I would love your input. Thank you!
In April thanks to the works of Shigeru we had a male and female Kai Ken added to our pack. The female Akari who just turned 6 months old this week is very friendly and outgoing but not the one to cuddle for long because she is one busy girl. Her name meaning artificial light describes her personality because if there is no sunshine she is the one that will brighten your day. Her happy and friendly disposition reflects happiness to all around her; she really puts a smile on the faces of those she meets.
Fester’s life changing day started out normal getting up playing with the pack for an hour or so until I leave for work when I say “Mai Tai come get your pill” (Mai Tai has to take a pill twice a day because she has a seizure disorder like her sister Nori) all dogs come running to wait until Mai Tai gets her pill and then a treat when all of the rest get a treat too and then I send them to nap time in bed with Rob for a few hours. Rob’s alarm goes off and the pack is up and ready for play it’s not long before Rob is heading outside for a cigarette and the packs hears him rolling one up and waits excitedly to see which door they will be following him out for some outside play. This following Rob inside and outside playing all the way last for about three hours until Rob has to leave for work and calls “Kennel up Kennel up“ when all the Kais run for a cage and wait for Rob to bring them a chicken jerky, says good-bye and shuts them in.
I had a long day at work and had to drop something off at my mothers on the way home on this day. I remember looking at my watch and seeing it was 5:30 thinking oh what a bummer when I get home it will be almost three hours since Rob left for work it will be Fester and Akari’s longest cage stay since they have been here. When I got home I let everyone out and we greeted and played I then opened the back door and Fester, Akari, Mai Tai and Kaito all went out in the back yard I got the mail listened to phone messages and went to the bathroom then heard a scream that sounded like Fester or Akari when they puppy bite each other. I then heard it again but this time it did not stop, I hurried out back and saw Fester in the middle of the other three screaming and snapping at them as they were trying to see what the matter with him was. Because Mai Tai, my Kai that if she was a human would be a nurse or nanny, was trying to assess or help him I had to pick him up to assess the situation myself. This is when I was attacked. I remember thinking I was thinking this would hurt more than it is and look my arm with the sleeve down hurts less than the arm with the sleeve pushed up, poor little guy must be hurt really bad. I could see it was a back leg and there was no blood so I set him down, brought the other dogs in, called the animal hospital to say I was on my way, threw on a thick sleeved coat and leather work gloves then went to pick him up. He was just sitting and drooling so I got him in the car and drove to the hospital. Waiting for the doctor he drooled tons they took him back to x-ray and assess him I was thinking I had better let Rob know what was going on so I looked at my watch and it was 6:30 I could not believe that it had only been an hour since I had left my mother’s place so much had happened I was thinking it had been hours. The doctor came out to tell me Fester had broken his leg but it was so bad of a break that he needed surgery it could not be casted and they were concerned about the drooling he had dehydrated himself. They showed me the x-ray and no one had to point out the break to me it was so large and obvious luckily the surgeon had a surgery day the next day and had an opening. His drooling was because the pain had put him in shock which caused him to drool so he was hydrated and had his pain managed until he saw the surgeon the next day. He was all hooked up and laying in a cage when I left. Rob and I both went up to visit when he came home from work and the poor little puppy was all hooked and thank goodness appeared to be not in pain and resting quietly.
Fester’s life changing day started out normal getting up playing with the pack for an hour or so until I leave for work when I say “Mai Tai come get your pill” (Mai Tai has to take a pill twice a day because she has a seizure disorder like her sister Nori) all dogs come running to wait until Mai Tai gets her pill and then a treat when all of the rest get a treat too and then I send them to nap time in bed with Rob for a few hours. Rob’s alarm goes off and the pack is up and ready for play it’s not long before Rob is heading outside for a cigarette and the packs hears him rolling one up and waits excitedly to see which door they will be following him out for some outside play. This following Rob inside and outside playing all the way last for about three hours until Rob has to leave for work and calls “Kennel up Kennel up“ when all the Kais run for a cage and wait for Rob to bring them a chicken jerky, says good-bye and shuts them in.
