Sorry for the silence...here's just an update on dear Rex:


Rex went to the doctor on 14/10 and was given an "ok" from the doctor! Rex weighed in at 28.2 kgs and has since developed some leg muscle on his right (operated) hind leg which is a good thing as the doc was earlier worried that Rex would not put weight on his operated leg. The doc was worried that Rex's operated leg muscle would slowly 'die' if he does not start moving and exercising it. We were advised to help him exercise e.g. run so that he will build up his leg muscle. Running...well that is certainly not a problem for Rex, we are just sometimes afraid that he will not stop running that's all!!!


Meanwhile his left hind leg condition has been diagnosed as "straight hock" (definition: the tarsal joint of the hind leg of a digitigrade quadruped, such as a horse or dog, corresponding to the human ankle but bending in the opposite direction) basically meaning that Rex's left hind leg bends in the opposite direction when he stands for too long. The doctor confirmed that it is not life threating and something that Rex will have to live with for the rest of his life; not even a TPO operation will be of help. Well Rex is thus spared from going through another round of the dreaded TPO!


The doctor's only advice for us is to help keep Rex's weight below 30kgs so that his body weight will not put too much pressure on both his hind legs. Other than that, Rex is as healthy (and handsome) as a golden retriever can be!!!




Oh by the way, Rex turned 1 year old on 15/10 and was rewarded with a bone which he relished and guarded with those sharp pointed teeth of his!

TPO surgery is by far one of the most excruciating and major operation that a dog can ever possibly go through. We are all glad and thankful for the means, love and care we could give to Rex to help him overcome this epsisode in his doggie lifetime.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Monday, August 24, 2009

Quick update from where we left off 2 weeks ago.
Rex has been steadily recovering; and apart from the brief shock Jie had with mr rex boy biting off the stitches around his weewee area :P, thereby exposing the half dangling piece of exposed freshly-operated-flesh, rushing him to the on-call vet at GlobalPets who stitched him back up on a Sunday afternoon; - he's doing pretty ok. in fact he's had his first shower since the op almost 3 weeks ago.

just a note to mention he had a bit of problem walking on the operated hip/leg last thurs night/friday morning and we were a bit concerned. so we took him in for a checkup in the afternoon and the doctors say its nothing to worry about. in fact they thought he walked fine, for a 3-weeks post surgery condition. so kind dr Lim just did the normal stuff for him like clipping of his nails, cleaning his (very dirty) ears, and shaving off that overgrown fur around his paws. nonetheless we felt it was something out of the ordinary cos he walked much better before that. in any case. he's doing much better now and walking almost ordinarily, as he would have before surgery. at least putting some weight on the right leg. if anything, his left hip looks like its developing some sort of problem now! for one, his left knee is like jutting out when he's standing still. hopefully he starts putting more weight and relies on the right now that it's fixed and hence not aggravate whatever problems he has on the left side.

i'll update more soon. but for now just to put on record the underlying reason for this blog is to create awareness to owners of man's best friends so they know what's normal, what's not, what the doctors dont tell you after TPO's done (thank you very much) and why your dog doesnt sleep on the first night after he's back from the operation, when he does his first potty after that, how he doesnt like E-collars, when the dissolvable stitches go away etc. at least we've been through it and seen it happen to rex. so here's to all golden retriever owners. to the best dogs ever.

Rex gave us all (me in particular) a BIG scare...let me elaborate. I left him alone for a few minutes to go to the toilet and when I came back out, he managed to get Necky aka E-collar off and was licking his wee wee area. After reprimanding him, he started dozing off. I sat there with him reading for awhile and then Rex decided turn and stretch his legs and that was when I saw it...his stitch wound under his hip area opened and totally exposed...Aarrgghhh!!!! I nearly collapsed and started freaking out...what am I to do??? What am I to do??? The only thing I could think of was to get it re-stitched but today's Sunday....Aaarrgghhh!!! Although we were assured by Rex's vet that the wound should be ok (as it wasn't bleeding) and we could bring him to the clinic first thing Monday morning, we were not convinced that Rex would stay calm till we could get him to the clinic the next morning; a time span of 24hours.

After frantically making phonecalls here and there, we managed to find another clinic with a vet on duty that time...Phew!!! Didn't know where I got the strength from but I managed somehow to carry Rex into the car - he weighs nearly 30kgs. It was a challenge to keep Rex calm during the car ride (that aspect of Rex hasn't changed).We arrived at the clinic and all is well again after his wound was re-stitched. The journey home was calmer for Rex as he was still under sedation.

Rex continues to amaze us with his antics and all the things that he does are just "so typical Rex"...you can't but love him to bits.

Be it wee wee or poo poo, Rex does it well like how he would before the surgery; well trained to only wee wee and poo poo on the newspapers (which he seldom misses)...Good job Rex!

Food / diet...this I believe this is an area we are all guilty of - over feeding Rex.With no possibility to exercise/walk around/do all the crazy things he usually does at the moment, Rex is literally confined indoor after a short trip to the garden to relieve himself and sleeps most of the time.

