Incision and Laying Down

Madison is continuing to make improvements every day and it is obvious that she feels good by her perky attitude and the significant reduction in vocalization we've noticed, both while active and when just laying still.

Here are some pictures of how her incision is healing.  It is already just some pink skin and we aren't a week post-op until tomorrow. They put PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) on the incision, which seems to be accelerating healing.

Day of surgery, January 16th

2 days after surgery, January 18th

5 days after surgery, January 21st

She is healing so nicely.  She's not licking or otherwise bothering the incision.  No "cone of shame" for her, yay!!!

Laying down used to be a stressful event for her.  Although she didn't cry out, she was very vocal with whines and squeaks.  I am sure that going down is harder than getting up, (based on my own experience when I'm sore), so consistently laying down without much ado will take a little time, but the progress so far is still significant - very little vocalization which tells me she's more comfortable, although navigation isn't perfect yet.

This first video is her laying down some days before the surgery procedure.

By Sunday, she looked much better getting down.

On Monday morning she laid down in her Vari Kennel without crashing into the side of it.  How cool is that!

She feels good enough now that it is a challenge to keep her and Stetson from acting up in the yard, even with her on leash.  We began letting them be out in the house together, under supervision, on Tuesday.  If things begin to get a little iffy, it's easy enough to crate one of the two.

Enjoying an antler

Stetson on duty

Getting her ears rubbed and loving it

We have moved the condo back into our bedroom and she's navigating the raised entry to get out of the bedroom and into the family room (which is the required path to the kitchen and backyard) pretty well.

Dave and I had high hopes for her outcome in all this and I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming of how well she is doing.  She's a little dynamo.

Inspiration and Healing Time

I am a solitary person.  People tend to confuse solitary personalities with shy ones.  They are not the same - there is not a shy bone in my body.  I don't get lonesome easily and actually have to think about making time to be "social".  Having my career outside the home has created a super outlet for me to be around people and involved with them while keeping my personal space otherwise.  The dogs feed my need for space since they are relatively undemanding and don't tend to intrude when I need to fall into a book or writing.

Running is a great outlet for using my alone time in a productive way that benefits my body, mind and spirit.  Morning runs are my favorite.  The sight of the sun poking its' way through the horizon will always bring peace to my soul.  This morning was especially lovely because it was our first morning run since Stetson began a pretty strict "rest" while he recovered from the toe injury two weeks ago. 



The view from the patio after our run this morning. 
 

Stetson has been allowed to walk on leash this past week but Thursday was the first night we were cleared to run.  Naturally, "cleared" is a subjective term when dealing with being released to normal activity after a recovery period for an injury.  There were many good signs in our favor.  He hadn't had any swelling for several days.  There was no heat to the touch on the leg, shoulder or foot, and hadn't been for many days.  Lastly, he hadn't "bobbed" his head when he moved around the house and yard since last Friday.  The final great sign was the weather; clear skies surely meant we were ready to be back on the road together.

Anticipation, anticipation, anticipatioooonnnnn...

He and Maddie were very anxious to get going once I went out to the garage to get their harnesses and leads.  There was much whining and dancing as they were dressed for the run.  He pulled hard to start and didn't let up for most of the first quarter mile.  I normally lean on a cautious bone when it comes to the dogs (although I was a little lax on this injury in the beginning), so it was predetermined that we'd go slow and only take in a mile and a half.  I tried to focus on how his movement felt on my hand as it came up through the leash.  I need to know what "normal" feels like, so I'll be better in tune going forward with him.

His endurance took a hit during the time he's been resting.  He got slow on two of the hills that he'd only learned to blow through since January.  I shouldn't be surprised, I know from personal experience that the stronger you are when injury hits, the quicker your ability to recover and bounce back to normal once healed.  He's only been running for 4 months now, so it will take a little longer for him to get back to our "normal" than it would if he had been running with me for a couple of years.  I think we'll be able to work back up to the three mile weekday/evening runs in a couple of weeks and then hit a long run on the weekend. 

Glad to have him back, I missed the time together on the road as if we'd been together for all his years.  It's nice to be bonded so well, so quickly.  My inspiration comes from the bond between the dogs and I and the mutual love of the activity.