Happy to hear surgery went well!  I'm sure after waiting so long you guys are breathing a sigh of relief at this point.  Wishing you a completely uneventful recovery!

Lisa

It took a little longer for Max to lay back on his surgery side.  We thought that after the stitches came out, everything would get back to "normal."  But Max still refused to lay on hsi left side.  It concerned me so much, I posted about it here on the forums.  I was told, let nature take its course, it'll happen when it happens.  Sure enough, a few weeks after surgery, Max was sleeping on his right side.  He just kind of rolled over onto his left side and continued his nap.  John and I were both there to see it, and I tell you, our reaction would have been the same if we had just won a Powerball Lottery!  Anyway, maybe give Sasha some time, and eventually she'll probably lay back down on that side.

Way to go Sashadog!  Keep it up.

As far as laying on the incision, we had one incident where he rolled over on it and was stuck there for a while.  He needed the help to get back up and it really hurt.   Since then, he has only made that mistake once more and together we found a better way to help him out of it (it involved putting a pillow under his neck and holding his front foot in place so he could push up using his foot and his neck as the two points of contact until he could roll his injured shoulder out from under him).  After being stuck twice, he will now hop the long way around the couch so he can lean against it, good side down. He learned to guard that incision site and is getting good at doing U-turns in the space of a bathmat to turn himself around before laying down.

All that said, when I asked about it here,  I got lots of comments saying their dog preferred being incision side down.  I guess as long as you can keep it clean with a tshirt or bandage, she might prefer it and that might be okay.   If it hurts, she will probably learn to guard it more until it doesn't hurt as much.

I have been suprised by Samdog so many times this week, doing more than I thought he could (or should).  I'm finally letting go, following his lead and he is doing great.  I would expect the same from the amazing Sashadog.

Hang in there, it sounds like you all are doing great!

Go Sashadog, Go!

Woohoo! So glad to hear Sasha's surgery went well! We knew it would. Don't stress too much, she will figure things out way faster than you will! We are officially uncrossing all our pawz, 'K? Don't furget we are here for ya though.

xoxox,

Codie Rae and the OP +1

I think you're right about the reason for what looks like a setback. I don't think it's a setback at all. It does take time for those drugs to metabolize. For a couple of days, the dog is full of the oral drugs you came home with plus the stuff already circulating. Now Sasha is only on the oral drugs.

If her pain is significant and not relieved by them, she may need it adjusted. What is she on and how much? Dakota was on both Deramaxx and Tramadol. I gave him 1 Tramadol 4x daily ordinarily. If he was genuinely in pain, I was told I could bump it up to double that. I couldn't imagine him even being able to see straight at that dosage but it's not dangerous to do it. I think I gave him 2 at bedtime the first several days, and I'll be honest and say indeed it was to keep him down and settled overnight. It was at about a week that I started weaning D to Tramadol 3x daily. Just keep in mind you can adjust it if it's needed. And if Sasha is only on Tramadol, you might call and find out about a long-acting drug like Deramaxx or Rimadyl for a couple of weeks. 

How long will you need to be away from Sasha? Is your class schedule variable through the week? I know you have someone else in your home (sorry, can't remember if it's a husband or boyfriend or ?); will they be available at any time that you aren't?

Some ideas: Ask a neighbor to check on Sasha every 90 minutes or couple of hours. Is there a kid (maybe someone is being homeschooled) who you can pay a couple of bucks to check on her and take her to potty? You can also offer trade. Neighbor checks on Sasha a couple of times daily for a week and you babysit for a couple of evenings, or your husband mows their lawn a few times, or you take their dog (or cat) when they go away for the weekend. I love it when those trades work out!

I know you're somewhere around me, but you could be 100 miles away. If you were within a reasonable distance, I'd do this for you. If you think it's a consideration, you can always PM me.  (If you were pretty close, you could even bring her here during the daytime and we'd put her in a room away from my idiots and she'd get lots of TLC. Only problem is, outside here is downstairs. If she'd let me help her, it could work. Anything is workable if we're motivated!)

Shari