When Grandpère brought our dog, Diana, home from the vet last Thursday, he put her papers on the kitchen counter, and they were soon covered with other papers and lost to sight. Yesterday, when I was clearing off the counter, I came across them and noticed in the directions for her care that "Absolute Cage Rest" was checked off.
I was shocked. First of all, we do not have a cage. When she travels in the car, she sits on the seat. Second, she would have been very unhappy if we had put her in a cage once she came home. The only bone that was broken in the accident was one under her eye which was damaged and had to be removed. The vet said that it should heal on its own.
When humans are in the hospital and go home to convalesce, doctors usually recommend that they begin to move around rather quickly, if possible. The first two or three days Diana was home, she hardly moved except to go out to do her poop and pee. Now she is moving a good bit, and she walks better every day. She even did a little hip-hop today.
Tomorrow, we take her to have the stitches taken out of her eye, and according to the directions, she should still have been in a cage until the next visit to the vet. The recommendation that she be confined for that long a period doesn't seem right to me
Anyway, I'm glad that we never saw those directions, because I think she was much better off moving around, as she was able.
Any of you who have not been following the saga, you can read the earlier posts here, here, and here.
Some dogs who have been crate trained really find their crates safe and comforting spots. Since Diana never experienced a crate in this way, it would have been counterproductive for her. It would have created anxiety instead of calming her and helping her sleep.
ReplyDeleteDon't waste time feeling guilty or defensive. You did the right thing and I'm sure she will be fine.
If I may don my dog-breeder hat at this point and echo everything that John Bassett has said ... All of our present dogs (bar one) are crate-trained and are perfectly happy to retreat there for their rests. It is when we kennel another, guest, dog who is not so trained that total chaos ensues!
ReplyDeleteGrandmere, only you know your dog's true needs!
Thank you, both, for not making me feel guilty. While she was at the vet's, she was happier in her crate than in the room where we visited her. My daughter's dogs seem happy to go into their crates.
ReplyDeleteWe have never really owned our dogs. They seem to own us. It's our fault, because we're slack in the training department.
RR, what kind of dogs do you breed?
Champion Labrador Retrievers, Grandmere. Our last litter of six was last January, and we kept two of the males. So we "own" (your definition is more accurate!) four, including the mother and George, an elderly "uncle."
ReplyDeleteWe think we've reached the end of the line now, as the work becomes increasingly harder and the costs rise. Also, finding perfect homes for this breed is a tough task as so many place a Lab on their accessory wish-list, not realizing how much work they are. One of my saddest moments last summer was to drive a hundred miles to take back a puppy from a family who simply couldn't cope. (The wonderful outcome was finding a new home for Daisy in Virginia!)
Mimi, i'm so glad to hear that Diana is recuperating so nicely! And i echo the wise statements of John & RR. You did the right thing - if Diana wasn't used to a crate at home, then it would likely have just added unnecessary stress to her convalescence.
ReplyDeletei also know all too well what it feels like to be owned by a dog!!
glad to hear that Diana is doing better...
ReplyDeleteyou did the right thing, I know.
I love when our puppy broke her leg, and they said in the instructions, "No jumping,". but they didn't tell us how to accomplish that.
As soon as she started the pain medication, she wanted to jump. hard to keep a 10 week old puppy down.
Thanks for the good wishes, Scott and Diane. Yes, how do you keep a puppy from jumping?
ReplyDeleteDiana is spoiled now, too. She takes her six pills a day best in bite-sized pieces of hot dogs.
RR, my son and daughter-in-law planned to breed Champion Basset hounds. Their dog had one litter of 10, I believe - they just kept coming and coming - and after caring for the puppies and finding homes for them, that was the end of that project. They have three of their own now, but no more breeding.
Glad to hear that Cousin Diana is doing so well. I once, rather briefly (she ran with other dogs, whose legs were long enough to dart in front of cars and get away with it) had a bassett. Extremely sweet-natured; FAR heavier than you expect, given their height, and pretty-well totally un-house-trainable. Not even paper! My present dogs can be pretty productive in that direction as they get older, but there are three of them, and Abigail - the bassett's name - could effortlessly out-perform the three of them.
ReplyDelete(((((Mimi)))) (((Diana)))
ReplyDeleteBlessings for big healing to continue for the spoiled princess pooch!
Ten puppies!! Quite wonderfully amazing!! The breed is renowned for such litters. Not so Labs. Lizzie the dam gave birth to six alive, but three still. They were quietly interred in my patch of the woods.
ReplyDeleteCher Grandmere, changng the subject competely - I have made reference to this, your blog on my own this evening, but as I am working on a Mac notebook I have no idea yet how to create a link. Pardonez moi. I will correct this by (a) getting to my PC when my daughter had finished her homework, and/or (b) reading my Mac for Dummies book!
Lapin, all three of my son's Bassetts have different personalities. The mother is a lovely, sweet-natured dog. The father is nice enough, but not nearly as loving as Babs. Their son, Junior, is the dumbest dog I've ever known, no sense at all, and he barks a lot, too. If you knock on his head, it sounds hollow. I'm not joking. There's not much brain in there.
ReplyDeleteThey are heavy dogs and are prone to hip and leg problems, because of the short legs and heavy weight.
RR, our back yard is a veritable pet graveyard. Over the years, we've taken in many stray cats and two stray dogs. At one time we had six cats and one dog.
Whenever you get to the link is fine.
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ReplyDeleteRowan? Your Grace?
ReplyDeleteRR, Rowan is Diana's virtual dog friend. He has not yet requested to be addressed as "Your Grace", but I would not be surprised if it came to that.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't yet taught our Diana to use the keyboard.
I will, of course, await his enthronement! (Or should that be encratement?)
ReplyDeleteAwww, Mimi. I'm just catching up with you after the whole saga. I'm glad Diana is OK. Poor thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blessings bestowed upon Diana and her human counterparts, and for the good news they bear.
ReplyDeleteI like dogs too well to keep 'em in the city. ' least, one bigger than 400 people.
LJ, it's quite a story, isn't it? I had one terrible, unnecessary night of worry.
ReplyDeleteJohnieb, we have more than 400 people in our city, but we have a dream of a back yard for a dog. She has no complaints there.
Ah yes, where she may freely bark at squirrels all over the yard on her rope and eating Pecans until her butterball ass needs the workout, honey, I'm telling ya.
ReplyDeleteBreakfasts of light toast, dropped by my father, around 06:00am, most mornings of her life.
RIP, dear Snoopy: Terrorist to Mail Carriers, German Shepherds, (though Liederhosen were rarer than hens' teeth) and unexpected guests, till we opened the door for them, then EXUBERANT WELCOME. Sometimes I was as glad to see her as anybody; she knew me when I got back, like I'd been away at school, as perhaps I had.
Diana's like Snoopy. She barks until you're inside, and then you're her BFF.
ReplyDeleteYeah, our little Rock for many years--"your sister's puppy"
ReplyDelete--right: a robust little red brown Dachschund. My Daddy cried when she died: one of the best things I heard about him.
I continue to send love and prayers. And I am so glad that you did not have a cage...
ReplyDeleteWhat keeps Diana wrapped up is simply your love.
Grandmère, Trust Diana. She is like any other living being. She will know how much she will be able to do and when. Any little furry family member in this household has always had more wisdom in that regard than I have. Most have made it to ripe old ages. I was so thankful to hear just how well she is doing.
ReplyDeleteFran, Boocat, thanks. She's a grand girl, you know.
ReplyDelete