The poor guy is feeling pretty yucky I think. The vet showed me his stitches and then wrapped him all up. He pooped on their floor during that process, so I think he was pretty stressed out. I was able to get him to pee when we got home. I offered him some water when we came inside, but he wasn’t interested. I thought with all the panting, he would be parched. The panting has finally slowed down and I hope he goes to sleep.
What’s he on for pain meds? I have read that Tramadol causes alot of panting. My dog was on it but truthfully, I don’t remember if she had issues with panting! She had too many others like not eating that I was more concerned about..
He will be much better now that he’s home in his own bed! 🙂 Take care!
Tracy, Maggies’ Mom
Expect that the pain killers will knock Harley for a loop and you will not really see you man until they have worn-down. Both Emily and Cherry had such bad reactions to the Tramadol that both had to be taken off the Tramadol. However, others not only tolerate the pain killers well, some actually have to increase the dose for better effect. Only time and diligent monitoring will tell. Also, get some rest yourself whenever you can. Huggs!!
He’s on Tramadol and Rimadyl for pain. They gave him an injection of buprenorphine this morning, so I will start the other meds this evening. There is a lot of panting right now, along with some whimpering. He was on Tramadol and Rimdayl before surgery also, for the tumor pain. But the does will be a little higher now. He’s just now stopped panting and seems to be falling asleep. I hope so – he seems very uncomfortable and anxious since he got home.
Welcome home Harley! Hang in there, Harley will have good days and bad during the upcoming couple weeks. Be for you know it though, I bet he’ll surprise you with what he can do. Once he’s off the pain meds, he’ll likely start feeling himself again.
Tramadol does indeed tend to cause panting and most pain meds will make dogs restless, so don’t mistake those signs as pain and overmedicate. Many dogs cope better with pain than with the side effects of medication.
glad harley is home, as home is for healing!! pooping and peeing is always good, i’m sure the vet didn’t mind a momento… gayle tolerated tramadol pretty well, but there was some panting too, so i guess that’s to be expected. gayle and i recommend taking as many naps as you can, when you can, as the nights can get pretty long sitting up and rubbing that precious pup’s nose!! our thoughts are with you – charon & gayle
Our thoughts and prayers are with you!!!!!
Buddy (and pawrents)
Hooray Harley! Tramadol made Catie (our 6-year old Golden Retriever who had her right foreleg amputated on January 16th this year) pretty loopy. I hated giving it to her because it made her weird and dopey but I also didn’t want her to be in pain.
As Charon and Gayle say, get lots of rest. Amputation is pretty serious surgery.
BUT he’s home! Sending many healing thoughts your way.
Poor Harley.
But at least he’s home and each day will be a tiny bit better until he heals.
Lots of hugs!
We are thinking of you….this will be the most difficult time during these next 2 weeks. Mackenzie was on tramadol and garbapatin and she lost her appetite for several days. It’s a real balancing act managing the pain and the pain meds because they both seem to exhibit the same kind of symptons. Once Mackenzie came off her pain meds, she made a dramatic turnaround. Just know that he will get better but it’s a very slow process. Take it one day at a time, take deep breaths and be sure to get rest yourself so you don’t get sick. It can be pretty stressful (I ended up with strep throat!) and your rest is very important too.
Sending you lots of golden hugs and healing thoughts.
Welcome home, Harley! We’re keeping you in our hearts. These next few weeks can be trying – we’re all here for you. Holly seemed to like it when we iced her incision (we used a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel and as little pressure as we could use to keep it in place) – it helped her to calm down.
Sending lots of healing thoughts across the miles…
Hugs,
Holly and Holly’s mom
We did the same as everyone has suggested; ice (pea bag), lots of attention, etc. As has been mentioned, the pain meds can make them act so differently. Lincoln was miserable for his first day home (rear leg amputation on March 11), but was markedly improved by day two, and TOTALLY mobile within a few days.
Keep your chin up and try not to stress. It really does get better!!
Lincoln’s Mom