We only give him 1/2 cup of his usual doggie kibbles and substitue the rest with fruits and a tablespoon of plain yoghurt (probiotics); lots of fibre to help him go to the toilet which has been very helpful as Rex has no problem with his bowels.

You may wonder what does Rex do when he is not sleeping?

Well..he either iritates those around him, plays with his toys (seen here with mr.squiggy1 *his favourite) or Rex just poses for photos!

On 06th Aug Rex finally pooped after 3 days....Yipee!! It was an unbelievable yet exuberant sight seeing Rex struggled step by step from his mattress to his usual spot in the garden (laced with newspapers), squat as we painfully watched the poop land on the newspapers...Bingo...We strucked gold...Hahaha!! At the end of his 3rd post surgery day at home, Rex pooped a total of two times...A big relieve to both Rex and the family.

Rex started wearing the E-collar aka Necky as he was beginning to sniff and lick his stitches area.
















Rex obviously doesn't like Necky very much..but we had no choice as it's for his own good.

Rex has been put on 2-weeks of antibiotics and although Rex loves almost anything edible, medicine is definitely not on his list! So we devised a plan to help him take his medication regularly and I must say it is working quite well (at the moment)..We break his 1 antibiotic capsule required twice a day into 2 and stuff them into bits of banana...Well Rex loves his bananas!!

Rex being a GR loves attention and what is more comfortable than snuggling and falling asleep on someone's lap zzz...

At 6:05am this morning we took Rex out to the garden hoping that he will wee wee..Not much was happening for awhile Rex didn't quite budged from the mattress even after lots of coaxing...however must to everyone' surprise Rex got up and started walking to the grass area when we started applying some iodine to his wound, could be due to the initial pain.Yipee...Rex successfully wee wee after a 24hour interval!

As for poo poo...we are still waiting in anticipation...

His appetite doesn't seem to be affected which is a good thing - Rex had 3/4 cup of doggie kibbles plus some fruits for breakfast.

This is Rex trying to take a few steps...with some help of course! He can now sit for while which is a good improvement.

After breakfast Rex took a short nap but has since woken up and is currently chewing on a bone which should keep him occupied for a while.

Rex certainly looks much better today as compared to the past 2 days; I think he is fast going back to his usual self.

I hope he naps soon...

Tuesday 4 August 2009 - 8:40pm

Tuesday 4 August 2009 - 8:40pm

Day 2 - Rex boy sound asleep at last on his bed in the afternoon. After having had full episode of 'Sleepless in Redang' last night, Rex curling up for a nice nap on his bed.

It was barely a fun place to be in where we were last night when Rex didnt sleep one bit the entire night. Rather, he was panting very loudly and held his head up high all night, never wanting, not once to lay it down on the pillows, which we placed all around his bed.

And so we stayed awake all night with him, from 12am-6am. Well that's actually when the lights went out even though no one actually got any rest, except well, for mom. I'm not sure what it was, but perhaps it was the trauma, or post surgical stress that rex felt so overwhelming, that affected his rest, or prevented it totally. somehow i got the feeling that rex was kinda angry at us, for allowing us to put him through the ordeal.

Finally daybreak arrives and Rex whines like nobody's business. its just about his normal time to eat and potty so we just decide to let him out early this time. again we place his matress in the garden and without much thought Rex struggles up, whimpers a bit and staggers his way onto his choice grass patch where he sits a good minute to wee. it was heart wrenching and painful to watch this dear boy limp his way for the first time after coming home from the operation, not knowing what had happen to his right back limb, and how to go about using the 3 remaining. he walked a few steps away soon after and recoils into a comfortable stance where we feed him his meal and therafter medication.

Thanks to Mom who dropped by the clinic, Rex was given a dose stabilizers. it was so potent it got him sleeping the rest of the day. Here's a picture of Rex with his new Hartz Gorilla squeegy from New York! Taken after a good few hours of sleep in the day *yawn*! Another picture of the rest of his new toys fresh from Petco thanks to Baby!















9.40pm

Right now we're just waiting for rex to get up so we can take him out to potty before he turns in for the night.

Tuesday 4 August 2009 - 8:40pm

It has been about 11 hours since Rex was taken in to Dr. Koh's at 10 this morning.
He will be allowed to eat and drink within the next hour or so.

Rex is now 9 and a half months and about 8 months since we got him last November. He's been such a joy all along, and grown into such a beautiful dog, even winning 'The Star's - Dog Loves Camera Contest at 5 months old.

Cuteness aside, I am sad to say that Rex has always been slightly on the heavier side of dogs, but perhaps that was what always made him cute. at 7 months Rex was diagnosed with Canine Hip Displasia (CHD). We had noticed that he always had a limp or walked funny on his back right leg and had brought him in to the vet to have the situation diagnosed. This was further confirmed on the X-ray that was taken on him on that visit, showing the displacement of the ball and socket of his hip which was unlike the usual positioning. we were told then that we had just slightly less than 3 months to determine if we were going to take him in for a Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO) corrective surgery. he was then put on a loading of Synoquin which is believed scientifically or through research, or so we were told, to enhance the healthy development of joints in a dog who have a tendency towards CHD, for which in any case Rex was already diagnosed.

