Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 6 (7 week post op)

A part of me wants to ask how quickly we got here to week 7, and another part of me is breathing finally.

Week 7. Phew. Back when we first had this done, I kept wondering how the weeks would go and if getting to some level of freedom would seem like a lifetime away. At the time, it did. But slowly as the weeks passed, I found myself thinking how actually it all wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined and I felt like I had control of the situation.

I think that was my problem in the beginning and the first week. I didn’t have control of whether the surgery would be a success, and then I didn’t have control really of whether the leg would stand up to what had happened, and all the pressure felt overwhelming. Every time I read my blog back and think how I felt in those first couple of weeks, all I can think is how overwhelming it felt and the fear of the unknown was all that was on my mind.

So where are we now? We’re 7 weeks and a day post total hip replacement and I appreciate for the last 2 weeks I’ve been radio silence. Not for any other reason other than not really having an update. Once the surgeon told us on week 3 that we were on the right track, I managed to allow myself to think this could be a success and I was doing it right. All those posts on the Facebook groups I had read that I wasn't medicating him right, or I was walking too much to take him to the toilet - it all felt in the past and my instincts to trust that I knew my own dog had been right all along.

So our daily routine because very much the same each day. 6 x 20 minute walks (or thereabouts), he could be lifted in and out the car so we started to let him see the world again and still no off lead or running and jumping.

I’d say it was definitely around week 5 we noticed his personality coming back! I think I touched upon this before about whether he was this playful pre surgery, I can’t remember. The weeks leading up to pre surgery were consumed with questions around whether I was doing the right thing, and I felt like I was just drowning in Hip Replacement madness. But around week 5, he went back to grabbing toys and trying to play, squeaking his pig none stop, running up to us (argh!!) to greet us AND trying to hump my leg. He’s so bad for this, so although I was happy his personality was coming back, I had kinda hoped this would’ve stopped. Clearly not!

On walks he started to chase bees and launch at them. Which meant I had to hold tighter on the lead. He shot across my feet that much on a walk one day, I went flying and stood on his surgery paw…. Did I feel bad? Yes! Did he scream? Yes! Did I then panic I’d broken him? Also yes….!!

 
We discussed at this stage it would be safer to ask the surgeon on our week 6 X-rays if he could do some off lead walking. He was pulling ridiculously on the lead now and clearly bored. He’s always been a better off lead walker than on!

We discussed at this stage it would be safer to ask the surgeon on our week 6 X-rays if he could do some off lead walking. He was pulling ridiculously on the lead now and clearly bored. He’s always been a better off lead walker than on!

As he hit 6 weeks my nerves started to increase again. Our 6 week check up was as on the Friday of that week, so almost 7 weeks post replacement.

I started watching him walk again and really worked myself up that he was limping and not walking properly. There were a few niggles like the odd growl when I touched his hip so I phoned the vets and requested he definitely be admitted for the day on Friday and X-rays done. It’s only money….right?!

We got to the vets and for a dog that hates the vets, it always amazes me how he walks happily into this one - despite this one being the place he’s probably had the most trauma in. So I know in my heart, I made the right choice bringing him here for surgery; and it reaffirms my decision when I see huckleberry walk to the surgeon (who kneels on the floor EVERYTIME we go in to say hello to huckleberry) and ask for a scratch.

The difference in the two specialists I considered is second to none. To have our vet kneel on the floor and sit with my nervous dog on the floor is something I’ll always be grateful for.

Anyway, he watched him walk, poked and prodded him, made him stand on his two back legs (we already knew he could do this by the amount he’s tried to jump up lately!!), and pressed all around the hip. He said the muscle felt tremendous and although initially pre surgery he’d got approximately 2cm + less muscle on the left, it was now almost feeling pretty even! Which is crazy considering we’ve done no strengthening or hard walking.

Next up; the hard part! Leaving him. He always looks so sad when it comes to me leaving him in there but the surgeon hugged him as we walked out and said he’d call.

The next 3 hours were agonising. I felt this the last 6 weeks were boiling down to this appointment and what the X-rays were about to show. No one could say for sure without looking at those X-rays whether surgery had been a success and in a few hours we’d know whether we needed to put him back under GA and redo the op, or whether we were on the right track.

I love my surgeon because each time he calls me, he knows what a nervous wreck I am and how this has affected me mentally and anxiety wise. He’s always made it known he understands how I feel and how much Huckleberry means to me.

