Laurel and her Dogs: February 2010

Saturday, February 27, 2010

My Girls, Kobie and Brita

.....having fun in the snow!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Thoughts for today about Jake…

I need a countdown timer for when he doesn’t have to wear the cone.
I need a countdown timer for when he supposedly is back to health in 2 months.
I’m hoping I don’t strangle him before either of those things happen.
Frozen vegetables do NOT make a “tidy” ice pack as I read. It is food and puppies have noses.
Does spinning at the end of the 2-3 foot leash count in the number of steps taken daily?
I wonder if they make puppy straightjackets?
When do male puppies stop peeing on their front legs?
Why do dogs howl?

Well after yesterday we have lots of things hanging in the crate for him to pull as long as he wants to…. and he understands the concept. One thing he pickup up very easily was to put his head down when he is lying on his side on the grooming table. Just the act of putting it down causes him to relax and of course there is always a treat involved. At first I thought how am I ever going to get him to lie still so I could put ice on it, and this works! Rewards with jars that had jelly in are good also!!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Jake’s Recovery – Day 3

….so a friend asked me yesterday how “the little guy” was doing… My first answer was this:

So the little guy... are we talking about the sweet I-love-when-you-pay-attention-to-me guy or the take-this-freaking-cone-off-my-head-and-let-me-out-of-this-crate guy? I need that information before I can answer... lol

First it was the petal, then it was the stem. I didn’t realize he could cause damage from INSIDE the crate!

So now there are ropes for him to tug on inside the crate but they just aren’t as much fun I’m sure!
Physically… I think he’s doing great! We walk around the house and he puts weight on it without me having to tell him. I remember with Teddy he did not want to put any weight on that leg and I had to mark it with a clicker when he did and that was how he learned to do it! More to come…

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

He does NOT like the cone!

But he does look cute for the camera! It’s in the crate that he gets upset!

He also know that sitting in front of the refrigerator will generally make it open!

More comments on Facebook!!

Sun at 11:24pm ·

Patti Paul Snyder

Laurel, both you and Jake are in my thoughts and prayers. Good luck! Please let us know how things go! Where's it being done?

Mon at 5:01am ·

Jeannie Tews

(((HUGS))) to both you and Jake!

Mon at 6:15am ·

Sharon Billman

Good luck, I will be thinking ofyou

Mon at 6:51am ·

Toni 'Pawlowski' Ciske

Good luck to you and Jake (I have a Jake too!) I hope all goes well.

Mon at 6:53am ·

Melinda Dougharty Bilecki

Sending LOTS of good vibes!!!!

Mon at 7:28am ·

Christine Gruen Gibson

Good luck Jake! Positive thoughts and prayers sent your way.

Mon at 7:57am ·

Andi Watson

Lots of good positive thoughts & prayers for Jake, and you too : ) Please keep us updated.

Mon at 8:16am ·

Donna Matey

Best of luck to Jake for a full and complete rocovery!

Mon at 11:37am ·

Daniel McElroy

Sure hope it works out for him He seems to be a very nice pup.

Mon at 11:39am ·

Marie Murphy

Best wishes for a full recovery. Keep us updated, Laurel.

Mon at 12:46pm ·

Janet Campbell

Hope he has a speedy recovery! HE is such a great pup!

Mon at 1:06pm ·

Judy Boguski

You and Jake have been in my thoughts all day. Prayers too. He has gotten so big already! Swift recovery and rehab. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Mon at 1:25pm ·

Andrea Wiener-Chase

Fingers and paws crossed for him over here, Laurel...

Mon at 4:03pm ·

Laurel Stone

Thanks all for your good thoughts! Jake came through the surgery just fine and we are home from Madison. Here are some of my thoughts... poor baby... oohh... that cone on your head must be awful... sorry, no matter how loud you scream I won't take it off (he has been know before to pitch a fit) ... look at that, he figured out how to drink ...See More

Mon at 7:12pm ·

Janet Campbell

I am so glad that the surgery went well! You two were in my thoughts all day. Do you need a larger crate?? If so I could loan you one of mine. I feel so bad that he had this past injury but I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will mend and be going full steam ahead in a short time.

Mon at 7:25pm ·

Laurel Stone

I think he will be just fine! No puppy should have to go through this but everything happens for a reason. The crate now is 4x3x30". He is content now licking his dinner off the kitchen floor... (don't ask) lol

Mon at 7:29pm ·

Allison Fahrenkrug

Laurel I'm so sorry but the little guy is in good hands! Good luck you're in my prayers

Mon at 7:35pm ·

Prudence Keffer

He is so lucky to have you for his mommy.

