Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi,
I just wanted to clear up my (possible incorrect) assessment.. Our 4 1/2 month old GSD Serge, is now a 7 day tripawd, and is doing extremely well. He has just about finished his Tramadol, and has 3 or 4 days of AceVet left. He is on Metacam until the sutures come out on 28th, a week from now..
I'm noticing that he will suddenly start barking, looking at the door or the window, wherever, absolutely nothing there, no "trigger" noise, and he then wanders around "woofing" to himself, until whatever it is/was has passed.. Those of us who have German Shepherds, know how "mouthy" they are, and seem to be permanently on the lookout for the opportunity to bark at something. He is not really agitated, just barks away..
Is this a side effect of the Tramadol.?? I've read through a number of posts, and the phrase "pink elephants" crops up frequently.
I am looking for one other piece of advice. Our older female GSD Raven is due to come back from the breeder on Friday.. I would like Serge to be off the meds (other than Metacam), when they have run out, assuming his recovery continues to progress. He is quite active at the moment, when he is not dozing, but........
........As soon as Raven is home, Serge is going to want to leap around, chasing, playing, etc, which of course is out of the question. He will get hurt. German Shepherds do play roughly...We can physically separate them indoors, but the little guy is going to go ballistic, trying to get to Raven... So,
Do we get some more medication from the vet to keep him "zonked", or should I postpone buying my Lamborghini until next year, and leave Raven in the kennel with the breeder, until the sutures are out ???.. We may still need a sedative to keep the little guy quiet, but I can also tire him out, by going outside for short periods, and let him play with a ball....
I'm tempted to take the former option, but I'm open to advice...
Richard
"No matter how eloquently the dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his master is poor, but honest".....Bertrand Russell
Haha! You nailed the best description of a GSD:
Those of us who have German Shepherds, know how "mouthy" they are, and seem to be permanently on the lookout for the opportunity to bark at something.
I think it could possibly be the Tramadol, or that he's just a young pup feeling a little vulnerable right now and wants to show how tough he is. Our own Wyatt was, and is still at 5 years old, the same way. Oftentimes though he sees things that we don't catch right away, like small squirrels, and barks before we ever notice they're there.
Between the Ace and the Tramdol I don't doubt he's seeing pink elephants but as long as Serge doesn't seem agitated I wouldn't worry.
As for he and Raven roughousing...when our Wyatt Ray was recovering from his amp, before we got him, he was at a foster home with other adult quadpawd dogs and was allowed to roughhouse long before his incision was healed or he could get strong. He held his own, and physically and mentally was fine, but I do think it took him longer to get his strength back because he was expending so much energy trying to keep up. These weren't siblings or his pawrents like Serge and Raven, so they didn't have a real bond with him and could care less about how whupped he was. By the time he came to us, about 3 weeks after his amp, he was exhausted.
However, your situation is different; Serge has had some good recovery time and I am going to bet that right away Raven will see that Serge is a little weaker and as his packmate, and being the girldog that she is, she will nurture and give him the space he needs to heal...at least after a few minutes of wrasslin around! Save your bank account, I wouldn't worry too much.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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Okay...jist an uninformed 2¢ worth...the poor guy is drugged with a pain med and o e that alters the mkee up of the brain to keep him zonked.
I think you'll find that the interaction of Raven and Segre won't abe as hard to co trol as you think. Bringing Raven ho e will give Serge a sense of normalcy tjat may actually be calming.. The initial ho ecoming mah be a little over the top though! Maybe you could keep the puph separate for the first half hojr and let Raven get lavished in love and attention, get all settled down and then bring Serge in.
We MIST hsve video though!! This'll be great!!
Yeah, I would think the ACE is messi g up his ind. It cojld also be tjat Serge is actually hearing noises.... aybe a far off airpla e or lawn ower that you are ot picki g up o .
HUGS TO ALL!!
Sallh and Happy Hannan
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
YAAAAAY I must saw Hapy Hannah's banner!!! OOPs! Sorry...has othing to do withnyour post! I just couldn't contain mh excitement!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Raven will see that Serge is a little weaker and as his packmate, and being the girldog that she is, she will nurture and give him the space he needs to heal...at least after a few minutes of wrasslin around! Save your bank account, I wouldn't worry too much.
Your words in Gods' ear......lol... Raven will be the one looking for the "OFF" switch, and for somewhere to hide, not the other way around !!!!! It is going to be hard to keep her tongue away from his wound, because being the female and the older GSD, she is going to want to keep it clean...We can probably get something from the vet to keep him more "restrained" until the sutures come out, but outdoor play is off the table until then. Raven will let him chase her, and will suddenly whip around, expecting the little guy to do the same, and be chased by her. Before the surgery, he was not mobile enough to turn that quickly, most of the time fell over, Raven was too close to stop, and more often than not, ran over him. But, the little guy just kept on going back for more....Now, he will just get flattened !!
We really do want to get Raven home, but "motherly wound licking" and any play will be carefully supervised for the next little while..
Thanks and Regards
Richard
"No matter how eloquently the dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his master is poor, but honest".....Bertrand Russell
I think my pack was the exception... when I had my dad bring Tani home 6 days after Maggie's amp surgery she immediately attacked Maggie. It's probably different with two girls and Tani does have some mental challenges (brain damage caused by hydrocephalus). Tani always wanted to be the alpha pug and I think she sensed Mag's weakness after surgery. Before I could even intervene Mag had Tani on her back (Mag was a rear amp) and that was the end of the challenge.
Tani is very vocal these days, she has been completely deaf for about 2 years. Every night after dinner she goes out in the back yard, stands on the lawn and barks. The yard is surrounded by a 6 foot solid fence, there can't be any triggers, I guess she just has something to say 
. I have a hand signal that means 'shut up' which she obeys. But she has learned to bark when my back is to her and then be quiet when I turn around. She also has started going into the living room to bark while I make their food then she comes back quietly to check on my progress.
I think that getting things back to normal for the pack sooner than later is a good idea. Controlling their interactions until the sutures come out is ideal, and keeping Serge calm is a necessary evil. Of course I could pick each of mine up with one hand if I had to so what to I know?
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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