When the phone rang, I jumped and couldn’t answer quick enough with a huge lump in my throat. He just said “he’s fine, it’s all fine” and I think I thanked him a thousand times. He said we could come back in an hour and he’d discuss everything in person. Also another reason I adore him, because I never feel like he's rushing us out the door! 

I think by this point, Mum and I are desperate to get to him and watching him come bounding out the vets once more, he looked not bothered by the whole thing; whereas I definitely think I've aged a considerable amount in the last few weeks!

The surgeon said everything looked great, the bone was growing into the inplant which is what they want, it was stable and had shown no signs of loosening or wear and tear. All looked great when they pulled him about as he was sedated and basically, we were free to start getting some normality back into our lives!

He was happy for us to increase his walks to 3 x 30 minute walks daily over the course of the next few days, and providing he wasn't a plonker, he could do some off lead walking. PHEW! He could go back to mums, providing no stairs or sofas were involved and the light at the end of the tunnel of moving our mattress back up upstairs could be seen. We still had to limit him to not jumping on the sofa and bed for another couple of weeks, but other than that, it felt like normal life could restart. Additionally, we were cleared to start water treadmill therapy again which is fantastic as I know Huckleberry really enjoys it! Even better, he could have a groom - after 12 long weeks he could finally have a groom!

The surgeon said he didn't need to see us again, but I have requested a 12 weeks sign off appointment which he's happy for.

I could've cried buckets coming out there, but all for happy tears. I remember the feeling pre surgery 7 weeks ago that I faced the possibility of losing my dog who is my entire world, and here we are, being given a new opportunity to walk again and share precious memories together.

What now?

Well, we start water treadmill this coming Friday (in 3 days), and today we've done our first full 30 minute walk. I'm keeping a close eye on him as pre surgery, a 30 minute walk would've caused him to be in a lot of pain and limp all evening, so I want to monitor its not too soon and he remains pain free, but I'm confident he will. Then towards the middle of next week I want to have his walks increased to approx 35 mins 3 times daily. I plan on being at almost back to an hour in one go by the time I see the surgeon at week 12.

I'll update again next week with how we're getting on, but please if anyone is reading this and going through similar; just trust the process. Trust that YOU know your dog the best, and you are doing the right thing. Trust you know when to increase walks, when to give medication and when not to and most of all, don't let the fear of the unknown make you decide against surgery. I wish I had done this 3 months sooner.

Until next week x

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Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 5 (4 week post op)

Where has the last month gone? I fell down a rabbit hole these last few days of looking at videos of Huckleberry in the days leading up to surgery and then post surgery. It's hard to now remember how petrified I was, and my worries in those weeks and days leading up to handing him over to the surgeon and putting my trust in that they would make it all okay. 

People told me it would get easier, and the initial few weeks would soon become a distant memory, but I was so blinkered by what was happening and how scared I was for Huckleberry, that I couldn't see too far into the future and all I could focus on what was happening and how I didn't want to have to go through any of it. 

So where are we after a month of a Total Hip Replacement? 

I've had to silence many of the Facebook groups in the last 2 weeks and pick the posts I read. I've become infuriated at the amount of "my dog has Hip Dysplasia, but I'm not going to operate, just medicate, even though he / she is only young" posts I've seen. I totally and 100% understand each decision is everyones personal choice, but it upsets me to remember how Huckleberry would walk pre-op and the pain he was so clearly in. Surgery was never not an option for us - it did take me a few weeks to come to terms with the decision, but purely because of the anaesthetic. But I knew, if he needed a hip replacement due to pain, there would never be a doubt in my mind; and so here we are. 

I get angry with myself for actually leaving it as long as I did, taking advice to go to physio, Hydrotherapy and try X, Y and Z first. However, I am grateful that the surgeon gave me those options to try but at a point where I showed him a video of Huckleberry walking after a run on the beach, he was able to say to me "Enough is enough, the time has come that he needs surgery". Up until then, it had been very much a "lets try this and see if it relieves the pain for him". 

I just feel infuriated that we are a dogs voice, and if a dog is clearly in pain and young, why would we not give it a good quality of life. It seems most peoples apprehensions have been regarding recovery time, ease and what its like. So, I suppose that's one thing I hope I'm doing with this blog, and that's educating and informing about the recovery. This was definitely the gap that I struggled to find when I was doing research. I wanted a complete account of recovery, not just "yeah it was easy" or "It was hard!". 

To anyone reading this, PLEASE don't base your decision on 12 weeks being tough. Base your decision on your dogs quality of life and a 12 week recovery time being a small snippet in both yours and your dogs life. It's hard, don't get me wrong. The first couple of weeks are rough, and I don't think I have cried and experienced anxiety ever like I did in those first few weeks, but honestly, the last 2 weeks have been nothing short of mundane and all about routine. 

