I think Katy and Jackson are on to something... Shelby was the same way. Total princess of perfection at the vet but at home, same thing, shaking, hiding (in the bathroom), etc. I have come to terms w/that Shelby "milks" it a bit for me and is always MORE excited to see people other than me. He's still pretty soon off his surgery, right? It took Shelby about 3 weeks to get her real personality back and we still do struggle. But it was a full 2 weeks of her simply taking to the bathroom to get away from me. I suspect he's trying to be mellow and recover. As Jerry has said in here before, dogs in the wild tend to go off someplace to heal so perhaps that is what his crate is to him. That he DOES eat is a good thing but you might not want to encourage eating in the crate. I am trying to break a habit of holding Shelby on my lap while I eat since that just isn't acceptable behavior. 🙂 

Alison & Shelby

How many days ago was his op? The first 2 weeks were a roller coaster. Good days and bad days. Barret did the heavy breathing thing too, but we actually increased the pain meds. He was on tramadol and gabapentin for a lot longer than most of the other dogs here, maybe 3-4 weeks (gradually stepping down dose). He also had a lot of phantom limb pain.

Here's hoping that recovery gets by quickly! Good luck!

Yeah, you still have a ways to go until everything is back to normal. Hang in there, it will get better and you'll get through it together

Let me preface this with: I AM NOT A VET - So you should call your vet if you think he is in pain or his pain isn't being managed well. 

That said, every dog is an individual and reacts differently or needs different amounts of meds. If he hasn't had tramadol in 24 hours and still seems uncomfortable or in pain, it is my unqualified opinion that he may need more pain meds. I prefer to air on the side of too many pain meds instead of too few. Tramadol is pretty safe according to my vet and the dosage range is huge (from just a little to a whole lotta drugs for one dog). 

Barret is 20lbs and was on 2 gabapentin per day and 3 tramadol per day for two weeks (i forget the exact mg), followed by 2 gabapentin, 2 tramadol for a week, then just gabapentin for the last 2 weeks. 

Another thing that helped tremendously was being meticulous about giving his meds EXACTLY when they were due. I would set an alarm for every 6 hours and he would get the drug right away, whether he looked bad or not. It helps to stay ahead of the pain and prevent it from becoming worse. 

Good luck and let us know how today is going!

I'm so happy that Marshall is feeling better!

Carol