The Day After

The neuter went ok yesterday. There was excessive bleeding, so the doctor was a bit worried about Von Willebrand disease, but the bleeding stopped, so she just wanted me to know to be aware if he needs any other surgeries at some point in the future. When I brought him home last night he was still a bit stoned, but he had no problems gobbling up supper. The nurse said to feed him a bit at a time, so I did. Oak was not impressed by the fact that he only got a wee bit of food, then had to wait! He was also not as tired as I expected him to be. He even wanted to play a bit!(I didn't let him, though) He tried to chew on his incision a couple of times and it started bleeding, sooo....now he has to wear a cone :( Poor little man.

This is him outside drinking from a flower pot:)

Now for the bad news. We had his hips xrayed while he was asleep, and they don't look good. I was really surprised by this, because I thought they would be perfect. We have never noticed him having any issues with them.





We'll take xrays again after he turns 2 years, and until then we will be concentrating on joint care. Starting tomorrow, I will be adding several supplements to his diet. My vet suggested Sasha's Blend and also an Omega 3 oil like Krill or Salmon.
Oak wil also receive occasional accupuncture and chiropractic treatments. I hope to find a place to take him swimming so we can increase the muscle mass in a nonjarring way.

Eight years ago my daughter's 2 year old golden (Zanara) was diagnosed with 3rd degree hip dysplasia. At that time we switched everyone to raw and supplemented Zanara with high doses of Ester C, glucosamine and chondrotin. She is now 10 and is still in great shape. The only time she is in pain is when we go up to the cottage and she runs around and swims for hours on end. Then my daughter makes sure to give her MSM as well and this helps out a lot.

So for now, we are relaxing at home so he can recover from his surgery, then back to training, hopefully regular swimming and for me, more research.