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Last week I made the decision to go slightly against the grain and take Huckleberry out of his confinement pen, and allow him to move freely in our living room, and kitchen. I mean they're hardly big enough to swing a cat in anyway (no cats were harmed in the making of this blog!), but in doing this, we have made our lives so much easier. 

He sleeps for one! He climbs the small step up onto the mattress and then onto the sofa and he sleeps throughout the night, which means I'm getting sleep and finally able to sleep on the mattress myself - which in turn means I'm far less anxious, grumpy, tearful and more myself because I'm actually getting some level of sleep, and we all need sleep. 

His paw chewing habit has stopped completely thank goodness. Honestly it was driving me WILD! For some reason his boredom was coming out in paw chewing. Something he's done a little before with a grass seed irritation, but nothing like this. They were bleeding. After a quick clean up, and a careful trip to his groomer who I owe a huge thank you to; we cleaned them up, moved him out the pen and he hasn't chewed them once because he now has free access to his toys. 

His personality is back to normal. He no longer looks a depressed dog. He fetches his toys as he did before, he sleeps comfortably and he can follow me into the kitchen when I'm cooking or hanging washing up which he has always been used to, so he's happy. 

I have a huge thank you to make to a follower on Instagram (she'll know who she is), whose dog is going through similar and who reminded me of my words "every dog is different". Every dog is certainly different, and mine is used to be outdoors and active, not penned in a pen big enough to barely move. Every time I have questioned myself, she has reminded me of what I said in the beginning and that's that each dog doesn't come with a text book, and we know our own dogs. I know he needed to get out that pen, and he's a different dog in doing so. The next stage for me which I'm going to do from next week is start taking him to the stables with me and setting him up a bed whilst I groom the horses and just purely getting him out the house. 

I know I've been a huge advocate in putting him in the car to take him for his poo's and wee's and many people have messaged me saying this has worked for them too rather than trying to make dogs do it in their garden that don't usually. Again, anyone reading this - YOU know YOUR dog. So long as you lift carefully, the surgeon said he was happy for me to do this if it meant Huckleberry went to the toilet regularly. 

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We also had a 3 week check up with the surgeon last week; something I requested. Again, one the Facebook page I follow, I was told "its at week 6, not early", but I called my surgeon and asked if I could have one at 3 weeks and what were the reasons I couldn't do earlier than 6 weeks. They confirmed they had never heard this rule, and I could have an appointment when I wanted one. Hell, I could have one daily if I wanted... I joke, but we basically came to the conclusion that providing I was happy to pay for this, then why couldn't I have an appointment. It wouldn't be something I would put through my insurance as I didn't want to push my luck, but I was happy to pay. Huckleberry is a calm car traveller, and doesn't get stressed so this was a helpful factor in the surgeon being happy that we did the journey. I think stressful dogs would perhaps need to wait if they get agitated in the car - but again, YOU know YOUR dog. 

So, mum and I got up at the crack of down last week to drive 3.5 hours to the surgeon. My nerves and anxiety were high on the day. REALLY HIGH! I had a couple of questions I wanted to ask about the extra walking I'd been doing and when I could look at getting him booked back in for Water Treadmill. I think I mentioned it last time in my blog as well, that I had noticed him hopping on a walk occasionally and I was getting increasingly concerned that this meant the Hip Replacement hadn't sorted his knee out and we would need to start preparing for Luxating Patella surgery too. 

If you're confused at this point, don't forget that Huckleberry has two issues with his one leg - his knee luxates (pops out) and he had very slight Hip Dysplasia. His Hip Dysplasia wasn't horrific, but the fact he showed quite severe pain after long walks forced us to make the decision to do the Hip Replacement, and there was always the possibility of a follow up surgery on his knee. It was very much a chicken and egg situation in that the knee operation could sort the hip pain or visa versa, but in all the X number of years my surgeon had seen this, he had research and reason, AND experience to prove that doing the Hip could solve the problem and you get better results doing the hip first if you need to pick one to go first. 

So anyway, I went into a panic that we would have to go through a following surgery and another amount of recovery time, which thankfully is shorter for luxating patella surgery, but nonetheless, still a surgery and still a pain. 

