Second Day Home

(Titan trying to rest)

Today was a hard day.  Titan is fighting us about everything.  He won't eat, which is a big issue because in order to have his meds he needs food in his belly.  First we tried some of his dog food with, of course, no luck.  But anyone who knows Titan knows how grumpy and picky he is when he doesn't feel good.  So then we added some flavoring to his food and still no luck.  Next up let's try something that smells really good...a hamburger!  When he had to take his medication before the surgery and wasn't allowed to have long walks to build up his hunger we used the hamburgers to get him to eat and take his meds, it worked like a charm!  This time, not so much.  I tried cheese, his favourite food in the whole world, and still no luck!  So I ended up force feeding him small pieces of the hamburger, just enough that we could get his medication into him and it wouldn't hurt his stomach. Time to think up a new plan.  I needed something that would give him substance and nutrients and be easy to get down.  I got an idea!  I would crush up his kibble into a powder and mix it with some baby food or apple sauce or broth to make a nice paste.  We have a Nutri Ninja Mixer in my house so we used that to crush up the kibble and it worked like a charm!  I was able to get a good soft pate mixture but Titan was still turning his nose up at everything.  However, this mixture was a lot easier to pick up and place on his tongue near the back of his throat, and then we would just wait for nature to take over and his instincts to kick in and swallow.  Success!  He was getting his food into him and able to handle all his medications.  So far there has not been any vomiting so we will keep up this until he eats on his own again. 

Next was trying to get outside to go to the bathroom.  We have been trying to use towels and blankets to help him stand.

This method does work, but Titan for some reason fights us every step of the way.  whether it's because he is scared or doesn't want help or just plain hurts and a dogs instinct is to keep everyone away, we just don't know but it breaks our heart every time because we just want to help and he doesn't understand.  First, when trying to get the towel under him in the right spot, he just grumbles and pushes against us when we try to move him a certain way.  Then once the towel is in place we do the old "Ok Titan, ready?" and start to lift up just enough that he pushes himself up into a sitting position and we can get ready to get him into a stand.  We are taking all pressure off the back end and legs so he is able to get the front legs up without hurting the sore one.  He will stand after that but he refuses to try and move forward.  If we try and help him to bipedal towards anything he puts those giant legs and feet out and refuses to move.  How the vets were able to get him to go pee is beyond me.  We thought maybe the towel wasn't comfortable so Mike researched the best option to help Titan and help his own back and found a harness built for holding up dogs, especially big dogs, right up to 220lbs.  Also the price was very good for a dog this size, $175 which is so worth it when it makes the job of lifting and keeping weight off that bad leg so much easier, and the healing process less stressful. The website is: http://helpemup.com/

So out Mike went to run some Titan errands again. He was able to find a place in Toronto that sold them and they showed him how to use it on a dummy dog and gave him some tips.  There are also videos to show you how to use the harness as well.  Here is a few photos of what the new harness looks like.

Although this is much easier for assisting, Titan still doesn't like it.  We manged to get him outside to the deck but he panicked once there and turned around to go right back inside.  He actually whines a bit more when in this and we think he's unsure what to do with his back end up not fully on the ground and that one leg not working right yet.  We are just trying to keep positive and hope he gets used to it with some old fashioned encouragement.  

The next hurdle we hadn't read about and that we weren't expecting with Titan is getting sores on his elbows and legs from rubbing on the rugs.  Because he is unable to use his back end he has been moving around on his front legs to adjust on the floor and slide down into a laying position after adjusting and has essentially gotten rug burns on his elbows.  They look so sore so we had to get some polysporin and bandages and gauze to try and make elbow pads up.  The only problem is once he starts moving they eventually slide down, so we are working on a way to keep them up over his elbows so we don't go through so much gauze.  

(Home made elbow pads)

One positive thing for the day was how willing Titan was to at least drink water.  We would just bring his bowl over for him and let him drink till he turns his head away to signal he's done.  However, with him giving us such a struggle to go outside he hadn't been able to pee all day.  I had read a few times that it wasn't unusual for a dog not to go to the bathroom for the first few days, but they should be able to pee.  I was getting worried, but wanted to give him another chance before bed to try and get outside for at least a pee.  However, before we could try the harness again we had our first accident.  Titan ended up urinating on his bed.  We told him it was ok and that he was a good boy and just gave him some loves before moving him off the bed to clean up.  TLC and love is a huge part of this healing process so we just let him watch us make a new bed up and put him back on it.  He slept so well for the rest of the night I think he must have been so uncomfortable and stressed not knowing how to get outside.  Knowing Titan was now relaxed and had peed we were finally able to get some solid rest as well.  Never did I think I would be happy for an accident in the house. 

Here is hoping the next day gets a little easier.  

Titan's leg day 2:

(There is still a lot of swelling at this point)