Mon at 9:01pm ·

Andrea Wiener-Chase

Excellent news that the surgery went well....best of luck with the 'keeping him quiet' part of the recovery process, laurel!

Mon at 9:06pm ·

Judy Boguski

Thank God! You have your work cut out for you but you are most capable. Talk soon.

Mon at 11:09pm ·

Laurel Stone

Jake is doing well today and I can see that my problem will be keeping him from overdoing it!! Dogs are amazing! It's the darn collar that he doesn't like!

Yesterday at 3:03pm ·

Amy Suprise

Not sure if this will benefit your situation, but it helped my guy after his surgery. Try turning the cone around (ismall part around his neck, large part over his shoulders instead of sticking out into the air). It helps with all the bumping and banging into things yet prevents him from licking!! Best of luck to you and your pooch!

Yesterday at 4:14pm ·

Andrea Wiener-Chase

Hi laurel,

Did you know there are now 'soft cone' collars...they are made from neoprene. I am sure they are more comfortable that the one Jake is currently wearing. Might want to give one of them a try......

Yesterday at 4:15pm ·

Laurel Stone

Amy.. kind of tested it and I'd be afraid that for this situation the edge of the collar could catch the stitches.. good idea however.
Andrea... I googled them.. interesting.. For the 2 weeks that he needs to wear it, he'll pretty much be on leash so he'll have to suffer with the hard one for now. My other dogs went through dog doors with the... See More

Yesterday at 5:02pm ·

Carol Underwood

Laurel, my #1 dog had her FHO 2 years ago. Now you rarely see it -- she'll pick up the leg on very rare occasion IF concerned of the ground for only a step, but proprioception is near 100%.

A LOT of aqua/hydrotherapy with cold laser (her therapist is now a best friend lol) to help strengthen the false joint

Yesterday at 6:00pm ·

Jill Hanegraaf-Staffeld

Glad the surgery went well. Good luck with the rehab.

Yesterday at 6:29pm ·

Laurel Stone

thanks Carol for the suggestions. I have a plan in mind for water therapy and am using a Photonic Torch (photonichealth.com) right now.

Yesterday at 7:10pm ·

Andrea Wiener-Chase

That's 'cuz Ari was a good boy...if I did the bandaid thing on my Airedales, it'd be off and down their gullets in a heartbeat!!!:)

11 hours ago ·

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Send good thoughts Jakes way…

(reprinted from Faceook)

Tomorrow(2/22/10) he has surgery. Two weeks ago he started limping and x-rays showed " an old fracture of the pelvis on right ischium going into the acetabulum. The femoral head and neck were damaged with dernineralization of the head." (obviously not my words!) So after consultation with several vets who all agreed, Jake will have a femoral head excision tomorrow at Dr. Link's office in Madison. After that.. rehab and recovery!

Added on Sunday · Comment ·

Susan Peters likes this.

Carey Maurer-Pellegrini

Aww..poor guy...will keep him in my thoughts & fast healing :)

Sun at 9:13pm ·

Shannon White

yikes. hope all goes well!

Sun at 9:14pm ·

Janeen McMurtrie

Oh no! A big hug to both of you.

We're doing that rehab thing here. My foster dog had grade 3 and 4 luxating patellas. We fixed the worst one about a month ago, once it heals (he's STILL on crate/short leash rest), we'll look at doing the other.

Not fun.

Sun at 9:14pm ·

Marilyn Tokach

Thinking of you guys!

Sun at 9:20pm ·

Katrina Kardiasmenos

Paws and Fingers crossed here!

Sun at 9:21pm ·

Patricia Schommer

Good luck....he is very cute!

Sun at 9:24pm ·

Niki Mohns

Definitely picked the right vet to do the surgery. They have a lot of experience in that field.

Sun at 9:26pm ·

Mary Lackovich

Good Luck tomorrow and down the road with rehab.

Sun at 9:30pm ·

Heather Sather

Oh my! Do you know how it happened or even when? Good luck with the surgery.

Sun at 9:34pm ·

Tammy Tondu

Is he still gonig to be able to have a working career??

Sun at 9:35pm ·

Shelley Roecker Strohl

Awwww, Ba-a-a-by. Good thoughts and prayers coming your way.

Sun at 9:44pm ·

Laurel Stone

Thanks all.. Heather... we're not totally sure but the x-rays were 2 weeks after I got him and the injury was an "old fracture" - words used by 2 vets independently... was it mom when he was tiny.. don't know.. maybe never will.. Tammy... I'm told he will be able to do sport work so I'm keeping my fingers crossed because he sure wants to! Right now it's rehab on my mind!

Sun at 10:01pm ·

Tammy Tondu

Poor little puppy. Hope he pulls through fine!!

Sun at 10:03pm ·