I told the surgeon my worries regarding his knee and he had a good feel - all whilst we held our breaths - but was shocked when he said it was the most secure it had ever felt to him! He said whilst before he could make it luxate in and out very easily, he couldn't do that now and if he was going to do it, he feels like he would need to use force, which obviously he didn't want to do! Additionally, he had a good feel of his hip, moved his leg around, watched him walk and said he looked super! We had a laugh about how hard it was to keep him contained (all he wanted to do was jump up!), and he confirmed he was happy with how much I was walking him and to look to increase it by 5 minutes in 2 weeks, which would be the week before our 6 week check up.

So, all in all, a very positive appointment! 

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That's it for my update really. I do know that everyone will have differing opinions on whats right or wrong, but it really got to me in the beginning when I was told I was doing recovery wrong and Huckleberry would NEED all these different types of medications. I remember fetching him and not being prescribed them and panicking. All because I had taken a social media group as gospel. And I guess in sharing my story, I hope I'm sharing nothing more than we know our dogs, we are their advocates and no way or recovery is right or wrong. Things can go wrong and things can go right.... but no one ever shares when things do go right. 

As the surgeon said, things could still go wrong for us now, but we can't panic about that. At some point, you need to breathe in this, relax and know you're doing the best, so if anything were to go wrong.... it just was always going to. 

Here's to week 5! 

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Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 5 (3 week post op)

Wow, 3 weeks post Total Hip Replacement. Where did those 3 weeks go? I wanted to do a different post this week to celebrate being a third of the way there. A third of the way to getting life back to normal, long beach walks and not clinging onto Huckleberry's lead as he tries to run after a bird or cat. 

Things I’ve learnt over the last 3 weeks:

1. Trust your own thoughts, process and dog. It’s easy to read other people’s experiences on Facebook and various places on the internet. You know your dog best, you know whether it will be happy not sedated, or where it will wee and poo, and whether it will need a short walk to poo. I had to trust myself, and Huckleberry when it came to advocating for what I thought was the best thing to get him to go to the toilet, and that was a short walk. Equally SO MANY people told me I should be sedating him to keep him quiet - even my local vets. I know my dog, and I knew he didn’t need this.

2. It’s not easy. There are some days I’ve questioned my decision to go ahead with this, and wondered why I put Huckleberry through it. I’ve had to remember that at the end of these long 12 weeks, his quality of life will vastly improve. He’ll be pain free and back to how he was 9 months ago.

3. I’ve had to learn to adapt. Whether that’s how he’s walked, how he’s fed, how we keep him occupied. No two days are the same.

4. Finding a GOOD surgeon is key. I’m so glad I didn’t go with the well known famous vet, who couldn’t give me 10 minutes of his time to answer my anaesthetic questions and told me I worried too much. I picked a surgeon that has literally been on the end of the phone and emails day and night, and that’s important. A good support network is key, and he’s taught me it’s fine to worry, fine to ask questions and bloody normal to want to ask questions, because it shows you care.

5. You can’t count on everybody. Some people have been amazingly supportive in this whole process, and others haven’t. Friends have shown up at my door with food because I can’t get out and offered to watch Huckleberry for an hour so I can have some “normal”. Or come to keep me company for the afternoon
Mum and Mike are the ONLY family to have offered to have him for any lengthy periods so I can at least go and ride.

6. People only post the bad. I read various posts on various groups and all I read was horror stories. Yes this has been hard, but it’s not been harder than I imagined, or too hard. It’s been rough, but only because I want what’s best for Huckleberry.

7. Not everyone agrees with your decisions. I’ve had people question why I chose surgery and not conservative treatment. Smile at these people, tell them you want what’s best for your dog and you made a decision based on a surgeons recommendations and their experience in THEIR chosen job field, and to give your dog the best possible chance at a pain free life.

8. Taking 30 minutes for yourself isn’t bad. I’ve cried in the bath, cried in the car, cried into Huckleberry’s head - all because I feel stuck in 4 walls and the anxiety over my head about this going right has been EXTREME.

9. Do your OWN research, speak with your OWN surgeon and base your decisions on YOUR dog. No two dogs are the same, no dog is textbook. Some have a low pain threshold, some have a high, some like Huckleberry want to be walking normally within a few days, others don’t. No dog will act the same as the next one.

10. A hip dysplasia diagnosis isn’t the end of the world. Initially when I got the news Huckleberry had slight hip dysplasia and needed a hip replacement, I thought my world was ending. A hip replacement to me was a devastating diagnosis. I’ve since learnt and come to realise it’s not.

I’ve also realised he seems to much more playful than he’s been in the last 9 months. Pre operation he would grumble when I scratched the left side of his bum / hip and it’s another reason I wanted his hips checking. In the last week he’s not grumbled once and enjoys a good bum scratch on both sides now! Happy progress!

