jerry said
Love the pupdate, thank you for sharing so many helpful details Everything you are doing is spot-on to help Harley live a great life. And I'm going to bet you will be surprised by the rehab team at CVSS, they look pretty good! It's a great learning experience usually so I hope it's good for you too. They can guide you on the weight loss aspect too, which can be so tricky and yo-yo with a 3-legger. 

YAY for the PetSafe stroller! Yeah it's big but it collapses down pretty good and oh my gosh it's a real boost to a Tripawd's quality of life. I don't know why we waited so long to get one for Wyatt Ray . He had a blast in it. I hope Harley does too. Post pics when you can!

P.S. Don't forget the Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit so be sure to apply.

  

We aren't using CVSS for rehab because Harley's Oncology TX is happening in Pittsburgh.  So we're going to use a rehab practice in Pittsburgh also.  

Hi all - just thought I would check in and let you know that Harley is doing great!  He had his second chemo treatment last week with zero complications and is scheduled for #3 with bloodwork and repeat chest x-rays on Feb. 26th.  He gets around the house with very few problems and even though we bought a stroller for him, we don't take it on walks right now because he's managing a 3/4 mile to 1 mile walk twice a day and he is off-leash for most of it.  The snow makes it difficult to use the stroller or wagon but he doesn't seem to even need it right now.  His stamina is getting a lot better and he doesn't need to stop and rest as much as he did for the first 4 to 6 weeks after amputation.  He is still head-strong and will work you for treats/cookies to get what he wants but he also hates being left behind so if he is refusing to walk (not because he can't but because he's playing his head games), we simply just walk away from him and say "okay, bye".     Then he gets up and comes along.....   reverse psychology works 95% of the time.  The treats have to pick up the slack for the other 5%.  Glad we didn't buy the expensive large bed for him.  He pretty much refuses to sleep on anything soft and will just lay on the carpet or rugs.  His favorite spot is by the front door where the sun streams in.  He is eating like a champ and now we have to cut back a bit on his calorie intake to keep weight off.   The bloodwork done between chemo treatments was all within normal range.  The lowest his neutrophils got was the day of his 2nd chemo treatment but they were still within normal range.   Hoping we will see the same kind of results between treatment 2 and 3.  We are only doing one CBC between treatments this go around instead of the 2 blood draws between TX 1 and 2.  

jerry said
Hip! hip! Harley! Glad to know things are good and he's sailing through chemo. That's just fantastic news!

Sounds like he's slowly built up strength and stamina, which is terrific. Manage his walks and activity carefully and he can keep having a long happy life on three 🙂 I'll be honest though, between the mileage he's putting on this soon after surgery, and the refusal to walk, that kind of behavior is often mistaken for stubbornness, even for people who have historically stubborn dogs. Rehab therapists tell us it can be one way our dogs tell us they've had enough and need to cut back. To be certain it's truly his personality and not something more, take us up on our rehab therapy reimbursement so an expert can check him out. 🙂

Overall he's really doing great! Thanks for the pupdate.

  

We are still right in the middle of selling our house (it's under contract now) and getting our stuff moved to the new house so time is really short.  Hopefully once the sale has closed and we are fully into our new place we will have more time to get Harley in for physical therapy.  My husband is holding down the fort with the dogs at the new place and I'm handling things at the one we are selling.  Asking him to do more would not go over well.....