Mr Rams

So far so good, Rams has been doing very well considering all things. A few days after the surgery when he was getting back to his normal self, the cramps/spasms had started in the back leg. This went on for a few days and it happened every time he would have to get up from a long nap. I would have to hold his back end still as it would lift up and he would almost tip over. It’s slowly subsiding now, with cramps happening once or twice every few days. I placed two beds on top of each other which he found more comfortable, so I found a decent thick memory foam bed and ordered the Farabloc as recommended on the Tripawd site, so hopefully that will help with his progress.

He was also in the cone of shame for about three days. He had a strong pain killer patch on his leg that he was not to get too, but the cone actually helped guide him around a bit, as he was still bumping into a few things from being groggy. He now only wears it when I go out and when it’s his bed time as the stitches are still in.

Finally no cone of shame

For the first 5-6 days I fed him 6 meals a day. This was because a) he was on a lot of medication,  b) he’s stomach was still very sensitive  and c) he had lost a significant amount of weight due to losing a lot of blood and fluid through the amputation. He’s usually around the 18-19kg mark but looked like he dropped to about 14-15kgs.

He’s now onto 4 meals a day, with added vitamins and a joint supplement. Once he’s off all his antibiotics, i’ll add in probiotics to help his digestive and immune system.

He does have his good days and his bad days. His good days consist of walking around a little more than usual and playing small amounts of tug of war and picking up his toy and throwing it around. He’s pretty confident on his good days, with his balance being pretty stable.

His bad days are his painful days. He pants and finds it very difficult to find a comfortable position on his bed. He also doesn’t want to get up from his bed so it takes some coaxing and help to get him moving. I purchased the Ruffwear Webmaster Harness and it’s been such tremendous help for the both of us. It’s much easier to help him up and maneuver him around and even picking him up has been an easier task.

Today however is one of his bad days. He’s been quite reluctant to get up from his bed and needs some help. He also limps a little on the back leg when he gets up but then seems ok once he gets moving. Because the leg is pretty tired as well he tends to lean on it, so I stand pretty close to him to hold him by the harness to relieve that pressure. A few days of good rest and he should be feeling better again.

Mel x