Overall, has it been hard? Yes! Has it been easier than I thought though? YES! We’re a third of the way into his “lockdown” now and I’m feeling positive we can do this!! We’ve got a 3 week post op check Wednesday and I’m keeping fingers and toes crossed the surgeons happy! Fingers

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Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 4 (2 week post op)

This feels unreal to be saying, but we are TWO weeks post Total Hip Replacement and it stitch removal day. I can't believe we're here already. Two weeks ago it felt like today would never come, and it felt like stitch removal day was so far into the future, that I couldn't think about it. 

This last week has been a lot mentally. It felt harder than week 1 because each day that passed, Huckleberry was feeling more and more good, and wanted to do more. Which of course is great, but equally, he's tried to chase Bumble Bee's, Cats and jump up when he sees Mum or me come home from being out for an hour. He sits down as normal, spins in his bed scratching it up and is acting like he's never had surgery. 

Again, all such a positive step in the right direction but my nerves have completely been tested. All weekend I didn't take my eyes off him making sure he didn't chew his stitches, and by Monday I thought we had this down to a tee. He hadn't tried to touch them, and I felt safe I could sit on the sofa and do some work without needing to sit in his pen. How wrong was I... 

I'd been for a shower, and just sat down to do some work emails, when I heard a rather loud chomp, and looked over at Huckleberry's leg to see it bleeding. Not a lot, and by no means bad, but his operation site was red at the bottom and he had definitely pulled a stitch. Which resulted in a call to the referral vets, who then said I needed to take him to my local vets for a quick check up to ensure one stitch didn't need redoing, or he hadn't caused any damage. 

Which resulted in the most stressful couple of hours ever. Huckleberry was a nervous wreck at the vets, worse than ever. Usually he jumps up at me and sits on my knee in the waiting room, which of course we couldn't allow. He was trembling, tail between his legs and pulling me in all directions - something he's obviously not allowed to also do because of the slippy floor. 

The vet nurse was absolutely lovely and I cannot fault her in anyway, she tended to Huckleberry calmly, sweetly and was in no rush to look at him. She fussed him, made him feel at ease and did all the necessary checks, which was nice. I had a little cry whilst in there and said this all just felt A LOT, like I'm responsible for this dogs hip failing or being a success and it felt like I had a heck of pressure sat on my shoulders. She spent a while talking to me and just basically giving me a break, which I was so grateful for and I will make sure I get her name when I'm back. 

Anyway, we were given the all clear, I purchased a medical suit and off we went home. By this point my head was throbbing, I needed nothing other than a good cry and Huckleberry was fast asleep after stressing him out so much. 

It may seem dramatic but the weight on my shoulders felt heavy. Rightly or wrongly, I felt and do feel responsible for Huckleberrys hip being a success or failure. I am doing everything in my power to keep him safe, prevent him from doing everything he normally does and trying to make sure we are a success story. But, he's a dog, and dogs want to chase Bee's and Cat's, and jump up when they see their owners.... 

As he can't be left at all, we are tag teaming to look after him. It's recommended that Total Hip Replacement patients aren't left alone at all, so when I'm not there, then Mum or Mike is but obviously and naturally it falls to me to do the majority. By Tuesday the pressure was intense, I had pulled something in my neck and was in insane pain from what felt like a trapped nerve. My panic at having to leave him the follow day with Mum whilst I went to London with work was looming, and I spent quite a bit of Tuesday crying and things weighing heavy. Lack of sleep, anxiety and it all was really beginning to build.

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Wednesday came and although I was angry that I had to go into London with work and spend the day away from him, I was so grateful. I managed to catch some sleep on the train both ways, and had a thoroughly enjoyable day with my colleagues, whom all couldn't have been anymore understanding. I had a lovely chat with my boss, who made some slight changes to my schedule over the next 4 weeks, and a weight was instantly lifted. I know many wont have understanding jobs, but I feel lucky to be in this position and be surrounded by encouraging and supportive people. 

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Thursday and Friday were better days and soon enough it was the weekend. Although we're only 2 weeks in, Huckleberry's fur is growing back at a fast rate and his wound has healed nicely. I feel like we're passing Hurdle 2 in this whole scenario and the next hurdle is to get to our 3 week post op check with our surgeon. Although I've sent him videos of Huckleberry walking all week, I don't think my anxiety will truly go away until I get in that room with him and get to speak to him face to face and hear the words "He's doing good". But for now, I don't want to get too excited and our appointment isn't until a week Wednesday so we've got 8 days yet to go! As we all know, a lot can change in 9 days, so as I have throughout all of this, I'm just taking a day at a time. 

