The Fear Stage

I am currently experiencing what is known as the Fear Impact Stage with my 10 month old lab, Henry. For those that are unsure, the fear stage comes anytime from 6 months to 2 years in most cases. It is when your dog becomes fearful or unsure of something that once wasn't a problem. Most people are aware of the critical socialization period of 8-14 weeks of age for puppies. Their little brains still malleable and making positive connections with their surroundings. It is important to bring puppies to meet different people, see different places and exposing them to the world. Socializing your dog is so important for the rest of their life. Not just during this critical time.

Unfortunately with Sir Henry the last 4-5 weeks have resulted in the usual, go with me to work, come home, repeat. Limited amount of continuing socialization. Somewhere in there he had his surgery on his knee which was then followed by rest and relaxation. During this time I can't be taking him to new places and greeting new people when he is likely to get excited and potentially do damage to the newly repaired knee. Now that he is reaching a point where he is encouraged to walk 10-15 minutes I intend to take him to somewhere new at least 3-4 times a week.

We have experienced a couple of instances of uncertainty which is what indicates to me that he is in his fear stage. Within the house it was objects that were placed in odd locations, a trash bag of clothes, melted in shape to the floor, a bag placed on top of a table where it has never sat before etc. Today Henry experienced 2 young kids raking leaves and putting them into a wheel barrow. Initially he watched intrigued, tail wagging, body loose. I should have redirected him right then and moved on. I did not. He then grew uncertain of what he was watching. The only nice thing about Henry is he rebounds well. Henry did a whooing type bark from his throat and with his body low moved quickly forward. The boys, fortunately, stopped raking and stood still while Henry investigated. Within seconds we were back to a loose wagging body who was very happy to be around kids. On that note, we walked away to continue his potty run. Even at a distance Henry continued to longingly look back to the kids with loose body movements almost as to say "Do you see them? They are fun!" This was a big indicator to me that Henry was going to need remedial socialization and to get him out and exposed to the world again and forever.

A fear impact stage can be a short window or it can go for months. There is the possibility that we may go through it now and then have another one in several months. The biggest thing to do when you find your dog uncertain about objects or people is  do not force confrontation. Fortunately, Henry was still eager to approach the boys and rakes and investigate. If he hadn't, it would not have been beneficial to drag him down the road to force the greeting. Instead, I talked in a cheery voice and made it interesting. I touched the rakes which helped his confidence to sniff it. Ideally, carrying treats with you will help diffuse the situation from the beginning. Had I had my treat bag on me when we went out the door I could have been handing treats to him while he stood and stared at the boys from a distance, before he had a moment to react. I didn't, I learned from the situation, and I made the best of it that I could. 

Meanwhile, Henry is almost back to full range of motion after 2 weeks. He is getting more and more difficult to keep quiet. Naturally a little on the mellow side anyway, he still runs the length of the house (44 feet), before I get up and intercept him on his way back. Just before his 2 week check up, Henry even jumped on our bed, which in the 10 months I have had him, he has never successfully done or attempted. Although this isn't to be encouraged, I couldn't help but be a little happy about it. He clearly is feeling strong in that leg and good about it. Here's to part way through his recovery and the days when we can go hiking together!

5 Minute Cruciate Repair Video

 

A short video of Dr. Cloutier performing a cruciate surgery. This is the same procedure done on Henry, but not Henry in the video. He utilizes a laser which makes the surgery less bloody and overall very clean looking. Dr. Cloutier performs cruciate repairs on a pretty regular basis. One nice feature he does to help try and reduce having to use the elizabethan collar, AKA the Cone of Shame, is keep the sutures below the skin. By using that technique, the surgical site itches less, and there are no tempting suture knots on the surface to nibble at. So far it has been successful with Henry. We haven't had to put a cone on him or really even get after him for licking the area. He so far is being a compliant patient.

Cruciate Repair

Yesterday I had the opportunity to observe my dog Henry's cruciate repair at Veazie Veterinary Clinic. I work at a veterinary practice in central Maine but they do not perform orthopedic surgeries to repair such injuries. I used to live in the Bangor area and had heard good things of Veazie Vet and Dr. Cloutier. Most of our clients in the Augusta area that need orthopedic surgery are sent to southern Maine for repair while I decided to venture the other way and go north.


