Jerry was outside 4 times today and got up on his own each time! We have the sling under his back end just in case, but really haven't needed it and he seems to be moving along pretty well on his own (actually pretty quick when he gets going). He tires really easily after going out and comes back in and passes out on his bed. But he is only post op day 3 and that is expected. I remember after I had surgery and general anesthetic and how overwhelming the fatigue was for 4 or 5 days after. I will let him take the lead for now and rest when he wants to and not make him get up for anything because he is getting up and outside on his own enough for now.

Thankfully, no more yelping with any movements either. He is still eating lying down, I think because when he goes out to pee that really taxes his energy. I will just be patient with that. I'm feeding him chicken, rice and eggs, he really doesn't have much interest in his kibble..maybe because he is getting better food right now, who knows. He is looking awfully skinny. He appears to have lost weight (other than his leg) he was in the vet hospital for 4 days before his surgery and may not have been eating great in there because of stress. I am feeding him little bits throughout the day. He seems excited to eat when I put food in front of him but only eats a little bit at a time. He is only on antibiotics for a couple more days so I'm hoping his appetite improves after that. Any other ideas of tasty foods that could get Jerry to eat a little more?

Oh and he had a poop this morning. Small improvements every day. I really appreciate the feedback you guys have been giving me. It has really helped with my anxieties over all this. 

He definitely has made progress! Jerry was a little restless last night and ended up peeing the bed overnight. My husband had him up a couple times around midnight because he was up at the door but he just stood around outside and didn't do anything. Once back in he was standing around panting and wouldn't lie down. I took his cone off to make it easier for him to settle and he went right down to his bed and then I put the cone back on. I think he didn't pee last night when out because his cone was on and it was dark. Greyhounds have little pin heads and Jerry has always had issues doing things with a cone on. He normally holds his head low as well and I'm thinking it might be messing with his balance right now. 

I take his cone off when he is up eating as well so he can really get into his food. I think from now on we will have his cone off when he is outside doing his business. I have been taking it off during the day when outside and he seems to have no problem getting right to his business.

I know they say it's best to keep the cone on all the time, but because balance is an issue I want to make sure he can pee and poop and not have that be more difficult than it has to be for him right now.What do you guys think?

I'm not sure if his incision was resting in the wet spot on the bed last night either, I'm wondering if I should clean it with anything or just leave it. What do you guys think?

Thank you both for your input. I called the vet hospital where he had his surgery yesterday and let them know what was going on at night. The vet tech thought it could be possible he was getting too much pain medication and to hold the evening gabapentin to see if he settles. Well, that certainly wasn’t it! He was pacing and wanting in and out and panting from about 9pm until midnight. I finally gave him his gabapentin at midnight along with a half dose of trazadone (only 50mg), I didn’t want to  snow him, just help him settle and sleep. What a difference! He slept from midnight until 6am when I got up. The addition of a little trazadone seemed to work although I’m sure he was very fatigued from his activity between 9 and midnight as well. He was his normal happy self this morning, ate his breakfast and treats, peed and pooped outside and was moving and getting up and down with ease. 

jerry - it’s funny you mention sundowners. That’s exactly what I said to my husband a few nights ago when he started this. So similar to what I’ve seen happen to the elderly after surgery when they have had their routine messed up with the addition of pain meds.

benny- I’m on a mission today for non slip mats and will let jerry sleep in his own spot tonight and see if that helps. The temperature has been wonderful here the past two days. 20C during the day and quite comfortable. 

I will call my vet today and see what she thinks. Thanks for your suggestions!

We are post-op day 11 today!

Jerry is moving around wonderfully. It is so amazing to see him adapt so easily. He has access to the whole main level of our house now and I think that has definitely helped him. He can look out the front windows, move around to different sleeping spots and watch me get his meals ready with our other greyhound in the kitchen. His appetite is great so I can hide his pills in a little pumpkin on top of his food and he gobbles everything up now. Thats a huge stress off me, not worrying about trying to get pills into him.

He is currently on gabapentin 300mg every 12hrs and meloxicam with dinner. His pain seems well controlled.

Jerry continues to get restless in the evening and I'm finding the addition of a little trazadone helps him settle and sleep through the night. I am pretty certain that once the stitches are out and the cone can remain off that he will do better at night and may not need any trazadone. Every subsequent night seems a little better than the last now that he's at home and doing more routine things with our other dog. 

Now to his incision..it has been looking great and then I noticed a little blister beside his incision at the bottom of his stump 2 days ago. I also noticed a little bit of serous drainage coming from around the same area. That blister popped when he was lying on that side and now I'm just trying to keep it clean with a little warm water on gauze to prevent infection. I read that these blisters could be caused by friction when he is moving around in his bed. Has anyone else had any experience with blisters around the incision? Greyhounds have such paper thin skin, it doesn't surprise me. There continues to be a small amount of serous fluid draining from that area. His bruising has improved except at the very bottom of his stump where there is still dark red bruising along the one side of his incision and it feels hard. I sent a couple of pictures to the hospital where Jerry had his surgery and the surgeon looked at them and recommended he come in to have it cleaned and looked at. This vet is a 4 hour round trip and I don't want to stress Jerry out at this point. I sent an email back last night to see if it is ok I have my vet here look at it. I'm just waiting to hear back now. Everything is going so well, I'm a little upset that there is an issue with his incision now..