# Recovery After Surgery?



## Hsin (8 mo ago)

Hi! Sequoia was bitten by another dog this weekend and has a broken femur. She is scheduled for surgery tomorrow (likely an FHO) where they will remove the head of her femur. Does anybody have any tips for the recovery phase? In particular, I’m wondering how to keep her clean, how to keep her occupied but not active, and how to ease her back to normalcy? I was going to ask vet to shave her potty area to make it easier to wipe her down and we have a doggy stroller for fresh air. Any suggestions from this knowledgeable group is appreciated.


----------



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I don’t know anything about that type of surgery, but I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough weekend! Mudpuppymama found a few different types of cones a while ago if she’s going to need to wear something to keep her away from her surgical site. The soft donut type worked well for Sundance. I hope you are doing okay emotionally and hope everything goes well tomorrow.


----------



## Hsin (8 mo ago)

Thanks for the kind words. It was terrible to see and I keep replaying it in my head. I was pretty paralyzed emotionally but then realized it wasn’t helping her recover so I just needed to toughen up. Good news is that prognosis for the surgery is good since she is so small. 

QUOTE="EvaE1izabeth, post: 1500014, member: 66578"]
I don’t know anything about that type of surgery, but I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough weekend! Mudpuppymama found a few different types of cones a while ago if she’s going to need to wear something to keep her away from her surgical site. The soft donut type worked well for Sundance. I hope you are doing okay emotionally and hope everything goes well tomorrow.
[/QUOTE]


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I hope Melissa will see this and weigh in, since she has had to keep Perry occupied through long periods of inactivity after orthopedic surgery.

I CAN tell you that I have a friend whose Havanese had the same surgery after he was stepped on (accidentally) by a child as a puppy, and broke his femoral head. He recovered completely, and runs around and acts completely normal now!


----------



## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Oh my...that must have been a big dog! I'm really sorry to hear Sequoia was bitten. We went through two CCL surgeries back to back about four years ago. Scout needed to be crated for eight weeks for both surgeries, but could be on a very short leash if sitting next to us. He was given sedatives make sure he was calm and pain meds. We carried him outside to potty. He only needed the cone for the first week after surgery because he didn't try to touch the incision. I remember he did have a couple of accidents while sleeping in his crate because we kept him pretty sedated the first week after surgery. That's a great idea to trim that area. Scout was in full coat, but he got a very short puppy cut before surgery. Truffles seemed to sense something was wrong and didn't try to initiate play like she normally does. I don't know anything about an FHO. Scout was able to go on a short walk after two weeks, but then had to return to his cate. The doggy stroller is a great idea. You just have to give her lot's more attention.


----------



## Hsin (8 mo ago)

Thank you. That is my hope as well!


----------



## Hsin (8 mo ago)

I’m going to ask for sedatives for sure. And it was a big dog. ☹




Heather's said:


> View attachment 178203
> Oh my...that must have been a big dog! I'm really sorry to hear Sequoia was bitten. We went through two CCL surgeries back to back about four years ago. Scout needed to be crated for eight weeks for both surgeries, but could be on a very short leash if sitting next to us. He was given sedatives make sure he was calm and pain meds. We carried him outside to potty. He only needed the cone for the first week after surgery because he didn't try to touch the incision. I remember he did have a couple of accidents while sleeping in his crate because we kept him pretty sedated the first week after surgery. That's a great idea to trim that area. Scout was in full coat, but he got a very short puppy cut before surgery. Truffles seemed to sense something was wrong and didn't try to initiate play like she normally does. I don't know anything about an FHO. Scout was able to go on a short walk after two weeks, but then had to return to his cate. The doggy stroller is a great idea. You just have to give her lot's more attention.


----------



## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Sending hugs and best wishes to Sequoia for a successful surgery and recovery.


----------



## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I am so sorry you had to go through this. I know exactly how you feel. My yorkie was attacked a few years ago by a large dog while I was walking him in our old neighborhood. I also kept reliving the experience in my mind wondering what I might have done differently and whether or not it would have made a difference. I now always carry a large walking stick with me. My yorkie was lucky. He had several lacerations but no other damage. It sounds like your dog is going to be just fine so that is wonderful. It is sad that you both had to go through this horrid experience but I am so happy it will all be well in the end.


----------



## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> I don’t know anything about that type of surgery, but I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough weekend! Mudpuppymama found a few different types of cones a while ago if she’s going to need to wear something to keep her away from her surgical site. The soft donut type worked well for Sundance. I hope you are doing okay emotionally and hope everything goes well tomorrow.