I had a long day at work and had to drop something off at my mothers on the way home on this day. I remember looking at my watch and seeing it was 5:30 thinking oh what a bummer when I get home it will be almost three hours since Rob left for work it will be Fester and Akari’s longest cage stay since they have been here. When I got home I let everyone out and we greeted and played I then opened the back door and Fester, Akari, Mai Tai and Kaito all went out in the back yard I got the mail listened to phone messages and went to the bathroom then heard a scream that sounded like Fester or Akari when they puppy bite each other. I then heard it again but this time it did not stop, I hurried out back and saw Fester in the middle of the other three screaming and snapping at them as they were trying to see what the matter with him was. Because Mai Tai, my Kai that if she was a human would be a nurse or nanny, was trying to assess or help him I had to pick him up to assess the situation myself. This is when I was attacked. I remember thinking I was thinking this would hurt more than it is and look my arm with the sleeve down hurts less than the arm with the sleeve pushed up, poor little guy must be hurt really bad. I could see it was a back leg and there was no blood so I set him down, brought the other dogs in, called the animal hospital to say I was on my way, threw on a thick sleeved coat and leather work gloves then went to pick him up. He was just sitting and drooling so I got him in the car and drove to the hospital. Waiting for the doctor he drooled tons they took him back to x-ray and assess him I was thinking I had better let Rob know what was going on so I looked at my watch and it was 6:30 I could not believe that it had only been an hour since I had left my mother’s place so much had happened I was thinking it had been hours. The doctor came out to tell me Fester had broken his leg but it was so bad of a break that he needed surgery it could not be casted and they were concerned about the drooling he had dehydrated himself. They showed me the x-ray and no one had to point out the break to me it was so large and obvious luckily the surgeon had a surgery day the next day and had an opening. His drooling was because the pain had put him in shock which caused him to drool so he was hydrated and had his pain managed until he saw the surgeon the next day. He was all hooked up and laying in a cage when I left. Rob and I both went up to visit when he came home from work and the poor little puppy was all hooked and thank goodness appeared to be not in pain and resting quietly.
Comments
In two weeks he got his stitches out and got to take off the cone his restriction were to remain the same for the next two weeks. He also was taken of all drugs except for acepromazine which we only use for Range-of-motion and this is only because he would not tolerate the hip part, I spoke with the staff at the hospital showed them how I was doing it to see if I was doing something wrong I was doing the best he would allow and they gave me a few more exercise I could try and had a very hard time with me helping them get him the buy into doing or relaxing to do any range-of-motion the same problems we have every time. We continued with the restrictions and trying the Range-of-motion and he would do great except for the hip and would start to tense up when working on it. The restrictions got harder and harder because he wanted to get out and play like a puppy should be doing and would let us know it another heart breaker for the poor little puppy. This must be why they told me so many times and stressed how important it is he had strict restrictions because if he plays and get bumped or just runs and jumps up or down a step he could move the rod or wires in the leg and it would be more pain for the puppy, a longer recovery, another $4000.00 surgery and $600.00 a day pain management until the doctor can fit him in for another surgery.
In two more weeks he was able to take two 5 minute walks, on a short leash, a day and we were than able to increase the time 5 more minutes a day as tolerated. He still continued to not tolerate the range-of-motion and it is harder and harder because his tolerance to the acepromazine is up and he is growing bigger and stronger but we still worked at it. Also since the accident he will not sit down while in the car which is much safer and stable for his leg. I have tried different cages, the seat, holding him and the floor and he insists on standing I am not sure if it hurt so bad when I took him to the hospital when he broke his leg but he was pretty out of it in shock from pain I believe before I put him in the car. This sure changed our habits of taking our pack with us most everywhere because how could we leave the little guy at home alone so now some say and some go.
The week-end before this last appointment we needed to go out of town and with his restrictions and the other dogs it worked out better for him to stay with my sister who he had met once before at an Easter family gathering. I was very worried because of all the lack of the important socialization he has had at such an impressionable age because of his restrictions form the surgery. He had been here around 4 weeks before the injury and had not yet started puppy classes. Luckily we had gotten him out to visit a variety of ages of people in different environments one being a kids birthday party and another being the Pet Fair and also to a few of the food cart places for socializing, they are great for socializing and we sure have them popping up all around in Portland. He went shopping at Home Depot twice and once at Bed Bath and Beyond. When he came he was little so I carried him around to other places too in the community in a front pack for dogs, he got lots of attention and experiences. But for over two months he had been caged up only socializing with Rob, myself and our pack, when any one came over he would go in to a cage guarding mode and bark his head off.
When we arrived at my sisters and got him out of the cage to move it into the house he went wild running all around her house sliding on the hardwood floors just like he is not suppose to do because of the surgery and would not settle down. I had to give him one of the pills so he could slow down and get use to the environment. It was not long before he settled down and got to know the house and yard so he was not so excited and in fast mode, because she has not pets he was able to spend more time out of the cage when he was calmly resting. Things were going great he was not having a problem with this different person so we left I was still worried so I call in a little over an hour to check after Kaito, Akari, Rob and I finished class before we left town and things were going excellent Fester was having no problems adapting to the change matter-of –fact he was doing perfectly fine Rob and I were the ones having a problem worrying about nothing. I was so relieved that the socializing we got in and the efforts of Shigeru before he came to us really paid off even with the amount of time he spent locked up in a cage recently.
