I've so missed being able to keep up with you! I had Internet problems galore and had to get repairs three times since I previously wrote.
My notes today are about the hazards of dogs with stitches. I thought I was so smart with the pink pants on Power. He didn't mind having them on and I was so relaxed and assured that all was well.
Well, of course he didn't mind having them on...he knew that as soon as I turned my back that he could get his long skinny nose and tongue under the edge of the pants, and he could chew the stitches out, pull the pant fabric back into place, take a nap, and Mom would be blissfully unaware! He ripped those stitches out one day post surgery and had to have everything repeated.
After putting him and my checkbook through the second surgery, I determined to try to outwit him (Power). I have a Vet who hates the big plastic collars, so I did a bit of research and decided on a large bath towel wrapped snugly around his neck . The idea was to keep him from being able to bend his neck to lick his hip.
 |
| towel around neck, shoestring to shorts |
 |
| towel, pink retainer band, shoestring to shorts, grey shorts |
It worked great while he was still somewhat sedated, but as soon as his brain cells reactivated, I saw that his tongue was going after those stitches like a heat-seeking missile!
I decided to sacrifice a pair of my old biking shorts to the cause and so I then cut small holes in the waistband so that a shoestring could be threaded through the waist and tied snugly to keep the shorts up around his waist. I then tied the shoestring to the bandanna around his neck so that the shorts would not fall off. "Senor Houdini" has tried to get to the stitches but so far he has not succeeded. He gets a lot of laughs from neighbors but I don't mind that. I have to remember to take them off when I am letting him go out in the yard for potty breaks, or he will pee in the pants ( not having any other choice). I learned that too the hard way. The day I forgot them and he wet the shorts, I had to put a different pair on him while I laundered the first pair. He didn't like the nylon material of the second pair and had them ripped off in short order, along with the neck towel. When I put the original cotton shorts back on him, he left them alone.
The vet wanted the stitches in place for two weeks, because the thin skin of the greyhound pulls apart easily if not well healed. As the two weeks progressed, I had to learn ways to distract Power from eating the cotton shorts, chewing out the shoestring, and generally working on removing the stitches. The towel was partially effective around his neck to keep him from bending his neck to get to his hip. He figured out how to pull the safety pins out of the towel and then whipped it off. So I taped the towel with duct tape, and the next am he had duct tape all over his face and very little on the (now removed) towel!
 |
| Stitches |
 |
| Power survived all the clothing craziness! Waiting for hair to grow back. All is well! |
Kudos to you for these creative solutions. To date I have not been able to find anything that works - other than personally stalking the dog. As soon as I turn my head, or fall asleep, the stitches come out. I actually found a piece of a stitch stuck in Truly's teeth!
ReplyDeleteHope Power heals promptly without to many shenanigans. 😊
Welcome back you were missed! I am so glad to see that Power is healing so well. I wanted to tell you a story about one of our horses. He laid open his side once almost in the same spot as Power's injury. It was about 10" long and laid open about 3". It was horizontal in shape and our vet said he would stitch him up but he doubt that it would ever hold. Sure enough every stitch came out (that was money down the drain) and you know that huge laceration healed up completely on it's own with me putting Iodine on it, and he had the tiniest scar on his hip. To this day we still don't know what he caught it on but guessed it was some fencing.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you and Power are through this! You are quite ingenious.
ReplyDeleteThat's a tough place for stitches too! Glad you have been successful in getting him healed up.
ReplyDeleteSo glad Power is healied and just his fur to grow back. Might be worth getting him a muzzle. if he's an ex racer he'll be use tro it, so it shouldn't bother him.
ReplyDeleteI applaud you, such patience and love for your doggies.
ReplyDeleteSo happy things are better!
It seems a lot of us have had computer issues. I had to buy a new one. :(
ReplyDeletePower has been quite a busy dog, hasn't he? At least you are exercising his mind, you are quite inventive! I'm glad he's all healed up and you can relax a bit. The things we do for our pets!