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The weekend came and went in a flash and Huckleberry and I spent the majority of it at home watching rubbish Netflix TV and keeping this blog. Mike and I managed to get an evening out on Saturday for a meal whilst Mum came over and looked after Huckleberry which was lovely. It was nice to get a bit of a break and have some normal conversation whilst out the house! 

I was excited for stitch removal day on Monday and although there was almost a little mess up with the appointment, we got in and had them removed. The area looks fantastic and I will forever be grateful to the surgeon for how neat of a job he's done. There seems to be a little crusting and bumps but the vet nurse was sure that was from the dissolvable stitches underneath the skin. He sat like such a good boy whilst having them removed and didn't flinch at all. 

Although Monday was a day of positives with the stitches, I also feel it was a day of two halves as I noticed that Huckleberry was bunny hopping a lot. Immediately I contacted the surgeon and asked him if this meant we would definitely need the Luxating Patella surgery. He said he couldn't comment until week 6-12 and I needed to let everything heal as it was doing until then. He always made it clear if Huckleberry needed it, we would have the next surgery around month 6 of recovery. I guess Monday just felt a little crap because I was finally starting to see the light, and then it almost felt like it was confirmed we would need the next surgery. 

BUT, alas, I need to put a halt on that and focus on recovery for this now... 

So... onto week 3! 

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Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 3 (1 week post op)

Getting the phone call that Huckleberry was awake was genuinely a great sense of relief and I felt for the first time in weeks like I could breathe, this was going to all be okay and I would have my dog back to normal in no time at all. 

Following the call that he was awake, I was able to keep in touch with the night nurse team who said (and more than likely regretted) I could call at any time throughout the night. We had a little panic at 9pm when they said he was still in recovery due to him taking a while to regulate his temperature. I went into a mild (rather large) meltdown but I will be forever grateful that a friend from university, Ally, who is also a vet nurse called my vets and found out exactly what was going on;  then called me and relayed it all in blonde terms. Apparently it happens to a lot of dogs post surgery and Huckleberry's was nothing to worry about. 

I still didn't get much sleep, and was happy for 10:30 the next morning to arrive when it was time to leave to go and fetch him. 

We had gotten the living room ready that morning so he could come home and go straight into his pen. Dogs that have had Hip Replacements aren't allowed to jump up, run, or use any kind of stairs for approximately 12 weeks post surgery, so it's important to ensure the home set up is correct. 

I had decided I would put our spare bedroom mattress downstairs next to what would be Huckleberry's pen for the next few weeks. It's important to limit moving about for the first couple of weeks and although I didn't want him in a crate, I still wanted him secure and limited to where he could walk. 

For anyone going through this, I highly recommend the investment into human baby equipment! It comes without the hefty pet tag and I think I paid roughly £100 for a baby pen that is great. Because we have laminate flooring I also purchased some baby foam tiles that go on the floor to create a none slip surface, which I think were only £13. For when he's allowed more room, I've ordered 4 stair gates to go on all doors downstairs so I can then give him the whole (it's tiny!) living room to walk around. The photo below at the moment shows our set up, and once he's allowed more room, we'll take the mattress back upstairs, I'll sleep on the sofa and the pen will go around the sofa so he can't jump up. 

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Seeing him was something I was nervous about. I don't know why, but I had these ideas in my head that he would look different, or at least his leg would. I also genuinely worried he would hate me for having dropped him off and put him through this. But as he came trying to bound through the waiting room to me whilst the surgeons clinging onto the end of his lead, all of my apprehensions and worries disappeared instantly and I knew I had my boy back. 

We were invited into the room with the surgeon to have a quick chat and once again he answered my million questions (sorry if you're reading this - I promise I'll stop with the questions soon!). He went through all the do's and don'ts again of no jumping, no running, no going up and down stairs and only 6 x 5 minute wee breaks daily! Additionally we were sent home with a bottle of Metacam for pain, and a weeks worth of antibiotics. 

I had read on quite a few Hip Dysplasia and Replacement groups that many dogs are sent home on various amounts of painkillers, sedatives, with hobbles, slings and all sorts. I had expressed my concern to our surgeon that I didn't want Huckleberry sedating, especially not for 6-12 weeks. Thankfully he agreed with me and said he didn't encourage it neither which was refreshing! It felt a relief to have a surgeon on the same page as my thinking, and once again put my mind at ease that I'd picked the right person to do this. 