Henry's incision site

Let me start off by saying that everyone at Veazie Vet welcomed me into their practice with open arms. They provide the courtesy of allowing pet parents to observe the surgery on their pet. While not everyone may have the stomach to do so, I thought I have never seen such a surgery done. Sure I have seen my share of spay and neuters, growth removals and amputations at Windsor Vet but this was different and it was my own dog. I was immediately brought to the surgery room where I met the technicians and then brought upstairs to their break area. Carpeted and spacious with a full refrigerator, sink, counter-tops, microwave, coffee machine and then a second sitting area with a couple couches, a bookshelf for entertaining pet parents with novels, and high ceilings and lots of natural light. Dr. Cloutier and the staff allowed me to hang out in that area until it was time for Henry's surgery. They told me I could be as involved in Henry's surgery as I wanted to be.

I was taken to the kennel room where Henry was going to be kept, and like a champ he jumped right into his kennel and proceeded to lay down. Impressed they were by this, but a vet clinic is Henry's second home. Having had him since 2 days old and needing to be bottle fed every 2 hours, and then the house training phase, Henry spent a good 6 months or so of his life coming to work at Windsor with me. The technicians and Dr. asked if I'd like to hold Henry for the pre-med injections or blood draw etc. While everyone continued to reassure me I wasn't, I didn't want to be a burden or be in their way. So I left Henry in the kennel and asked them to just get me once he was on the table and ready to start surgery.

I nestled in to the corned of the couch and read my book. Heather, one of the licensed vet techs and one I've dealt with the most for Henry's pre-surgery stuff, was wonderful at checking in and had told me he was next, was medicated and we would be headed down soon. I was given the option to scrub in, gown up, and go right into the surgery room with Henry, but because I wanted to take a few pictures, I stayed outside by the viewing window which had better visibility of the surgery. Heather had an opening in her schedule so she stood with me and gave me a play by play as Dr. Cloutier performed a traditional cruciate repair.


Using the laser to make the incision. Very neat and clean

Cleaning out the partially torn ligament

 I felt very relaxed in the environment, having the technicians around, we laughed and joked about how it seems in our profession we always end up with the "problem pets".  But what better place to be in when we have pets that need chronic medical attention.


Adding the artificial ligament

I left while they were stitching up with leg and they were going to call me once he was recovered. Overall the surgery took about an hour or so and they called a little later to say he recovered peacefully, I was concerned about his recovery based off of how he had recovered from his neutering, more or less a bad trip. They use different drugs for sedation and anesthesia than we do at Windsor and he recovered swimmingly. Now that we have overcome the surgery we must approach our next hurdle of physical therapy and rehabilitation. I will keep you posted.



Preparing for the Unknown

Taking on the responsibility of owning a dog should never be taken lightly. We can predict many things when we do acquire our dog, the house training, play biting, inappropriate chewing but just like with children there comes unpredictable moments.
I currently am experiencing one of those unforeseen moments with my 10 month old lab, Henry. Like many dogs before him, and the many dogs after him, he has torn his cruciate ligament. As I prepare for his surgery I am doing just that...preparing. Some of you that may be familiar with the surgery know it requires a strict rehabilitation process that last for 6-8 weeks.
My husband and I live on the second floor, so stairs are required to get to our living space. Fortunately Henry is a petite lab, about 58-60 lbs, still a weight that I can carry if push comes to shove. One thing I have done to help prep for his surgery is starting the physical therapy exercises now. I have attended a couple physical therapy sessions at Veazie Vet where his surgery will be done and have gotten him accustomed to the hydrotherapy treadmill. Imagine trying to expose your dog to a hind end sling or harness to assist with the stairs after he has already gone through the surgery. Wouldn't it be easier to have worked at it slowly so that he is comfortable instead of just throwing him into and hoping for the best. After a surgery of that extent and expense it would not be beneficial to do anything that might cause the dog to twist wrong.



Underwater Treadmill at Veazie Vet Clinic (picture from their website)
http://www.veazievet.com/index.php?id=737
 

So what have I been doing? As mentioned above, I have taken Henry a couple times to Veazie Vet so he has a nice happy association with the place. He is comfortable with the exercises and the water treadmill. This will definitely help when he is post surgery. I have also practiced massage and cold packing his knee, both requirements of his rehab. Lastly, the biggest task at hand, practicing going up the stairs with assistance. I tried the rolled towel but it was cumbersome and seemed to apply too much pressure to his abdomen. Next I tried a harness from Ruff Wear which is actually for my older dog and was just to see if I should proceed forward and purchase their webmaster harness. It seemed to work well and appeared more comfortable for him. Based off of reviews, other people have used them for CCL repairs and found they worked better than the hind end slings.
Since Henry exhibited signs of lameness I periodically practiced carrying him up all 21 steps. I would encourage anyone to practice restraint with their dogs. You never know when you may have to pick up your dog.  Especially when you have to carry them on stairs it is extremely important that the dog doesn't flail. That can be a very bad situation for you and the dog.

Have any of you experienced a major surgery with your dog?