Alisha's Dolce 7/23 Surgery Shih Tzu Yorkie CANADA

Welcome to Dodgerslist. My name is Paula, what is yours?

What was the date of the surgery and the date of the discharge? Which hospital did the surgery?

We'd love to support you better, can you fill us in on a few details about Dolce:

-- Is there still currently pain - shivering, trembling, yelping when picked up or moved, reluctant/slow to move head or body, tight hard tummy?

-- What are the exact names of meds currently given, their doses in mg's and frequency given?

-- Currently can your dog wobbly walk? move the legs at all? or wag the tail when you do some happy talk? What directives did the surgeon give for home PT?

-- Do you find wet bedding or leaks on you when lifted up?

-- Eating and drinking OK?

-- Poops OK - normal color no dark or bright red blood?

We highly recommend that owners aquire an understanding of the disease their dog was born with… very helpful in making decisions and speaking with vets.  This is a great place to start: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm

Hi there Pauliana and Paula,

My name is Alisha. It's been a hectic few days ! More details: Dolce is a male, shih tzu yorkie, 4.5 years old, 13 lbs.

Dolce had surgery on July 23rd at Saint Hyacinthe Animal Hospital which is a teaching hospital for the university of Montreal in Quebec. I live in Ottawa, ON and while the surgery was available here the cost difference was approximately $7,000. I also could not get an appointment with a neurologist here until 4 days after his sudden onset. I would recommend this hospital to anyone who is willing to make a few hours drive to get excellent care. I spoke to them on the phone, got in the car and they were ready to see us Monday night when we arrived. He was kept overnight to prepare for the MRI, bloodwork, xrays, ultrasounds the whole 9 yards. They did a full work up to ensure there were no other conditions before surgery took place. They called to say he was a good candidate and that they were headed into surgery. We were able to visit him each day and i was blown away. Calls 3 x daily for updates, 24/7 attendant and 2 neurological residents at all times. He was discharged on July 26th in the afternoon. They would like to see him again in 2 mos for follow up and the neurologist asked I email her with any progress or videos. She likes to share them with the students who were involved in his care as part of their training.

Pain has been manageable. He is taking 10 mg of tramadol every 8 hours. I find after prolonged periods of rest ie: sleeping all night he is a little yelpy when I need to pick him up. Other than that he seems to be okay pain wise. No shaking or trembling etc.

Meds: tramadol 10 mg every 8 hours
GABApentin 100 mg twice daily
cephalex 250 mgs 1/2 tab twice daily
dexamethasone .5 mg 1/2 tablet once daily with dinner. She said to just take them at this schedule until they're gone! Some 3-5 days, others 7 days.

He has some voluntary movement day 3 post-op in the hospital. I notice one leg is much stronger and he now almost pivots when he is getting comfortable. We do his at home PT exercises 3-4 x daily. Wagging the tail when he is excited. The other thing I have noticed is that he is dreaming quiet a bit and in his dreams he moves his back legs. I'm not sure what this might indicate?

No leaks, eating and drinking well. He is on the wet food and loves it. He had a bowel movement on the 2 days ago in the evening but nothing since. It was normal. I hope he will go for me in a few hours when I take him out again. He is peeling outside every 4 or 5 hours and 8 hours overnight between med doses. No accidents so far and he had full bladder and bowel control pre and post op.

I will definitely post more details as I get them. We should receive a report from the hospital in a week or so and physio doctor should have some more directions for me when we see him Tuesday. I'm concerned about the cost physio will be but I am willing to spend the money if he shows improvements. He is on mostly crate rest. I have sat outside with him in the grass after he pees and he seems to enjoy laying down. He really doesn't desire to go far. The neurologist said the dragging was okay? I am not allowing it much he only seems to need to move to get comfortable again. He is sleeping a lot which I think is a good thing.

Hello,

Just got off the phone with the vet, she said to go ahead with the GABA pentin 3x daily to see if that helps. No more Cortisteroids starting today unless he appears to be painful again, if so I am to restart and continue for another few days. We have been on crate rest and I find he's becoming more and more frustrated being in there and wants to move around more. Any tips for crating? We never used one before and it's a real struggle. Lastnight he was up every few hours barking in my face. Did anyone's pet have some separation anxiety after? I can imagine he feels venerable and needy but I can't leave the room without him getting very upset. He isn't usually like that.