After that, we were sent on our way which felt fantastic but at the same time scary! The other half had said he would drive so I could put Huckleberry in the boot and then I could sit in the back and keep an eye on him. What I hadn't envisaged was how much of a nervous passenger I would be on that journey and how much I would panic. About 90 minutes into the journey I screamed "he's dead, pull in!" at one stage, because Huckleberry won't move. Turns out he was fast asleep.....and in a rather deep sleep! 

* 

Once home it felt like this huge responsibility was on me to get everything right, and not let anything go wrong. I realised that as much as you would like to follow the rules to a tee, there are times when you just know your own dog and you have to adapt to suit their needs. 

Post Hip Replacement they aren't really allowed to walk, but immediately it became evident I wasn't going to rewire Huckleberry and he wasn't going to start miraculously poo'ing in the garden after 4 years. By day 2 or 3 I had to improvise and carry him to a spot nearby I knew he would poo, and ta-da after holding it in for days, he poo'd and once home settled immediately. It was the same with wee'ing. It just wasn't happening in the front or back garden and it was stressing both me and him out, but as soon as I carried him to a nearby grass patch, he did tonnes and had clearly been holding it in! 

I was getting increasingly stressed reading the Facebook groups and reading I was wrong, or potentially jeopardising Huckleberry's surgery for letting him walk to wee, but genuinely there was nothing else I could do. It was either risk a UTI infection by him not going to the toilet, or take him a short walk and let him wee. It felt like I was and am stuck between a rock and hard place. 

Other than that, I haven't found it all so bad. I've had to sleep on the floor in his pen because otherwise he won't settle, so that's been hard. Lack of sleep combined with the stress and anxiety is ALOT! I've found myself snapping at people, and having very little patience. 

He takes his Metacam daily with ease, and I allow him to eat a bit of his afternoon dinner, then just squirt it into his mouth and he's a good boy. He takes his antibiotic with cheese or stuffed in some sausage - whatever's available really, which is a bonus! 

Personally I think the hardest part for me has been the anxiety and worry. Everything else hasn't felt too hard aside from trying to prevent him from jumping up. Once I realised each dog is different and it's important to remember WE know our dogs, not anyone on Facebook, then we know what to do for the best. I know everyone means well in trying to help, but honestly - it was sending my anxiety through the roof reading it all. 

Keeping a diary has been my saviour and watching progress videos from day 1 to day 7, and then when we hit the day 7 mark I felt a sense of relief that we had made it this far. The problem now is that Huckleberry thinks he's well, and wants to jump up and attempted to chase a pigeon this morning! Not ideal.... 

Anyway, so onto Week 2 feeling a mix of positive, anxiety and like I can't remember what sleep even is.... 

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Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 2 (The operation)

Part 1 of Huckleberry's Hip Replacement can be found here, which explains how I noticed something was wrong with his leg and how I sought veterinary help. 

You'll be glad to know that Part 2 finally gets into the Hip Replacement rather than me banging on about the long drawn out process that lead up to us getting here!

Once I'd gotten our D-Day date, I could feel my anxiety heighten and as the week progressed it got worse. Although I would say that this time around I felt a sense of calm as well in the sense that I had finally come to terms that Huckleberry needed this hip replacement. 

I had watched him spend the last few months struggle after long walks, and it was becoming increasingly hard to watch him limp in the evening and clearly struggle. My heart told me I didn't want him to go through this potentially life changing surgery, but my head told me I had to. 

And although I knew it could be potentially life changing in a good way, I couldn't shake the feeling that it could also be bad; and I knew that before long I would need to sign on a dotted line that basically gave the vets permission to take him away from me and anaesthetise him - which I had no idea if he would have a reaction to or not. 

I asked the surgeon repeatedly what the chances were of him not waking up from the surgery and what were the chances of complications surrounding the hip.

The anxiety of him not waking up played on my mind daily, and although the surgeon tried to put my mind at ease by saying he had only had it happen to one dog (who also had other issues) in all his 12 years of doing Orthopaedic surgery, and I needed to understand Huckleberry had one of the leading Anaesthetic team in the country looking after him - I couldn't relax. 

The problem is, no matter how many times I was told that, or no matter how many times I googled these questions, I still felt like I had a cloud over my head. 

