ACL Surgery Recover Week 6

Each week we are getting closer and closer to the end of Lola's recovery time. Not a whole lot new to report anymore. We got in for our next check up on Saturday so we will know more then. As of last week Lola was done with her pills that she's been taking since the surgery. Before the surgery she would get done with a pill they could give to help her "sore muscles" and she would instantly mope around withing a day or so. I haven't noticed that with her since she finished her pills this past time. That gives me lots of hope that things are going really well.

This will be one interesting trip to the vet. It's the first time we are taking both dogs! Graham is due for a yearly check up and some shots and Lola is just getting her 2nd post surgery check up. I feel like both our dogs aren't very big fan of the vet so this could either go horribly wrong or go really well since they will have each other there.

Fun in the Leaves

Leaves in our front yard

I got home from work on Friday to find that the tree in our front yard had decided to DUMP it's leaves on our yard. It was like it had snowed a bright yellow snow of leaves in our front yard. It's was pretty amazing at how many where on the ground and how many where still in the tree!! I took the dogs out to go potty and noticed that there seemed to be an extra amount of leaves blowing around in the slight wind that we had. They seemed to be pretty distracted from going potty and pretty playful with the leaves. I decided to take Lola out to the front yard to see what she would do. She got distracted on the way by the leaves that where here and there along the way. It was worth the slow walk to be able to watch this little white fur ball just plow through the leaves once we got to them. Josh even got Graham on his leash and joined us. It was fun watching them not sure what to do with so many leaves, get distract by destroying them, and be amazed and scared when we threw bunches in the air. Here are a few pics from our fun in the leaves Friday afternoon.

Lola a bit distracted with all the leaves

Graham was a bit worried when we tossed leaves in the air.

"So many leaves, so little time!"

It's hard to tell with all the leaves in the pics but there are a few stuck on Lola's face

ACL Surgery Recovery Week 5

I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel!!! I'm getting sad that our vet visit was pushed back a week because I'm anxious to see what he has to say about her process so far. also excited that in a few more weeks things might slowly be getting back to normal for us. She has already showed us she can go up and down stairs. She tried to jump off the couch the other day and that is still a worry of mine, even after she is back to normal. Boy-oh-boy is my butt sore from sitting on the floor for the past 5 weeks though.

We are still seeing some limping, but not to the degree that it was before. The plus side is even though there is a bit of a limp, her energy is back to normal. Another thing I have started to notice is her kicking her leg straight back when she lays down, or sometimes kicking it out when she sits. She was slightly doing these things prior to the surgery so I'm not sure if this is habit for her now, a sign of something, or just a weird nonrelated issue.

Kicking her leg out

I also feel bad for my poor little girl and her "nakie leg". Her fur has slightly grown out but compared to the rest of her, it's naked! We woke up this morning to snow!! Debating on cutting a sock up to put on her leg to help keep her warm since sweaters only cover her front half.

Nakie Leg

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Lola!!

 

 

5 years ago today Patrick Henry of Henry's Maltese replied to an email saying a litter of Maltese puppies had been born, 1 girl and 3 boys. That same day I put the deposit down on the little girl, my sweet little Lola. Patrick was wonderful and sent us puppy pics every few weeks so we were able to watch her grow from a little rat to a little fur ball. I love being able to say Lola was ours from the day she was born and being able to show off pictures of her only a week old!

 

1 week old Lola

 

 We waited patiently until we could bring the tiniest little ball of fluff home. I don't think our lives where ever the same again! She was a little diva from day one.

 

Josh holding puppy Lola



5 years later and it's hard to picture a day without her. We've had our ups and downs with her. From depression after bringing Graham home to being our flower girl in our wedding. I can't  believe how fast time has gone and that my little baby girl is now 5 years old. I can't wait for her to heal form her ACL surgery so we can go on more adventures.

 

Happy Birthday Lola!

Bath Time

 

I finally got the guts on Thursday and gave Lola a bath. She was getting a bit stinky and had some massive eye boogers that were building up. She did WONDERFUL! My first worry was her slipping in the tub. She walked around in the water and had no issues with slipping. My second worry was how she was going to act after the bath. I made sure to have a stack of towels right next to me so I was ready. As soon as I pulled her out I used one towel to do a quick dry and then another one to wrap her up. I basically swaddled her like a little baby and that's how she stayed until she was dry. She even got comfy enough to fall asleep. I know this because she snored the whole hour I was watching Parenthood. So glad I have a clean fluffy butt now :). Next step is to start working up the courage to get her groomed!