That aside, Rex had always been a regular at Koh's Clinic and Surgery. Apart from his booster shots which we had given him, despite claims from the XYZ vet we bought him from, we decided to avert any possibilities of him having missed them, just to be safe, right up to monthly visits because of his usual bout of rash outbreaks. just to set the records straight, Rex had always steadily had his weight increase, even to the point of frequent chiding by doctors Lim and Koh for not monitoring his weight. come to think about it, perhaps the lack of control on our part actually contributed to his exponential growth which outpaced his bone, pelvic and hip development, thus triggering the onset of CHD (even though doctors have come to agree that CHD is passed on genetically).

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10am

Rex arrives with the whole family at Koh's Clinic and Surgery on time for his scheduled appointment. Instead of having him back in his room by 9 in the morning as would be his typical routine since the family does actually have to go out to work, he's been allowed to roam around and lie in the living area for an extended time.
Apart from getting all excited as he normally does jumping into the back of the car, Rex kinda seemed as though he knew we were going for 'something major'. nonetheless throughout the ride he was just being his usual nonchalant self, albeit obedient by sitting in the back seat. when we arrived, he seemed hesitant in going into the clinic, but with a little coaxing he soon banters in to the consultation room, sees Dr Lim and instantaneously shows his excitement. i carry him up the operating table and at that instant he knew apparently what was coming along. Not long after he was sedated and completely knocked out in 30 seconds.

Soon roland and charles the vet assistants were busy shaving his fur on the area the doctors were to operate on, cleaning and applying iodine to the shaven areas. one doctor had his tongue clipped out while the other 2 were busy preparing the surgical tools. at one stage the doctor even asked if i wanted to have a video done on the entire procedure, but i pleasantly declined. instead i had just taken a few pictures of the few minutes before stepping out to allow the doctors room to begin their task.

12:30pm
we get a call from the nurse stating that the procedure was complete, but they had to do a little post surgery x-ray on his condition, and in this case only be done by the next half hour.

1.10pm
my sis and I arrive barely 5 minutes apart from our parents, and when mom saw Rex, she just started tearing profusely.
it was not difficult to understand the pain she felt. when looking at little boy Rex, he was just shivering and trembling like crazy. the doctors commented that's normal for a dog who's just been out of anaesthesia (however you spell that). we've also seen the side of our dog who's just regained consciousness after having come out of sedation twice in the past after having done 2 previous photos before the surgery (one prior to the prescription of Synoquin, and the other just last month which was when we noticed didnt really do much help), but this morning's episode was just a 10x magnification of what we've seen in the past. good thing nonetheless the entire family was there to rally him on. the doctor also explained his situation and ran through the current x-ray to show us where the screws and metal pieces were placed, and where the pelvic bone or was it hip, was broken into 3 different places (TPO). after a brief session of 'what should i dos' we picked up his medication, E-collar, thanked the motley crew and charles who helped show how to carry rex so i could carry him in the car the entire journey we were driven home.

Got back in record time, and set him on a specially custom made mattress we had just got him the week before. surprisingly the entire week he had it, he was just the epitome of a depressed dog, never wanting to lie on it. right now it seems like the perfect post surgery dog companion compared to the cold hard floor. or so i thought. whole afternoon i was with Rex, he never slept a wink. or perhaps only 2 5-minute intervals. apart from that, nothing. just constant noddings from a tired beat out dog who just refused to sleep. even defying doctors orders, i give him some water which he downs like a thirsty camel, and a bone which he turns away just after a mere sniff, and even the bag of new toys from Baby from Petco New York which he looks almost curiously at, at first glance but turns away soon enough. maybe he's just in too much pain.

6pm
Thanks to the bed, we were able to carry him out to the garden and set him just beside his usual potty area. Rex is also an awesome dog in that he was fully housebroken within the first month he came home with us. housebroken in a sense perhaps he has broken almost every breakable item in the process, but now Rex knows he should only weewee on the grass on the garden, which we pour water over on to prevent the patch from dying thanks to his awesome wee, and poopoo only on newspapers. and i can almost say 100% without batting an eyelid that even though he's had his bad days, misalignment or miscalulation standard deviation accounts for less than 3 Sigma intervals! after waiting like 30minutes or so, Rex attempts to stagger out of bed onto the grass. he does so with obviously great pain, groans but takes 2 brave steps onto the garden and just lies down. and he laid there for a full 2 hours until we had to carry him onto the bed and back into the room. unbeknowned to the doctors, we start giving him water and a few pieces of fruit.

9.30pm
We are all excited to feed Rex, and cut up all his favourite fruits in a nice fruit platter which he gobbles up in record time. after a normal whine which tells us he needs to go potty, we again attempt to alleviate his problem of going potty by carrying him on his bad out to the garden area. it's been half an hour and we're still waiting for him to make a move. he's tried a few times to get up, but lays back down after a few brief seconds. he is still not sleeping.