My sister did have one problem with him that she will never forget and either will I. She currently is dating and had gentleman pick her up to go out to the Art Museum she had dressed and was wearing a skirt but Fester that had been caged saw the skirt and wanted to tug on it and play, it was right at his eye level, so she changed to jeans when her date arrived she changed back to the skirt ready to leave. She is a smoker and smokes outside on her patio she, her date and Fester all went outside while she had a cigarette letting Fester got to the bathroom before they left. I guess Fester grabbed a hold of her shirt and tugged well he had a good grip and he tugged and tugged she pulled and yelled doing everything she could to get him to let go of the skirt but he won the tug-of-war and skirt came down, she had been pantsed by Fester in front of a gentleman she had only been out with a few times. She was so embarrassed, I ask what the gentleman did and she said he laughed pretty darn hard as she and I did when she told me about it. Fester had no problems at all with the stranger, my sister said Fester was so comfortable that after the Art Museum they had pizza at her place to be with Fester and Fester was very friendly and playful he would not leave the guys socks on his feet but she quickly had changed back to her jeans when she got home not going to be pantsed by Fester again.
I am sorry this is a very long post but I did want you to get back ground before I get to the questions I am asking for your input on about this 4 ½ month old Kai Ken puppy. Thank you for reading and your input which I will value. Which choice for Fester would you make? Let him be the way he is with no muscle in the front of his leg he broke or try the range-of-motion to try and build up the muscle? When making this decision the breed needs to be considered. The doctor said she has no prior knowledge of the Kai Ken breed but she did some research and could not find that the breed has any bone or orthopedic problems or concerns.
Fester seems to hate and fights the range-of-motion; Rob is not thrilled with the range-of-motion because Fester does not like it and would do anything to get out of doing it. It is nothing I like to do to him, the poor little guy. If we don’t try to strengthen the muscle will he protect it not let anyone touch it later in his life which can cause problems if there is a need to do something related to it for some reason? Will it be just fine and not bother him at all later? Is it really fair to not try and build the muscle if there is a chance it may help? Or the flip side is it fair to touchier him if it ends up not helping much or at all? My gut says try the range-of-motion because there is a chance it will help let him get back the muscle so it is the way he was before the tragic incident. Some are telling me he has been through enough why touchier him it may not be doing any good at all just causing him more pain while doing it.
I did get a suggestion to have him walk in water to strengthen the muscle so, the wading pool is out ready to be filled up I know Mai Tai will be happy to see the pool with water in it again for her to play in and hopefully Fester will be one to like the water too and it will help him. We are also trying the heat pack and massage which he is not buying into at all.
Other then the muscle problem that I am asking for any and all input, knowledge and suggestions to help us make the correct decisions for Fester. Everything checked out great; he gets to start playing with the pack in little increments with adult supervision working it up to full force which should be in 4 weeks where he will have no limitations or restrictions at all again. Yeah for my little Fester boy!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you again for your time.
I am SO sorry that you guys have had to go through this. Poor Fester.
As for the PT, I am sort of in the same boat. So I will tell you what I am going to do. (Background, I had a pretty major spine injury and am just over 6 weeks out of surgery.)
PT is expensive. Even with insurance, I will still have to pay $40 per visit. However, PT is the only way to get back to where I need to be with my core strength and will hopefully help some of the nerve pain associated with my injury. So, what I plan on doing is going to PT 3 times to learn what exercises I should be doing and get some help with range of motion stuff. After the 3 visits, I will work at home and visit once every 2 weeks to be re-evaluated. After a month, I will start going once every month until I am able to go back to full duty. I am not sure how long this will take, but I will start next week.
So what I would suggest for you and Fester is to go to PT 2 or 3 times. See what types of exercises they suggest, learn how to do them comfortably for Fester and work on it at home. I know water therapy is great, but I am not sure how to go about doing it with a dog. (other than have them walk around in circles in a wading pool!)
I know that a few forum members have taken their pups to PT after an injury. Hopefully they will chime in soon. Best of luck, and give Fester a little extra love from us!
Kaiya had an injury in both rear legs over the winter and we have had her in PT since. We have been going once a week (with a week off here and there) since March. In that time, her right leg is completely healed and the left is just about there. The only real reason we are continuing the therapy is because she cannot be reevaluated by the doctor until the end of the month and we dont want to risk that she wasnt healed.
We do not go into the therapy with her. At the facility, she gets massage, LED therapy, and Magnetic field therapy as well as manual therapy manipulating the leg as well as working on her core muscles. We then have a slew of exercises we do at home (although she is tolerating these less and less) which mostly work on her core and balance.
I would recommed that you try to do at least a little bit of PT because you dont want the muscle that does exist to stiffen or deteriorate from lack of use. I would think that Fester probably compensates for this leg quite a bit and uses the other 3 more. That being said, it is very expensive and we were lucky in that we didnt have to pay for surgery on top of PT. If they let you in the room, watch what they are doing, ask a lot of questions, and work the leg at home.
Thats my $0.02.
Happy Healing and lots of love to Fester!