So this is week 3 for his left hip, but only week 1 for his right hip. So far, Raven is much better than he was after his first surgery. The surgeon only had to rotate the right one 20 degrees since it was in better shape than the left, so perhaps that's why.
This is the new setup in the master bedroom for sleeping. We combined 2 doggie-playpens on top of a rug (so he won't slip) and put one of his plush dog-beds in there for night time.
During the day, Raven switches from our office mattress to the sun room doggie beds.
The hardest part right now is holding back their puppy instincts. Raven has cried out a few times, it seems to happen when he is laying on his side and trying to stretch, like something catches. We also noticed the right hip is clicking slightly. Of course this worried us, but the surgeon said that it is normal until he builds back his strength...Really hope he's right about that.
Sula and Raven are learning certain things (like patience) a little faster than they would have had the surgery not happened. It's important because if they don't learn, Raven could get hurt. It's upsetting because they are being restricted from doing typical puppy activities, and they don't understand why. One of the other downsides to doing this surgery on a young dog is the loss of training time for basic obedience. We are very quick trainers as it is. Both Raven and Sula learned "come" "sit" "down" "stay""leave it" "spin" "paw" and to some extent "heel" before they were 4 months old; however, this is the time we had hoped to send Raven to special supplemental training, to help with his instinct to chase and bark at other animals, and to be easier to control in those situations. That is no longer an option.
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