Oakley-emergency surgery

[Terry]

Know what you're going through with the meds, Chealsie! We had almost the same ones for Tex the last time he had surgery for his extracurricular dining - and the last time he passed the plastic in the office before the surgery, thank goodness. Some good news, the Tramadol is for pain, so you can ease him off on that if he doesn't seem to be in pain, especially the midnight one (although it will help him sleep) The 'pill poppers,' which you can get at Petco or PetSmart, are great for giving pills when you can't hide them in food. Keeps your fingers from getting chomped and you can get them way back in the throat. And when he's eating a little better, you can give them with a small amount of food (scrambled eggs worked well for us). If worst comes to worst, ask the vet for a prescription and go to a compounding pharmacy and see if they can make everything liquids!

Tex was also kicked out of the vet hospital for the same reasons as Oakley, except he didn't manage to get out of the crate!!

[vickayx]

Hope all is well with Oakley!! What king of cone does he have on? They have the inflatable ones that might be better for him and def more comfy.. I remember taking Dolce with me to my job when I was doing vet tech work and putting her in the cages she was able to escape one of the cages so I had to put her in the super duper large dog cage but she would try to climb it to the top do flips in it.. the thing is even if I was there she would go crazy

[Chealsie508]

I don't have a cone on at all..they had to keep upping the size bc no matter the length he'd find a way around it. I have an inflatable one which I bought after his neuter but the incision is long and he can still get to it. He seems to be responding to my corrections and isn't as incessant about getting it as last time. Thanks terry.. Makes me feel better someone else has had to keep this schedule- Oakley had a whole staff to monitor his meds…I'm just one person..lol. Luckily I spent the last hour writing out his med schedule for the next week...so that makes it less overwhelming. I ended up calling about the tramadol bc I didn't think he needed it and they confirmed it was as needed ( thank goodness!)

They also confirmed I can feed the pills with cheese (except of course the sucralfate)..so at noon that will come in handy...his esophagus is irritated so the pilling doesn't help!

I'm starting to get organized and less stressed. I'm going to takeoff Monday and Tuesday at work... I want him to start poopibg again before I go back..my poor punk....

His last stand at the hospital was the tech leashed him to come greet me and I heard her tell him he was naughty..apparently he jumped up on his ER vet who was on the phone and got into the trash...lol. They were all glad not o have to worry about "the runaway"...and the cats were happy too (apparently that's where he go to once e made his escapes!)
Many of the techs and even the receptionist told me they thought their dogs were inventive and naughty but that Oakley is by far te worst they've seen...it's sick that I'm proud of that! Lol

[stash]

Wow I have great admiration for you and everyone else that has gone through this sort of thing, I found it hard giving my cat 3 pills a day and I know the stress of worry must be tremendous for you. Keep up the good work and I can't wait to hear Oakley's back to eating and pooping like a Basenji.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[ownedbyspencer]

The pilling is hard. One of my old reliables was alfredo sauce in the jar. I would pour some into a teaspoon, dip the pill into it, make the dog sit, then dispense the pills one by one like treats. That even worked with Ava. Tramadol is the most difficult, as I'm sure you've discovered. It's very bitter and the least little whiff of it will make it a tough sell. It has a sedative effect, though, which is an added benefit at night.

I'm glad Oakley is safely home, and it sounds like he's recovering from his ordeal! It's hard to keep a "punk" down. (I guess that's like a brat, which Ava has been called countless times.)

[tanza]

And for pilling, with my elders… (might not be the same with young boys/girls... that I made a bargin that I will not hide pills in food,,, provided that they will let me "shove" down... without not totally trying to bite off my fingers. Worked 80% of the time... I have the scars to prove it....

[Chealsie508]

The pilling is a mixed bag. Other than this morning I stopped the tramadol- it was hard to pill but I also didn't feel he needed it, and he hasn't been in pain that I can tell; certainly not unmanageable. The metacam and sucralfate are easy and the metacloperamide bc it's small…the metronidazole and Prilosec are hard...just gave the first Prilosec and he picked it out of cheese everytime and shoving it down his throat proved ineffective everytime..
He rested in between meals and pilling. Our walks were good, peeing is great ( a little dark) but no pooping yet
His incision looks good, less red than this morning and his appetite is tremendous (he lost almost 4 lbs :(. )

No signs of regurgitation and a lot less burpy/licky signs after eating
Starting to feel manageable but not out of the tunnel just yet!

