take the harder route. I guess.
Well I tried for two walks today and the second one was too much.
it seems that bohdan hurt his right ankle, that is his good leg.
maybe he injured it slipping on the garage floor, or trying to get up too quickly, however it is swollen tonight. I didn't notice this and he was so exicted about a chance to go for a walk that I thought he was alright.
we got about half way around the block when his
limping became more pronounced. then for the last 6 houses we stopped about every 10-15 feet. I let him rest inbetween and I could see that he was in pain, and having problems standing.
when we got home I iced his ankle and massaged it. tomorrow we will take it very easy.
we took sunday off... well we didnt go for a walk, but bohdan let me know that he was ready. instead of going for a walk the dogs got hyper playing together, running around, playing fighting. it was really good to see. addutionally it was hard on bohdan's back legs, which just cemented the fact that he needed a day off.
so today, he was really ready to go. first thing this morning he found where i had set down his leash and went and stood by it. but I had errands to run and he couldn't go with me.
at around 1pm we went on a walk around the block. it was short, and fast but it was what he was waiting for. he didn't stop and rest on anyways lawn, including his own, and was a little mellower when passing the german shephards. although, his stubborness is coming out and he thinks he can go further.
we will try for a second walk this evening.
yesterday after taking bohdan on his walk i went to a bbq,
after which i came home and helped shari do some yard work. the whole time i was gone bohdan slept. i assume recovering from his morning walk.
bohdan decided to help us with the rest of the afternoons gardening and came out side. in our backyard we have a brick flower bed that is 5 tiers.. the top
tier is filled with nastutrium in full bloom.
this is a place that bohdan liked to hang out prior to surgery and one where i
have not seen him since.
today I felt we would only be taking one walk. bohdan just seemed too sore so I thought it should be something a little different then around the block. so i wasled him down to the 7-11 which is about 1/2 way around the block.
he decided he wanted to go and investigate the grounds of the school, so we walked over to the entrance, whic made out walk "out" about once around the block. so it was much further then what I had anticipated.
He needed to take a rest and I gave him a couple minutes to lay in the schools freshly planted flower bed. then we continued home, he was unstable on his feet and in visible pain.
he stopped to rest on our neighbors lawna nd a short rest in the shade on our lawn.
that was out adventure...
Yesterday I took bohdan on two walks... we went around the block once each time. He was really pleased by this. The first walk he sat down once about 1/2 way, which was fine, no one was home. On our second walk he had some difficulties making it the whole way around the block and I had to coax him
and give treats for the last 4 houses.
He is now coming into the house and not flopping on the lawn more regularly.
progress is being made.
Just got back from taking bohdan around the block. This is the second day in a row that he has gone around the block. He had to stop once
on our way around, at about the 1/2 way point... but when we got home
he didn't even lay on the front lawn, he saw that I wanted him in the house and he walked right up the lawn and to the back door.
The only thing I am a little concerned about is his slipping on the rounded curbs. If he gets too close to the street as we are walking along he can't control his hind end and keep it from slipping down into the street.
But it looks like he is beginning to feel a little better... YAY!
Maybe we will go around the block again tonight.
today bohdan stayed on karine's bed until late in the morning. then he emerged and walked out into the back yard quite deliberately. then he threw up. white fomay bile with grass. I observed his shoulders seemed kinda rounded like he was hunching them (if he was a person). he pretty much refused his Yoghurt & Pumpkin, not by trying to flip the dish, but by taking a few licks then pretending it wasn't there.
I felt around his shoulders and they seemed solid and stiff. I mused that he could be throwing up from pain. he bared his teeth at me so I left his shoulders alone.
after a while bohdan settled in the backyard to sun his big self. then he napped on the floor of karine's room while the puppy slept on the bed. then I was Informed that He was Hungry as he ate all the puppy's little cubes. then he settled in the living room while I dealt with puppy housebreaking traumas.
after the puppy housebreaking traumas I gave bohdan more little cubes so his tummy wouldn't be empty, then gave him two cal-mags in butter. he was quite surprised that a butter-wrapped pill couldn't be ejected from the back of his mouth and had to be swallowed. I guess I learned soomething from crosby.
after pokying around in the fridge to the madly barking puppy, I brought out frozen lambneck pieces and gave them to the puppy to shut her up. bohdan came and was quite interested in this so I gave him some too. this made him very happy he could care less it was frozen. I gave him an extra piece.
as he was finishing the piece the puppy Informed us it was Time for a Walk. I brought out her harness and leash and bohdan said it was His Turn. it was difficult to get out the door because he felt he should Go Too. I told him His Turn would be next, then left him and he settled. when I came back I gave both dogs cookies. I put fresh water for the puppy but bohdan would not let her get to it he drank a good deal of it. then I put the ThingOnHisFace and we left for our walk. we left the puppy, who did not settle but apparently peed in protest while howling at the garage door (as karine discovered later)
bohdan was very set and deliberate as we walked. he did not pull excessively but I noticed he almost waddled. partially becuase of overweightness but I think in part was becuase his front legs are taking shorter than usual steps. he seemed shaky when he turned like to go back to investigate an interesting smell.