 

ACL Surgery Recovery Week 4

Well folks, we hitting the half way mark with Lola's ACL surgery. Thank Goodness!!!! She is getting to be a handful! Sunday night I ran into the trunk we had set up to block her from going down the stairs. It's turning into a lovely bruise. This morning she managed to sneak around the trunk, make her way down the stairs, and take a morning nap at the bottom of the stairs while I got ready for work.

Although she is feeling better and seems to have loads of energy again we are still noticing a limp. I think it's just getting stiff when she falls asleep and I also feel like this cold weather may have something to do with. I'm keeping an eye on it to make sure we don't need to see the vet.

I am ready to get her groomed. I know we are nearing the time period that the vet said it would be ok but I'm still feeling uneasy. She's starting to get a bit stinky but I'm to worried to even give her a bath. It's not so much the bath that worries me but the risk of crazy wet dog at the bath. There are two post bath Lola's. Post bath Lola 1  will let me carry her and cuddle her like a newborn baby swaddled up in her towel. Post bath Lola 2 turns into crazy wet dogs and freaks out around the house. I'm worried she'll turn into Post bath Lola 2 and hurt herself while freaking out around the house. I feel like this is one of t hose things where I'm going to have to suck it up and do it sooner then later. She is also getting some good eye buggies and isn't letting me fix them for her.

This seems like such a short updated but as the weeks go by I have less and less to report on. I feel like within the first few weeks we jumped over most of the hurdles and now we are just waiting for the vet to say all is good and healed.

Lil Paw Prints Boutique

You may, or may not, know that I have recently been thinking about making dog collars. A handful of weeks ago I made my first collar and haven't done much since. I decided to try and get myself motivated again. This is something I think I can do and want to give it a try. Why not!? Here are photos of my first try and Lola being a great model.

It was the first try for both of us lol. We'll get better as we go along, I'm sure of it.

To help keep myself motivated I've created my etsy shop and also set up a Facebook page! Click here to visit the Facebook page, it's not exciting yet. I'm hoping to expand from dog collars to leashes, maybe harnesses, dog beds, clothes.....the sky's the limit! Lola's recent surgery has me pondering how to make leg warmers for dogs who have just had surgery lol. Poor thing, it just keeps getting colder and colder for the morning and bedtime potty times. Her fluffy fur just isn't growing in fast enough!

Fall

It's that time of year again. It grows darker faster, the air has a crisp chill to it (some days!), and the leaves are turning into the lovely shades of autumn. Fall has got to be, paws down, Lola's favorite season. She watches the leaves, she chases the leaves, she chews and destroys the leaves, and sometimes a leaf or two somehow makes it into the house......and then gets ripped to shreds. Graham also enjoys these activities but not the extent that Lola does.

 

I feel like Fall is also a great time for photos! The long shadows, the colors, and fluffy fall fur on the pups. Ok so my pups fluffy fur isn't so much a weather related thing as other pups.

Handsome Graham

The only down fall to the lovely weather, colorful leaves, and playful puppies is that potty time takes a bit longer. It's a more comfortable temperature for them to want to be outside and when a good gust of wind gets those leaves a blowin, oh boy! I think Lola would swim in a pile of leaves if given the chance.

Mom I'm to busy eating a leaf to get my pic taken!

Destroyed Leaf

The other hard part is Lola's recovery. I know she's feeling better but I'm worried if I let her get to crazy with the leaves she'll hurt herself. So I limit play time with the leaves. By time she is given the thumbs up on recovery I think it'll be to cold to enjoy all this outside time. I do sit outside with her and let her enjoy it though. I'm excited for next year already when we can sit out side for longer amounts of time watching the leaves.

ACL Surgery Recovery Week 3

I'm not sure how many weekly updates I'll have to be doing! Lola seems to be getting better and better each day and becoming more and more like her old self, a handful! She is one fluffy ball of energy.

This week we have had to try harder to keep her from doing things she shouldn't. Telling her and Graham to not play happens nearly daily, blocking the stairs is an every day thing, and not placing to many pillows by the couch is a biggie!

Two things happened this week that have proven just how much better she is feeling. The first thing was stealing one of Josh's dirty socks. She hasn't done this since before her surgery. The second thing was jumping on the back of the couch. She isn't allowed on the couch because we are afraid of her jumping off of it if we aren't paying 110% to her. Instead the opposite happened. We had her on the couch and making sure she stayed on when suddenly she turned around and jumped up the back of the couch! Although I know this was a bit of a no-no it was something nice to see. Before her surgery she had began to struggle getting up the back of the couch. It was one of those small signs that you saw and knew "something is wrong with my dog, this isn't in my head".

Below is a video of Lola walking a week before the surgery and Lola walking today. The first clip in the video isn't the best limping video but it shows how she was beginning to struggle walking around. The second clip in the video was taken today. I think it's pretty amazing how well she is walking only three weeks after surgery! (Hopefully this video works, I'm struggling getting it to upload on here and on YouTube).

