I'm so sorry you are dealing with this at this time. Its horrific news to receive anytime, but whilst preparing for the imminent arrival of your first baby must be extremely daunting, as well as the challenges that come with the festive season! However, please use this site for support and reassurance. It really is a wonderful community with a wealth of experience and knowledge to share and they will help you along this journey, I have no doubt of that. Every dog and every surgery is different and so there is no simple answer to how best prepare you for what the next few weeks will be like, but I've listed a few key things that I think you should arm yourself with in the next couple of days to give you a helping hand along the way;

Food for Tiny - the anaesthetic and the pain meds usually make them feel quite queezy and can knock their appetite so some yummy foods to tempt him with during the first week might help. Chicken, Rice, gravy, scrambled eggs, fresh pumpkin (for constipation), cheese (for tablets) and such seem to be the most popular.

Traction for Tiny - If you have slippy floors in your house it will be hugely beneficial to have mats/rugs to put down to help give Tiny traction when moving with his new gait. Although rest and minimal movement will be on the cards for a least the first two weeks, he will still need to go for toilet breaks, so consider the route through your house the yard and such. Yoga mats seem to be a cheap and effective solution.

A sling/support - many of us with larger breeds sometimes struggled to help support them while they gained their strength and balance on 3. Some of the harnesses you will find in the gear section of this website will be fantastic for your on going support of Tiny, but while the stitches are in, especially on front leg amputees a hemp shopping bag split down each side will act as a great sling to help take some of his weight round his mid drift while the wound heals.

Sleeping arrangements - the first night or 3 can be hard work and stressful - not trying to be negative or scare you but knowledge is power and confidence! The pain meds and the anaesthetics can regularly make the dogs uneasy and they have a tough time sleeping. Don't be surprised or worried if Tiny is quite vocal and whiney, panting and restless. These are all normal behaviours for the first week, but if you can reduce the impact on you as a family and Tiny, that will be a good thing. So moving a bed of some kind so you can be with Tiny throughout the night might help everyone get a bit more rest.

Meds schedule - You will most likely be given a combination of pain meds and anti inflammatories. Make sure you have a clear understanding from your vet about what you can give and when and what flexibility there is. For example you may be told to give 2 lots of tablets every 12 hours. What some of us found was that at 10 hours the meds where wearing off causing pain and discomfort for our dogs and then a big dose of meds in 1 go was making them feel fuzzy and weird, so spreading the dosage across a few hours helped avoid the massive hit and then drop off. i.e give 1 tablet at 7am and a 2nd at 9am. This is just to give you an idea of the concept, but speak to your vet so you know what you can and cant do and then it will be a bit of trial and error to find out what works best for Tiny. Prepare yourself for a rough 2 weeks, but keep strong and focused you will start to see Tiny's usual happy self come back day by day and once the stitches come out we're usually trying to slow the guys down they are so eager and happy and adapting so well.  

Ice packs/heat packs - You may find there is quite a lot of bruising and swelling around the wound in the first few days and many pups found having an ice pack on a few times a day offered some relief and made the healing process a little quicker

And lastly read the blogs on here - they are true, warts and all, first hand accounts of what you may or may not experience. Have a look at some pictures of the wounds - it can be quite scary to see for the first time and having an idea of what to expect may just take away the shock factor.

I'm not a vet, but I hope this gives you a little head start.

Don't forget to keep connected. We are all hear to help and answer any questions you might have.

Wishing you and Tiny all the best for Thursday, and cant wait for your birth announcement too!! 

Also, upload some pictures of your gorgeous boy, we're all suckers for a cute picture.

Much love Karis and Zuki with wings

xxx

Welcome although it breaks my heart you have to be here.  Looks like Karis covered everything you need there's nothing I can add.  We'll all be keeping you and your precious Tiny in our thoughts and prayers for tomorrow.  Please keep us posted.  Praying for good X-rays tomorrow so surgery can proceed.  We all know how hard this journey is, please let us know if we can help in any way even if it's just emotional support.  We're here to help in any way we can.  Hugs!