after about the first 3 pee stops, he stopped lifting his leg. the drinking of the water became clear as he peed about every 5-10 steps. didn't think a dog could plan, did you.
a lady with sunglasses was walking about 15 feet behind us part of the way. this did not bother him.
he whimpered as we past houses with dogs but did not really stop. he looked to me for cookies as he did this but I told him I wasn't his mom and he wasn't going to get any cookies from me for being bad. we stopped across the street from the shephards but bohdan did not bark or bounce. I kept reminding him to be easy on the downhill. I think this is good because if his shoulders are stiff the steady walking would help loosen then but bouncing could make things worse.
we got all the way back to the front yard and he layed down next to the phone pole. I told him I was proud of him for going all the way around the block and he was a Good Dog. he decided that the cookies were still not forthcoming and after about 20 seconds got up in disgust and headed to the garage door. we went inside and I took the ThingOffHisFace and gave him liver treats. he layed down in the kitchen and I brought the water to him becuase he looked sore. after a while he moved to the living room and went to sleep.
I think this is the most difficult part of the walks we take. Getting bohdan out of the car when we are home. Getting him out of the car when we arrive at our designated walking place is easy. He even listens when I tell him to wait, clip on his gentle leader, have him lay down so I can assist him out the back to the wagon.
Just got back from our walk today. We more like I just got bohdan into the house. We left at about 3:45 and got home at about 4:45 we went on two walks.
First I drove over to the beach I didn't realize when I parked that I was in a spot that said no parking after 3pm on Monday's from May 1 to Oct 31. So we were walking our normal walk and I realized this so I decided to end the walk befor ehe got tired. But we walked the same distance we had walked over
the past few visits.
Then I deicded that our walk felt cut short... so instead of going home I went to the little park that is near our house. Bohdan thought this was a grand idea and and when we got out of the car he walked nearly all of the way aroudn the park. Then about 30 feet from the car he lay down to rest. I had nowhere else to be so I let him enjoy the time out of doors and away from the puppy.
Then I loaded him back into the car and home we went. He was breathing pretty heavy and I knew he would not want to get out of the car when we got home. So I didn't try all that hard to get him out.
And as this whole story began, I left him in the car and over the course of the next 45 minutes kept checking on him and trying to coax him out.
Now we are in the house, we have had our treats for going into the house and not flopping on the grass. And I have given him two Calcium/Magnesium supplements to help with muscle fatigue and to relax, and he is asleep on the floor.
We might not get a walk tomorrow, as I am going to the aquarium, and we have someone coming over to look at replacing our windows.
The big adventure I thought we were going to go on just didn't work out.
Instead I was going to take Bohdan down to the beach again... I going to
cause once I got him into the car, and to the beach, I found that it was crowded.
We weren't going to be able to have our peace and quiet stroll on the esplanade that we have been having.
Who would have thought that on a gray overcast Sunday where it is windy on the coast and probably in the high 50's we would not be able to find parking.
Well I couldn't disappoint him so I decided to head to a grassy place nearby called Lands End. And on the way found lots of parking on a quiet street.
So I parked, took Bohdan out of the car and we walked for a good 8 minutes.
He was tired and required coaxing to get back to the car.
He was so tired infact he didn't want to stand on his hind legs for me
to lift him into the car.
The draw back of the place we went walking is that there weren't any grassy spots for him to flop on. Hmm maybe that is a good thing.
We got home, and I was just beginning the ritual of trying to talk Bohdan into
getting up and out of the car and going into the house. He wanted none of it...
He seems to think that laying in the car for an hour or two is perfectly fine after his walk.
Just then Shari came out of the house with Trillian on leash and was going to take her for a walk. Bohdan thought we should accompany them and came flying out of the car. I guess Shari and Trillian were going to see if Trillian's little legs could make it around the block.
Bohdan approached this walk "full steam ahead"...
We blazed down the block. When we got one house from the far end, he stopped, and the Rotties in that house started barking and barking.
He tried to go up on their lawn and but instead he slipped. His hind legs started to go out from under him in opposite directions... kind of scary. Then he planted one hind leg incorrectly and when I told him to come with me and we headed back home, he had trouble and didn't want to.
But I got him to walk home, and he didn't stop on the lawn, went straight into the house like a good dog. Haven't seen that good dog in ages...
Now he is passed out on the livingroom floor snoring.
Bohdan and I went to the beach again today... he was very excited to be
able to get out of the house for a bit. We took a break on Friday and
only played in the back yard.
From my rather primitave calculations we walked 2/10th's of a mile, not very far. But he was tired by the end of it. We walked along the esplanade in the grass and on the sidewalk. The grass was mushy and damp making it a harder
surface for him to balance on. His feet kept sinking in.
It was nice, I let him lay down a few times and rest. It is nicer then walking around the block. There were other dogs and people about and bohdan only
got excited and barked at one of the dogs. He pretty much ignored the people.
Tomorrow I think we are going on an adventure...