This is a Benchmate donut from Amazon. It worked well for my yorkie’s shoulder abscess recovery. I also made him a onesie. The others I tried did not work as well.


----------



## Hsin (8 mo ago)

Thank you. I also keep thinking about what I could have done but ultimately have to give myself some grace and forgiveness. It’s just hard seeing her in distress. How did your Yorkie recover psychologically? I’m really worried about that piece as well. 



mudpuppymama said:


> I am so sorry you had to go through this. I know exactly how you feel. My yorkie was attacked a few years ago by a large dog while I was walking him in our old neighborhood. I also kept reliving the experience in my mind wondering what I might have done differently and whether or not it would have made a difference. I now always carry a large walking stick with me. My yorkie was lucky. He had several lacerations but no other damage. It sounds like your dog is going to be just fine so that is wonderful. It is sad that you both had to go through this horrid experience but I am so happy it will all be well in the end.


----------



## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Hsin said:


> Thank you. I also keep thinking about what I could have done but ultimately have to give myself some grace and forgiveness. It’s just hard seeing her in distress. How did your Yorkie recover psychologically? I’m really worried about that piece as well.


It is definitely important not to blame yourself because sometimes bad things just happen. I kept thinking if I had had a stick or some dog spray it may have helped but these things happen so quickly and these big dogs are strong. So whatever I may have done may not have helped and could even have made things worse.

I was also worried about the psychological effect on my yorkie, however it did not seem to affect him at all! He absolutely loves other dogs, especially big ones! The bigger the better! It was a long time before we walked in that section of the neighborhood again and once we did he did not seem fearful at all. There are no psychological effects I can see and hopefully it will be that way for your dog as well.


----------



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

mudpuppymama said:


> This is a Benchmate donut from Amazon. It worked well for my yorkie’s shoulder abscess recovery. I also made him a onesie. The others I tried did not work as well.
> 
> View attachment 178206


That looks like the one that worked well for Sundance. I don’t know how much access Sequoia will have to the surgical site. I just got to thinking about how she’s probably still in a mouthy stage and I found the donut cone helpful.


----------



## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Hsin said:


> Hi! Sequoia was bitten by another dog this weekend and has a broken femur. She is scheduled for surgery tomorrow (likely an FHO) where they will remove the head of her femur. Does anybody have any tips for the recovery phase? In particular, I’m wondering how to keep her clean, how to keep her occupied but not active, and how to ease her back to normalcy? I was going to ask vet to shave her potty area to make it easier to wipe her down and we have a doggy stroller for fresh air. Any suggestions from this knowledgeable group is appreciated.





krandall said:


> I hope Melissa will see this and weigh in, since she has had to keep Perry occupied through long periods of inactivity after orthopedic surgery.
> 
> I CAN tell you that I have a friend whose Havanese had the same surgery after he was stepped on (accidentally) by a child as a puppy, and broke his femoral head. He recovered completely, and runs around and acts completely normal now!


Yep, I'm here . Perry has had to go through several surgeries and even more periods of crate rest - the last was his leg surgery last year (you can read about it on Perry's twisted leg surgery thread). 

Which leg is it - front or back?

So, some tips...
- definitely ask the vets for pain meds (Perry had gabapentin because he also has elevated liver enzymes and other pain meds can impact the liver) - which has a pain and a calming effect and trazadone (for calming). The vets also injected pain meds after the surgery that were supposd to last a few days - 
*TIP* - the vet will tell you the recommended dose of meds for them - ASK the vet what the max is, if she is in pain, can you up the dosage or the frequency. I wish I had because the first day was horrible - and by the time I talked to the doctor and found out I could up the meds Perry went through some serious (like waking me up at 4am screaming) pain. Don't be hesitant to up the meds if she seems at all in pain (based on vet advise for it).

- Cones - the donut never would have worked for us, we needed a cone - *TIP* - make sure it's long enough. The plastic ones they gave us were great (if you have a choice, the 2nd one we had that had velcro along the whole length of it was much better than the one that you had to tie onto their collar to hold it in place) in length but not great for moving around. The soft ones worked really well too - not the donut but the type shown below - just make sure it will be long enough that they can't reach around it. If it's her back leg you probably won't have a problem... but if it's her front you might need to be sure that she can't reach the incision area AND can't reach the bandage (if she's in a cast) AND can't reach her toes. Perry couldn't really reach his cast but he did figure out how to push the collar up enough so tht he could reach his toes and (because he was frustrated and possibly from nerve pain which can be a side effect of a leg surgery) he ended up chewing a couple of his nails to the quick (really gross!) We had to go back to the plastic cone after that. 