Our next vet visit was scheduled for Sept 28th. Due to our vet being out of town we had to push it back one week. I was pumped to take her in last time to show off how well she was doing. I'm even MORE pumped to show off her recovery now!

Getting Better Each Day

Watching Lola heal has been an amazing process. It was sad to see her in pain when she first came home but I'm loving having my hyper Maltese back. Besides the limping, Lola was also moping around a bit prior to her surgery. When she would go on pain pills to help her "sore muscle" she would get so hyper again and after the pills mope around and limp. Seeing her get hyper the second time she was on the pills was what really made me think "this isn't in my head, something is wrong!". This past week I have watched Lola turn more and more into her old self. This past week she has:

1.) She has been able to crawl on my lap. I'm enjoying her sleeping in my legs as I sit on my computer and have even enjoyed some cuddle time with her on my lap.

2.) Going up and down stairs like nothing was ever wrong with her! This is a big no-no and Josh improvised and we now have a road block set up.

 

 

3.) And the biggest sign that she is feeling well came today. The first time since surgery she stole one of Josh's dirty sock!

 



A Little Graham Time

Lola has been getting a lot of attention lately, both online and offline. I thought because of this Graham deserved a blog post all about him. He's been doing super good with Lola. Even before Lola's surgery he seemed to know when she wasn't up to playing with him and would leave her alone. Since her surgery he has done a good job with letting her heal and not wrestling around. The last few days you can tell he's been itching to play with her and it's hard to keep both of them from trying to race around the house! I hate saying no when they play, I don't want them to think playing is bad. But sadly, I must say no for a few weeks still. The last few times I've said no graham has done a good job of backing off but it's Lola that's starting to try and pick the fight. But enough about Lola!!

To try and wear Graham out I've been trying to go on walks with him. We have a route we take that goes around our neighborhood. We've even added a little bit of running into our walks lately. I'm super careful and we only run a block before taking some time out to walk. I make sure to keep my eye on him during and after the walks/runs to make sure nothing is wrong, don't want two doggies to have surgery! If we run in our walks I make sure to give Graham a day or two to rest.....just in case!

Graham does really well on walks. It's something he's just naturally good at. I remember taking him to puppy class and when we were learning to loose leash walk he was already walking by my side keeping eye contact with me the whole time! The few times he pulls is when we first come out of the house and he's excited to get either in a car or to the sidewalk, and when we get on the sidewalk outside our house. Other then that it's rare to get a pull from him. He doesn't stop to mark things on walks, occasionally barks at things, and one only a walk or two he's gone goofy and had to sniff every pinecone we walked past and be silly in people's yard! He also dislikes walking on anything but the sidewalk. If the sidewalk is busted up and gravel like he will walk around it or jump over it.

Their is one yard that gives me trouble with Graham anytime we go buy it. It's tough to get him not to bark. If he isn't barking he's super alert  and no longer paying attention to me. Graham's arch-nemesis lives in this yard. His arch-nemesis is white with many black spots, a red collar, and never barks or moves. The enemy of all enemies is a statue of a Dalmatian! I don't know how Graham can't tell that this dog doesn't have  a scent and isn't real. Boy-oh-boy does this Dalmatian drive Graham NUTS! Some days I'm laughing so hard I want to go knock on their door so they can see just what there fake dog does to my real dog!

Enemy #1

ACL Surgery Recovery Week 2

As the vet said on Saturday, 2 weeks down 6 more to go. After our amazing vet visit this weekend I have been feeling loads of relief that Lola is doing better. And he wasn't wrong about her wanting to be back to normal making the recovery process harder! She has escaped upstairs again and is itching to play with Graham. I feel awful telling them no when they start to play.

Preventing Lola from sneaking upstairs

After sneaking up stairs during breakfast the other day I had to figure out a way to keep her downstairs while I ate my breakfast. I started by putting the leash around my ankle but quickly found it hard to maneuver in any direction Lola didn't want to go. After a few days of the leash on my ankle I decided to tie the leash onto the oven door handle. It's been working pretty good so far and Lola and I have enjoyed eating our breakfasts together.

Not really much more to update on with Lola since her recovery is doing so well. She is no longer wearing the cone of shame since all the stitches are gone and her incision is nearly healed. Monday marked Lola's last day on pain pills but she is still taking a daily anti-inflammatory. Each day I feel like she is using her bad leg a little more. She's been able to sit on my lap a couple times and is back to laying in bed, sharing my pillow with me for a portion of the night. I enjoy having my lap dog back.

2 weeks since surgery and hardly any sign of it.