In the week leading up to his surgery I couldn't stop myself from thinking "What if this the last ever time he comes to the beach?" or "What if this is the last time I ever get to take a photo with him?" and I went into overdrive of taking photos of him and soaking up the moments. My mind repeatedly flashed to how many times he'd gotten me up in the mornings when I didn't want to, or the time I was having a particularly hard day and he jumped on me in bed whilst I was crying and shoved his toy in my face to get me to laugh. 

The last few years we'd been through together all resurfaced and I felt like kicking myself all over again, with things that seemed a distant memory popping up and reminding me just how much this dog really was my everything. 

I was angry that I had always done everything right by Huckleberry; he was always fed the most expensive food, visited the vets more often than he needed, signed up to every pet health club going, given the most expensive coats, harnesses, toys, treats - and yet here we were, being punished that he needed such invasive surgery. 

* 

Usually when a dog has a Total Hip Replacement they are admitted the day before to be starved and for pre-op tests and sterilisation. However our surgeon understood my anxiety and after a discussion he said he felt it was best for me and Huckleberry that I arrived very early with him on the morning of surgery. More tests than needed had already been done, and I was happy to starve him at home. The agreement was that I just needed to arrive at the vets for 7am to allow them plenty of time to do anything they needed to before the op. 

The night before felt like a climax of the last 12 months of worry, apprehension, appointments, anxiety and everything we had been through. The sense of relief that the day was finally here and "this time tomorrow, it will all be over and we'll be on the road to recovery" was all that was going through my head. I'd cried many tears over the weeks leading up to this stage, questioning if I was doing the right thing, was I improving Huckleberry's quality of life, what if it went wrong, where do we go from there... my mind was just a whirlwind of emotion. It was hard for me to comprehend that I was making this decision for a dog to remove his bone and replace it with something else.. 

I was fed up with people asking me if I was okay and how I felt that the day was tomorrow.. I just wanted to be in the car and get it out the way. 

*

On the day of surgery, I left home about 2:45am and picked my Aunty up on the way who had offered to come with me. Inwardly I was a mess; all I wanted to do was cry, but outwardly I didn't want Huckleberry to see me crying as it always panics him. 

One thing I love about this vets is that it doesn't "look" or "smell" like a vets when you go in. In fact we joke it's like visiting a very posh private hospital for humans. The waiting room doesn't give off a vets vibe, and the staff couldn't be any nicer. Huckleberry is a nervous dog at the vets and usually insists on sitting on my knee in vets waiting rooms, but never at this one - he happily sits on the floor. 

Finally it's our time to go in and the surgeon talks me through everything he is going to do and once again asks if I have any questions. We discussed that the surgeon has what he calls one of the easier jobs, and that's replacing the hip. The real test is the recovery at home and the complications that can arise such as dislocation, infection and a Hip Replacement failure where it needs to be done again. He spends time assuring me he will do his very best in surgery and at home providing we follow the rules, we should have an easy recovery and everything will go to plan. 

Before long its time to sign on the dreaded dotted line, and hand Huckleberry over whilst being determined not to cry in front of him. 

Initially I'd planned on sitting in the waiting room whilst they did surgery but our surgeon told me to drive the 3.5 hours home, get some rest and promised he would call when they finished later in the evening. 

Walking away from him was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but the sense of relief that today was finally here hit me and I knew I had to do this to give Huckleberry his quality of life he had always known, back. He was a dog that spent most of his days outdoor with me, loved running on the beach and chasing cats - all of which he'd struggled to do lately. 

*

I will always be eternally grateful for my friends that showed up for me on this day. I turned my phone on to texts, well wishes and love from so many people. Later in the afternoon my friend and lovely riding instructor asked me what I was doing whilst Huckleberry was in surgery and said she was coming over to give me a lesson. My partner spent the afternoon with me and everyone around me that knew I would be a nervous wreck rallied round to make sure I knew I wasn't alone. 

* 

I'm not going to sugar coat it, the whole day was a blur and I spent the day clock watching wondering what was going on now, all whilst questioning whether he would hate me for putting him through this, would he be in agony, and most importantly would it work. 

At 4pm I got the call I'd been waiting for all day. Huckleberry was slowly waking up and surgery had been a success. The surgeon was happy with the Hip Replacement, and although it had been a little tricky in the moment, everything had gone as hoped and providing he had a comfortable night I could pick him up the following day. 

The relief that washed over me was so intense, I couldn't do anything but cry. The day was here and we were now on the road to recovery. A long recovery nonetheless, but all those tears, questions, days of watching Huckleberry struggle - it all didn't matter now, because my boy had done it. He'd done the most important thing, and that was wake up and come back to me...and the rest, we could deal with. 

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