Amazon.com : SunGrow Soft Cone for Dogs, 10-12 Inches, Donut Collar Provides Comfort Post Surgery or Neuter Recovery, Neck Pillow with Adjustable Fasteners, No More Plastic Cone of Shame, Black Color, L Size : Pet Supplies


Amazon.com : SunGrow Soft Cone for Dogs, 10-12 Inches, Donut Collar Provides Comfort Post Surgery or Neuter Recovery, Neck Pillow with Adjustable Fasteners, No More Plastic Cone of Shame, Black Color, L Size : Pet Supplies



smile.amazon.com













Amazon.com: Alfie Pet - Noah Recovery Collar (for Dogs and Cats) - Color: Green, Size: Medium : Pet Supplies


Amazon.com: Alfie Pet - Noah Recovery Collar (for Dogs and Cats) - Color: Green, Size: Medium : Pet Supplies



smile.amazon.com






- Confinement - be sure to be very strict with this - crate rest is to help her heal. I did let Perry out as long as he was very closely tethered to me with zero chance of jumping or running. When he was sitting with me I was able to take his cone off while I was closely supervising him. I also was lucky that I had a big crate that we used for crate rest. It gave him more room and we were able to put his bed in it as well. It made the crate rest period a bit easier. 

It would also be easier if she was used to a water bottle - it made it easier to keep water in Perry's crate without him dumping it - and he had an easier time to access it when he was wearing the collar which he couldn't do with a bowl. If not you can teach her to use one.

- Pottying - the first couple of days I used a 2nd leash around his belly/ chest to steady him and then he was able to move on 3 legs with no problem.

- Keeping him occupied - I was lucky that Perry has been very patient with crate rest, but since he was on it for so long especially this last time we worked on a game of ball where he had to stay lying on his bed and I would throw him the ball so he could catch it (I think there's a video of it on the twisted leg thread). Any game that you can do with her moving minimally would be good. Don't hesitate to keep using the trazadone (or whatever they prescribe) to keep her chilled out.

As for keeping her clean - it's probably too late for this now, but I find a puppy cut the easiest during this sort of thing. I also got some burt's bees waterless shampoo that really helped and doesn't have a really strong scent. 

Let me know if I missed anything or if you have any specific questions.


----------



## Hsin (8 mo ago)

Thank you for taking the time to write all this out. Surgery went as planned and I’ll pick her up tomorrow!



Melissa Brill said:


> Yep, I'm here . Perry has had to go through several surgeries and even more periods of crate rest - the last was his leg surgery last year (you can read about it on Perry's twisted leg surgery thread).
> 
> Which leg is it - front or back?
> 
> ...


----------



## JaJa (Jun 28, 2020)

Hsin said:


> Thank you for taking the time to write all this out. Surgery went as planned and I’ll pick her up tomorrow!


Mellisa said it all, I just want you to hear another voice that is sympathetic for you and Sequoia. Your comment of giving yourself grace and forgiveness is the best gift for Sequoia too. I went through several years of working with our rescue and all his anxiety which also led me to intently focus on my own calmness and transfer that to Cotton. 
This is a wonderful place for information and support. Please let everyone know how Sequoia (and you) are doing as she progresses through her recovery❤‍🩹


----------



## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

What a horrific thing to have to experience I'm so sorry! I agree with JaJa about forgiveness for yourself, I can tell you are such a wonderful mom to Sequoia!


----------



## Mark Rosen (May 8, 2021)

So sorry to hear. I think the most amazing thing is how our little dogs are always completely forgiving of us! Hoping for a speedy and complete recovery!


----------



## Hsin (8 mo ago)

Thanks all for the support! We’ve been home 24hrs and things are going well. Sequoia is eating and drinking and going potty so that’s a good sign. Seeing her shaved leg really drives home how small our pups’ bones are underneath all the fluff!

The soft cone collar is so much better than the hard plastic one. Thanks for the recommendation. I also bought a water bottle with a small scoop bowl at the end. It works really well for offering water as it fits inside the cone. And I’m using our Canine Camper portable crate since it’s easier to move around the house.

Tomorrow I will try the passive flex ion/extension exercises. I’m a little freaked out but it’ll help preserve her range of motion so I just need to step up and do it!


