Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Tom Update

Tom made it through surgery just fine.  Well, minus 12 teeth.  I was actually expecting him to lose more, but am thankful he didn't.  My vet did the e-mail consult with OSU and received great info on anesthesia and pain meds.  Tom also received a couple of xanax before we left as well as entered the vet's office by a different door.  We tried so many things to cut down on his anxiety level and I think the combo worked.  His temp was the highest right after we arrived and never got any higher.  He was under anesthesia for 3 1/2 hours.  Poor guy.

They wanted me to come get him around 3:00 p.m.  This is earlier than they usually release dogs from dentals, but again, didn't want him staying there stressing again.  So they carry him out to the car.  I am on the way home in a panic thinking who is going to help me get him in the house.  They told me he could walk, but was still shaky and weak.  After trying everyone I knew, I had to ask my husband to come home from work.  So he is passed out in the back of the van and as soon as he hears the tires hit the gravel of the driveway, he is up and ready to get out!  I couldn't believe it.  He walked around the yard, did a big pee and came up the 3 steps to the house.  Once inside, he put on the brakes.  Not sure why.  I finally coaxed him to his dog bed and he crashed there for over 4 hours. 

My biggest problem was getting the first dose of pain meds on board.  I mean, how do you pill a dog who can't eat any foods yet and just lost 12 teeth?  Well the first attempt was a mess.  However, I put a plea out on facebook and got a bunch of good ideas.  Here is what I came up with.  Take a slice of Oscar Mayer thin sliced ham, smear a bit of peanut butter to hold the pill on.  Then wrap the ham around the pill.  He took it!  Although he figures things out pretty quicky, I hope he doesn't catch on to this because we have a bunch of pills to take. 

This morning I made him a canned dog food smoothie with his regular meds in it.  Yuck.  This picture is Tom's first roach since he's been home.  All in all, I think things are going well.  He is very swollen in his face, still a pink tinge to the water after he drinks and sometimes a little pink from his nose.  But I think we are making improvements.  The vet said the degree of disease in his mouth was pretty substantial.  I hate that.  I have beat myself up since she told me this.  I am so glad we were able to figure out a good anesthesia and drug protocol for him so we can get these teeth under control.  I hope he feels better soon.  Plus, I need some sleep!

11 comments:

  1. It's good to hear that he is home and doing well.

    I had a terrible time with Joey taking medicine. The main problem with him was he was only with me for a week when he had to start taking meds. He had never had people food and didn't want it. We finally figured out that raw hamburger was his things. He has now decided peanut butter is pretty good and has not failed me yet with a pill hidden in it. I hope that Tom continues to take his meds without problem. I know how stressful it is trying to get them to take it and they refuse.

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  2. Glad he's doing okay. I'm pretty good with meds, but Mum says mixing my stuff with cream cheese works well for me if there's a problem. Deccy x

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  3. I'm so glad he's okay and at home! Poor guy! He's had a tough time of it, but at least it's behind him (and you). I hadn't heard the ham and peanut butter, but it makes sense! I have to remember that one.

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  4. I'm glad to hear that he's doing okay! I know how stressful even just a "normal" dental is for us when Argos has to go in for one, so I can imagine that you were fretting until you got him back home.

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  5. I'm glad he came out of the anesthesia okay! I had to get a "pill gun" for Layla because she chews the smallest morsels and spits out pills. Casey swallows everything whole - I don't even need to wrap the pills up, just toss them like they're a cookie. But the pill gun is really just a syringe type thing. You separate the pieces, put the pill/capsule inside, and shoot it down her throat. Sometimes she still regurgitates it but it's worked better than anything else we've tried. She chews so thoroughly, she's not a normal dog!

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  6. I bet he is so glad to be home. I think I will take my next medicines for myself wrapped in ham and peanut butter :)

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  7. Lol at gyeong! After reading your last post I had to head straight to this one to see how Tom's surgery went. So relieved that he came through it with flying colours. You have been rewarded for all your research and love. I hope the pill taking is still going well. I've had some dogs who were very tricky work to get a pill eaten.

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  8. I have a hard time pilling Dana b/c once I use a treat to give her a pill, she stops eating that treat. She is smart with some things...
    I hope he feels better soon!

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  9. Glad he is doing ok!

    Stop on by for a visit
    Kari
    http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

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  10. so how many teeth does he have left? I fear that we will have teeth issues with Barbie when she becomes an elderly dog... she just doesn't have the jaw strength to really bite into bones, so she doesn't get that teeth cleaning effect.. :P

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  11. Looks like you found the hound version of "a spoonful of sugar" to help the medicine go down. I have to giggle. We are essentially slipping the Mickey to these guys, but it's for their own good.

    I'm glad the dental was okay. Good psyche job, though. Drugs. Different entry. You had it down!

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