Elijah's gallbladder surgery is 8/7

So happy he's home, he slept well. The drugs definitely have him stoned. Drank, peed but did not really want to eat. Tried his soaked kibble again but he did not like the mush. So I hand fed regular kibble, one at a time, and wiped some pumpkin onto the roof of his mouth. He usually loves that stuff too. He is on a strong anti-nausea med and an appetite stimulant, plus a boat load of other stuff. After 4 1/2 hours of his guts being manipulated I guess it's not surprising he's not eating great yet. He needs the calories and proteins to aid in healing though so I'll try some chicken today as well. Figure I'll need to feed 3 times a day for a bit.

The girls seemed happy to see him and did sniff him but it wasn't a huge event with them.
 
Haven't tried the broth, and did do some baby food yesterday which he liked. But those jars are tiny, expensive and not much calories. However, at lunch he ate shredded baked chicken and some crushed kibble, with a bit of pumpkin. He was much more eager, although eating slowly. So I think we are headed in the right direction. He's drinking quite a bit more than normal, so we're good there. So bizarre to me that he refused canned food, usually mine go crazy for it since they don't usually get it. Maybe he associates it with the hospital since that's what they were trying to get him to eat.

Also I'm VERY pleased he totally ignoring his abdominal incision! It has a dressing on now which we're removing tomorrow. He does walk with his back hunched a little though. No idea how big the incision is till I see it.
 
Sounds like he’s moving in the right direction Sharon. I know we all start to panic when our dog refuses to eat after a surgery even though it’s totally understandable.
I’m thinking the canned food probably isn’t very appealing to their sensitive noses (I know some manufacturers add different things to make it more appealing). I imagine if you made a ‘beef’ stew for your dog with healthy ingredients it would be more appealing to them than a can of dog food labeled ‘ beef stew’! lol
 
Been away today with Meadow and her BFF Sheltie friend, with my girlfriend to an ORT (Odor Recognition Test) about 1 1/2 hours north. Hubby stayed home with Faith and Eli.
Elijah just looked brighter today. Still eating slowly, but steadily. It's hard to get enough calories into him. We're going to try not crushing his kibble and see if that works. He's had two normal poops. Had to take the dressing off, and I was going to use alcohol to loosen the adhesive but then thought it might sting too much. Slowly as I went he yelped a couple of times and when I got the dressing off I could see where the tape part had irritated his skin.

But the incision looks really, really good, and minimal bruising. Unfortunately, we left him for less than an hour this morning while we walked the girls, and he licked the surgical suit completely wet. We hadn't taken the dressing off yet underneath. So now he's happily wearing the inflatable neck "cone". Looks like he can't reach it now, but overnight the suit will go on again to give a layer of protection just in case. He may have been more bothered by the dressing/tape.

He has a recheck with the vet on Tuesday morning for repeat lab work. She is just being very, very cautious after that duct tore. I think she'll be happy with what she sees. So post-op day 4 is in the books. Can't wait till he's done with all his meds and restrictions.
 
I had Pico in his surgical suit, little shorts, and an inflatable cone at the same time at one point.
cause he could lick through the suit :(
I figured the shorts gave it an extra layer. and the cone made it more difficult. we did try the traditional cone as well
he looked pretty sad and silly....
at night it was just the suit and shorts.

I had him in that suit and shorts for 2 weeks with his neuter scars on his belly. It was annoying, but better that than complications!

glad Eli is doing a little bit better
 
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