----------



## HaviLuv (6 mo ago)

I'm so sorry to hear about Sequioa. Back in March my baby Lucca was attacked and bitten by a Cane Corso (80lbs vs my 9lb puppy) when I was dropping him off at daycare. I understand how hard it is to watch and how utterly helpless you can feel. I know I couldn't have done anything more than I did, but the guilt is still there. Forgiving yourself is extremely hard. But they do bounce back. My heart breaks for you.
As far as care goes, it was a struggle. He has never been crate trained, so keeping him confined was tough. I set up a small x-pen next to me during the day (luckily I work from home) to keep him as immobile as possible. I also gave him his meals in either kongs or puzzle toys. But the first two days I spoon-fed him. The cone was a struggle and didn't work well for him. I ended up getting a soft pet recovery collar from Amazon (ARRR comfy UFO collar). It worked really well! He could eat, drink and sleep comfortably with it on. I also worked with him on some minor training tricks (high fives, hand-to-nose touching, watch me). Sedatives weren't an option with his renal disease, so the mind training and food puzzles worked really well in keeping him calm. I also put him next to the window for a couple of hours during the day. He likes watching life outside, plus it gave him a little sun.
It's been 4 months and he's almost back to normal. His hair is slowly coming back. I ended up shaving him down to get rid of the reminder from the IVs and puncture site. As far as socialization, he went right back to playing with the little ones. We're still working on the larger dogs. Lucca's become pretty reactive whenever we encounter one, so it's been a work in progress. But, we'll get there in the end. Hang in there. I know Sequioa will bounce back too.


----------



## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

HaviLuv said:


> I'm so sorry to hear about Sequioa. Back in March my baby Lucca was attacked and bitten by a Cane Corso (80lbs vs my 9lb puppy) when I was dropping him off at daycare. I understand how hard it is to watch and how utterly helpless you can feel. I know I couldn't have done anything more than I did, but the guilt is still there. Forgiving yourself is extremely hard. But they do bounce back. My heart breaks for you.
> As far as care goes, it was a struggle. He has never been crate trained, so keeping him confined was tough. I set up a small x-pen next to me during the day (luckily I work from home) to keep him as immobile as possible. I also gave him his meals in either kongs or puzzle toys. But the first two days I spoon-fed him. The cone was a struggle and didn't work well for him. I ended up getting a soft pet recovery collar from Amazon (ARRR comfy UFO collar). It worked really well! He could eat, drink and sleep comfortably with it on. I also worked with him on some minor training tricks (high fives, hand-to-nose touching, watch me). Sedatives weren't an option with his renal disease, so the mind training and food puzzles worked really well in keeping him calm. I also put him next to the window for a couple of hours during the day. He likes watching life outside, plus it gave him a little sun.
> It's been 4 months and he's almost back to normal. His hair is slowly coming back. I ended up shaving him down to get rid of the reminder from the IVs and puncture site. As far as socialization, he went right back to playing with the little ones. We're still working on the larger dogs. Lucca's become pretty reactive whenever we encounter one, so it's been a work in progress. But, we'll get there in the end. Hang in there. I know Sequioa will bounce back too.
> View attachment 178244


So sorry about your Havi. Glad he is getting better. Such an awful thing to go through.


----------



## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

I just thought of another game we started playing with Perry wasn't allowed to run around. I taught him the shell game . That's where you hide something they love (I use one of his favorite treats) under a cup. You can start with just one cup and then praise/ reward when they nudge the cup or paw it... then when they get the idea that they're supposed to find the treat, add a 2nd cup but with no treat in the 2nd, treat only in the first. They get the treat and praise when they find the right cup, then you can move the cups around.. then you can add a 3rd cup. I mark the cup with the treat so that I always put the treat under the same cup (to avoid the other cups having any scent of the treat on them. I play it just like the shell game with the treat under an overturned cup and then moving the cups back and forth so they have to try to follow the right one. Unlike the real shell game, however, where we as humans have to try to follow the cup with our eyes, they have the advantage of smelling it out


----------



## Hsin (8 mo ago)

Sequoia got her stitches out yesterday and the vet said she has healed very well! I finally gave her a bath yesterday (she was so smelly). Thanks for all the good vibes! Here she is with her favorite toy. Forgive the hack haircut; I chopped a bunch of mats off before her bath.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Awww! Good girlie!!! Glad she's feeling better and healing well!!! 💕


----------

