Thanks for all of the replies.  He had his amputation surgery on Tuesday, and he came home today in the afternoon.  He is getting around OK, but still needs a good bit of assistance with the sling.   We are managing, but he still has yet to pee on his own and that has me concerned.  So around 7pm we headed back to the VRC and had his bladder drained via catheter.   They had to sedate him because he is a bit tender in that whole area as would be expected, and he was not tolerant of the catheter without it.  He allows me to apply the iced towel in a plastic bag to his leg area to help with the swelling, so he is certainly trusting me somewhat.    He apparently ate well at the vet, and he had a bunch of chicken breast here at home and some water.   I've started a 'medication log' for him to keep track of the timing of what he is getting and when.  

I will try to get him to pee again in the morning and see if we have any better luck.   He never was a fan of peeing on a leash, and most of his favorite spots are up in the woods where he is not allowed right now.  So, hopefully tomorrow he picks a new spot in the small yard and we don't have to make a trip back to the vet tomorrow again. 

One other note.  I bought him a really nice dog bed called "Big Barker".   It was not cheap, and i was hesitant but it has proved to be a good investment so far as he went straight to it upon getting home.  It has quality memory foams that provide him good support and stability. I figured i already dropped a many thousands on surgery.. what was another few hundred on a dog bed.  

I am extremely exhausted both physically and mentally.   I'll provide another update tomorrow, hopefully with a better day.

Thanks again for all the support and a place to brain dump about everything.  

Nate

He has been very restless all evening.   I've been trying to get to a 5 minute shower for going on four hours.   I think he wants to go outside to shit, but the three trips outside tonight have been just wandering the yard.  His favorite shitting spot is in the woods, so i am kind of screwed since he cant go up there. 

I am sooooo mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, and everything else drained.  

Nate

Shortly after my post last night, he fell asleep and slept for a solid ten hours.  I feel much better rested as well after logging an equal amount of sleep.   I found a small nugget of poo on the carpet next to his bed this morning.  I think he farted last night and blew a chunk.. lol, whatever.. however he wants to get it out of his system.  I took him outside around 11am this morning and he FINALLY took a giant crap on a small pile of leaves. He hopped around a bit on his own pretty well and also stood most of the time.   He was up for a while, and now just fell back asleep again on his Big Barker.  I am happy with the progress he has made over the last day with just the peeing and pooping on his own.   

Nate

Just back from another trip to the vet.  Diesel hadn't gone pee in about 26 hours despite having a good bit of water today and wandering the back yard as if he wanted to.  So, I headed back to the vet around 8pm fully knowing they were closed but anticipating the 15 minute ride and those smells of other dogs would do the trick.   Sure enough... 5 minutes of wandering their yard and he drained his bladder.  

I may be getting played for car rides at this point. 

Nate