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Yet another "What should I do?" post...
This forum is locked
28 June 2020
7:20 am
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Forum Posts: 69
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26 June 2020
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Yeah.  He's on gabapentin and an NSAID right now.  I think we've got most of what they recommend for prep stuff at home.  No slip rugs in the kitchen area (full path covered to front and side doors), bought a sling if we need it, large orthopedic bed (though he doesn't like it and prefers to sleep on the floor, not sure there's anything I can do about that), bought a waterproof liner for my mattress (the orthopedic dog bed came with a liner) which is now on the floor in the living room since he mostly prefers to hang out on that with me when we're in that room and if he pukes or pees I can swap out the liner and an extra pair of sheets with minimal sadness, planning to block off the hallway so he's limited to living room and kitchen (which is how we get outside for potty)...  

Anything else people wish they'd been prepped for before they got their pup home?  Really just all around.  The 'what do you wish people had told you before your pup got home' question...

The food is a good suggestion I hadn't really thought of yet.  I've never had trouble getting R to eat.  Ever.  And he's never really been allowed any human food.  Ground beef and chicken probably a pretty safe bet.  He likes strawberries and apples (though he usually only gets one or two bites).  I bought bone broth (the only thing I could find with pretty much no extra spices added) because somebody told me if I have trouble getting him to drink I can pour a little of that in his water?  Is that right?

I was going to take off from work the day he's likely to be coming home and then we have July 4 weekend so I should have the first four days he's home off to focus on him.  Did anybody feel like they should have had more time?  I figure he's going to be super drugged out those first few days, but that also sounds like sometimes the hardest days initially trying to get pain meds fine tuned.  Also, I'll just be sad and scared and probably want to binge watch British murder mysteries and stare at him to make sure he's still breathing.  

28 June 2020
8:40 am
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Forum Posts: 3465
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1 October 2017
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Bone broth is an excellent choice. Ground beef and chicken too. Sometimes chopped boiled or scrambled eggs. And some dogs never get finicky but some do and that would be the time you would have wished you had it on hand. 

You are all over this!! I believe you have everything covered smiley_clap 

The first several days really depend on the patient. After the first 3-4 days you have to watch closely to make sure his pain is managed and those are the days after that we see how well the oral meds are doing because it takes 3-4 days for the hospital meds/anesthesia to wear off. Try to make sure you give meds as close to the same time intervals as possible, and watch to see how he is doing. You are all over limiting his areas so yeah, I think you are really ready. How long to stay home with him... some have been able to take a week, some have only had a few days, everyone has made it work. If you have to go to work and do not feel comfortable, is there someone that can come check on him for you? Or sit with him for a while? If not then you do the best you can with what you have sp_hearticon2

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

28 June 2020
11:10 am
New York, NY
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Forum Posts: 634
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24 March 2020
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Hi.  I'm Stacy, Griffin's mama (Griffin's Journey).  It sounds like you have all the bases covered!  The only thing I didn't see in your post was a raised feeder if you don't already use one so R doesn't have to bend to eat or drink.  Good luck and please keep us posted!  ~ Stacy

Griffin lived an amazing life for 11 years! Diagnosed with osteosarcoma on March 17, 2020, Griffin's right forelimb was amputated on April 2, 2020. Ten days later he was running and playing fetch! Lung metastasis discovered in July 2020 did not slow down Griffin and he lived joyfully for the next 7 months, passing peacefully at home on February 11, 2021. https://griffin.tripawds.com

28 June 2020
11:27 am
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26 June 2020
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We don't have a raised feeder.  R is one of those eat-the-whole-meal-in-sixty-seconds types, so we've always used things to slow down his eating...  He lies down to eat sometimes with his <a href="