She's home!

They released Lucy a day early as she was doing so well; we picked her up last night. They said she was getting up and walking on her own the day after surgery. She get’s up pretty slowly (without a sling which they felt she didn’t need), but she can do it. She’s on pain meds (Tramadol 50mg/one every 12 hours) and antibiotics (Cephalexin 500mg/one every 8)—and that’s it.

She hadn't pooped in the three days she'd been at the vet's and I was concerned about that, though they weren't. They said I didn't have to worry for a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks?!? That sounds tortuous—particularly with a bum back and the need to squat and push. However, the tech said it isn't unusual for dogs not to defecate at the hospital and that once she got home, she probably would. Yep! They were correct. None-the-less, with pain meds as a regular—at least for a while—I'm adding a tablespoon of mashed pumpkin to her food.

We have her sequestered with baby gates in the kitchen. She cried most of last night, I think not so much in pain as in unhappiness that she’s penned. She has to stay in the pen for 2 weeks. When I do take her outside, she has to be leashed. I'm guessing that is in case she would decide to bolt after a squirrel. I don't see that happening, but you can't be too sure.

So as for those questions:

1. How long do we have to wait before discovering if the surgery is successful? Time will tell. If after several months she's still stumbling and dragging her toes, it was unsuccessful.
2. How long must she be sequestered and exactly what does that mean? Two weeks of confinement to a 4 X 4 area.
3. Does she need a sling to get up? To walk? No. She's strong enough to get up on her own.
4. What drugs must she take and for how long? Pain meds until she stops looking like she's in pain. This will be tough to decipher while she's on them. They said if I stopped and she looked like she was having difficulty getting up, panting a lot or acting reclusive, those were all signs of pain. Antibiotics must be taken until they're gone.
5. How long before her stitches come out? Two weeks. Lucy's normal vet can remove them and assess her back/movement at that time.
6. Does she have to come back in for a look-see? She doesn't have to see the surgeon again unless I want to; she can go to her regular vet.
7. What kind of physical therapy can we do with her? Massage on her back haunches 4-5 times a day. Also, not as critical as she can walk on her own, but move her back legs through range of motion, i.e., as if she were bicycling 4-5 times a day for 5 minutes at a time. I am pushing very little with this as this seems to 'activate' her. I try to integrate it with her massage. Does it hurt? I'm uncertain.
8. What kind of PT should she have? Acupuncture? Aqua therapy? We didn't talk about this; I forgot. But when I bring her in for stitch removal, I'll ask. I'm thinking the aqua therapy would be good.
9. If we go somewhere, can we bring her in the van and keep her there? Yes.
10. How long before she can be a dog again? Months.

After two weeks of "cage" confinement, I can allow her access to the main floor of the house and start taking her on very, very short walks. I'm assuming after a week of 5-7 minute walks, I can bump it to 10 minutes and so on. We live on a huge hill, so initially I'll just take her up and down a block on the level. It's two bad our neighborhood is laid out as it is—our street is only two blocks long! At this point though, and at her present speed, that length will probably be plenty. Maybe by mid-to-late September or October I can add the hills.

As far as the success of the surgery, time will tell. If her back feet continue to drag, it wasn’t successful, so fingers are crossed that the brain, legs and toes get in sync. Right now it’s just quiet and rest.