Slowing down or in pain? Reading an older dog
Seven signs that are not just age, and what helps.
The surgery itself is the short part. The week afterwards decides how well the wound heals, and that part happens on your living room floor.
A dog can undo a week of healing in ten minutes of licking. The cone looks miserable, but most dogs settle into it within a day, especially if you raise the food bowl and keep doorways clear.
We send you home with pain relief for every day of the first week. Give it on schedule, not only when your dog seems sore, because a dog in pain hides it.
Keep your dog on a lead for every trip outside, even in your own yard. No stairs, no jumping on the sofa, no running. Short, slow walks only, and a quiet room for the rest of the day.
Rest is the treatment. A bored dog is a healing dog.
Check the wound twice a day in good light. A little pink along the edges is normal. Swelling that grows, heat, or anything that weeps is not.
"Most problems we see after surgery start with one jump off the sofa on day two."
Dr. Daniel Okafor
Call if your dog has not eaten by the morning after surgery.
Call if the wound opens, swells or weeps.
Book the recheck at ten days, even if everything looks perfect.
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Soft-tissue surgery
From $650
Pre-op bloodwork, anesthesia, pain relief and a recheck at ten days.