[agilebasenji]

For pilling, i am currently using mini marshmallows. (low phos for my kidney dog) i've also had work with sweet potatos and still use cream cheese for some pills.

I do fine with the 2x/day pills. the 3x/day really mess me up. (And Digital is on a long list of pills, suppliments and subQ fluids)

[Chealsie508]

I may try cream cheese; generally Oakley would scoff food but I think he's getting used to pilling 12+ times a day and he is almost mashing food in his mouth on purpose…I have tried the one bite, bite with pill while showing him the next bite will be bigger and better trick...he's being a punkis, but I can't blame him

[agilebasenji]

cream cheese is great. you can also mix it with smellier stuff - salmon/fish, sweet potatos, etc

[TMartin]

The only thing I've found so far that works with Loki is peanut butter. If I smother a small piece of bread with pb, roll it around the pill, then add a small dab of pb to the outside he will swallow it whole. Everything else I've tried does not work. He even deliberately chews Pill Pockets so he can spit out the pill! We've resorted to dripping water in his mouth to make him swallow….he learned how to swallow the bit of water while holding the pill in his throat to spit out after. Creative little devils they are.

So glad that Oakley made it through and is doing better. And I can't help but chuckle at the vet's office calling him a punk

[krunzer]

Cream cheese is a blessing for pilling. I also use cheese slices. Make sure the whole pill is covered in a gob and hopefully he will swallow it without chewing! Glad to hear he is home and healing with you.

[lisastewart]

The healing power of the GI tract is amazing. I had a 6 month old puppy returned to me after a vet had to remove 6 inches of intestine from an absess that formed, when he botched the neutering and nicked something. The vet told the owners the dog had less than a 50% chance of living. I refunded their money and nursed him back to health on a diet of boiled brown rice and ground chicken. It took about 3 months for him to recover, but he lived to 15 and never had another sick day in his life till his stroke.

[DebraDownSouth]

Oh gosh I am so very sorry this happened but so happy things are turning out okay. And thank goodness they were able to help without cutting the intestines!

As for pet insurances, I had someone say theirs covers preexisting but frankly I can't find one. This is a great article on the the pros and cons:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2011/august/money/pet-costs/pet-insurance-rarely-worth-the-price-in-our-analysis/index.htm

[Chealsie508]

So I took today and tomorrow off work, I still haven't figured out what I'll do when I go back in regards to his pilling schedule and me not being around to supervise him with his incision. I have a friend who runs a dog boarding and walking business down the street who loves and seems to understand Oakley…she offered to help out and come pill and walk him...and I may try to put on the inflatable collar in his crate to minimize licking...he still hasn't pooped but the dr said if he's not regurgitating or throwing up or straining to poop (he hasn't even attempted to poop)..then he's likely just using all the energy from the food as fuel...and not to be worried. Still, I don't think I'll go back to work until he starts pooping. I'm unexplainably tired....I'm not doing a lot physically, just tending to him but perhaps emotionally..I'm so tired so I sleep when he does. True to Oakley fashion, he's starting to perk up and be a funny boy....a little too much running around for my liking but nothing I can stop..hope by Wednesday I can feel more comfortable going to work...

[krunzer]

Fingers crossed he squeaks out a poop for you today, even just a minuscule one! If you are feeding him small meals it may take longer for his bowel to get full enough for a poop? I don't know if that is medicall correct or not, but it sounds feasible?

[agilebasenji]

@Chealsie508:

I'm unexplainably tired….I'm not doing a lot physically, just tending to him but perhaps emotionally..I'm so tired so I sleep when he does.

Care taking is hard work and it is exhausting. you've had a surge of adrenaline, worry, sleepless night, etc. It's not unexplainable at all. Very normal. Be sure to take care of yourself.

[Chealsie508]

I hate to count my chickens just yet but dare I say I think we are out of the woods…on our walk at about 3:30 today Oakley pooped!!! Unusually dark but a good, healthy poop..never thought of be so happy to see one! Still not going to work tomorrow because the pilling is still every two hours but he is acting more like himself, spending more time trying I get at his incision (indicative he is feeling better)..and other than yesterday morning and night he hasn't needed the tramadol. String cheese seems to be working for pilling, some of the larger pills I cover in honey mustard dressing then put in a piece of cheese to hide the smell. So happy to see him trying to get into mischief and being a punk. Finally feels like a good time to sit down and have a glass of wine!

[Chealsie508]

…or two glasses

[stash]

Three cheers for Oakley, wonderful news.

Jolanda and Kaiser