Day after surgery on second hip.

I think the photo speaks for itself.

Thankfully, Raven has been kept very sedated, so he doesn't have to feel as much pain.  Unfortunately, all of the stress (from the surgery, the pain, and the hospital setting) is getting to him, and he hasn't eaten in 3 days, and has lost several pounds.  

We are looking forward to bringing him home so he can rest in the grass outside, and be in his home environment.  We hope these coming days will be the last of his bad days, and that we can all move forward so he can live his life as a young, happy dog, as he originally should have.

Crossing our fingers for his cousin Sula so she doesn't have to go through this same ordeal.

Day before surgery number 2

Raven's one hip is still popping (the one that hasn't had surgery), while the other one hasn't made a sound.  We are hoping he won't need the other surgery, yet the popping doesn't bode well.  He is spending the day being walked to his favorite places on the property, being given extra attention and time with Sula, and treats. 

His cut is almost healed and ready for the stitches to come off.  The hair is at least growing back, giving him some shred of dignity.

It's hard to see him so happy knowing what the next day entails.  This time he will be staying for 5 nights instead of 2, to help with the pain as well as to give my mom a few more nights of much needed sleep.  This vet is a great guy.  Raven will be visited every day until he can come home.

He enjoyed his pre-surgery night by dozing on the office mattress with his family doting on his every need.

Week 2 post op

This week we saw Raven's old happy self re-emerge.  His eyes were alert and playful, and his crying was down to soft whines only when he tried to stand up on his bad leg.  The hardest part is keeping him contained when he wants to play and run, and even protect us from birds and horses. :)  He still loves to play with Sula, and they both steal each others chew bones for fun. 

His cut looks much better, and his hair is growing back.  

At night he now sleeps in a kennel (big enough for a Great Dane) as opposed to sleeping in a room with my mom on the floor.  He's getting used to the routine again, and we can tell at night when he's ready for bed.

We just hate that he has to go back for surgery number two, just as his inner goofball is waking up again. 

Week 1 Post op

This week was basically measuring Raven's number of cries.  By the end of week 1, he rarely cried, except on occasions where he tried to get up too fast or took an off step going down some steps (assisted, of course).  Towards the end of this week, we noticed that he wanted to be more active, although the lethargic and  drugged look was still in his eyes.

We re-introduced his puppy friend Sula carefully so that she wouldn't hurt him or make him hurt himself by playing too rough.  Thankfully, Raven had already been accustomed to playing with her while laying on his side because we taught him to when Sula first came home as she was so tiny.  Playing with her while laying down really made Raven happy.  He also enjoyed resting outside in the grass.  These small things seemed to make him improve mentally.

Raven spending quality time with Sula

Home from surgery: round one

Our surgeon suggested that he keep Raven for 2-3 days after his surgery to monitor him and to keep him on heavy pain medicine.  I'm sure this helped Raven physically, but mentally he had never been away from us for more than 3 hours...so a few days might be hard for him to cope with.  By the time we brought him home, he was a wreck...mentally, he had no idea why he was hurting, and he was so relieved to be home again.  He cried with every exhale.

For the first night, he had some ace, although not enough.  He kept trying to get up throughout the night, restless and uncomfortable.  Our new rules were to always keep Raven on a leash, to keep him supported by a sling under his belly, to give him soft padding to lay on, and to keep him off slippery surfaces.  We lined our hallways with rugs to help him, brought a mattress into our office, bought several foam-filled dog beds, and put pillows as buffers between him and hard objects.

His cut looked painful and red, and he had some rashes due to the stress.  He would not calm down with the cone of shame on his head, and since he showed no interest in biting the staples, we let him be.  He's never needed to wear it.

It took him 5 days from the surgery to finally go #2.  He tried several times, but cried because the position made him uncomfortable.  He mostly sleeps on his "good" side, but tried to flip around...which makes him cry in pain.  We give him plenty of probiotics and omega supplements to help him detox from the anesthesia, to get his bowels moving, and to help his skin stop itching. 

Raven: before surgery

We brought Raven, a long coated German Shepherd, home when he was 8 weeks old.  We started to notice his hips "popping" when he was 5-6 months old.  Other than that, he seemed normal.  Slowly, we started to recognize that Raven's default position was laying down.  He would become tired easily, and walk like a stiff old dog once he awoke from his naps.  A few times, he'd whine when he tried to get up.  Based on these reasons, we took him to his vet around 7 months of age.  After x-rays, he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia.  We had to make a very hard choice:  Let him be for now, and see what happens in a few months; or, have him undergo TPO (triple pelvic osteotomy) before it's too late and our only option left would be total hip replacement.  

The hardest part of this choice was knowing how playful and happy our 75 pound puppy was...how would he cope with a  surgery so extreme?  His life of daily walks, trips to our barn, and romping around the back yard care-free with his little cousin (Sula), would abruptly end.  That thought was tough, not to mention the pain he'd go through, so early in his life.  Our vet even described the surgery as being similar to being hit by a truck.  

Raven and his pal, Sula

We decided to go through with the surgery.  I'm writing this blog to give updates on Raven's healing, to describe what we do to keep him safe, and to help anyone else who has to make this difficult choice so they know what to expect.