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I am so sorry. We lost our Cody in a very similar way. Please take good care of yourselves while this sinks in, and know we are here for you. God speed, little angel Willow, look for Cody at the bridge, he loves to play.

I am so very sorry you've lost Rob Roy, Diane. Such a heartbreak. Run free at the bridge, sweet boy. :grouphug

I' m so sorry you've lost him. He was beautiful. Godspeed, Billy, run free at the bridge with all our bridge kids.

My deepest sympathies to you and your family. It's apparent that Tigger was loved very much, and had a wonderful retirement. My heart aches for you. Run free at the bridge, Tigger, all our beloved bridge kids will meet you there.

Lou has been on anti-inflammatories since his crash 7 weeks ago; we started with metacam oral, but had to discontinue after 3 weeks because of bloody diarhrea. We switched to Deramaxx, and are giving between 25 to 33 mg once a day, and twice if he seems like he's in pain. Some days I don't give it at all. No problems with it so far. He's also on Glucosamine and msm.

I truly hope you never have to go through this again, poor you and poor Leia. But it sounds like she is healing up beautifully, thanks to her ever vigilant parents!

If you feel she doesn't need it, you can discontinue it at any time. Rimadyl is one of the more controversial NSAIDS, that being said many dogs take it with no problems. If you feel she does need an antiinflammatory and you're not comfortable with Rimadyl, ask your vet for some deramaxx. Not much controversy around that one. I personally would not use Rimadyl, simply because there IS a lot of buzz around it, and there are lots of other good NSAIDs that don't have all the rumors floating around about it. Why use it if there are other drugs available that do the job.

It won't heal when its covered. That's why you have to leave it open. I know, it's gross, but that's what you have to do. the flushing takes care of any microbes that might land.

Water therapy is just flushing with water, or liquid. It stimulates healing. The rubbing with gauze does a similar thing. I'm not sure why it happens, but it does speed the healing when the inner layers are exposed.

Yup, water therapy works great - the irrigation seems to trigger granulation of the open skin, and the would heals from the inside out, as Diane says. My Bailey had an open wound on his side about 2" in diameter, at the time I could not afford surgery to close it, so my vet taught me how to take care of it at home. We just kept it as clean as possible, irrigated regularly, and it really did well. The vet showed me how to rub the open area (ewwwww) with a sterile cloth, and we used saline with iodine for flushing. He healed up completely within 3-4 weeks with no complications, and infact it healed better than other holes that we had stitched, it just took a little longer. We did an initial 2 week round of antibiotics, but other than that and a few days of NSAIDs, nothing. Since Leia's wound is on her leg, you would expect the healing to take a little longer, and it may be more challenging to keep clean. You're also likely to have some digestive issues because of the rimadyl. I know it looks really horrible, but what you're seeing is normal, and you can deal with it. It just takes a little getting used to. That was a great idea to take her out, I know Lou gets very bored as he can't walk far, but we've done the same as you just to give him a change. He also likes just going for car rides, it seems to break the day up a bit for him as he's healing. I've also bought him some more entertaining treats, like pigs ears and bully sticks. Unfortunately he has little interest in stuffies! We have also had grey friends over for inside visits, and he has gone visiting as well - I find that if they are inside, they tend to not get quite so rambunctious as they do outside. If she likes stuffed kongs, that may help keep her occupied as well. Hugs to you both. :grouphug

I don't see why an ear thermometer wouldn't work, but I've never tried it. I bought a plain old rectal thermometer for my guys, and labelled it DOGS My guys seem fine with it, just don't forget the vasoline.

Sounds like your doing really well with washing her. If she's dirty, soap and water will certainly do the trick. If she's not that dirty, you might try some steril saline. You can get it in the contact lens section of your drugstore, but be sure to get straight saline, not the stuff with additives. It comes in a squirt bottle, so you can gently squirt it over her wounds. I've found it's a great flush for any wounds. If her wounds seem a little dirty, you could add a little betadyne or iodine to the saline, and then squirt it, but watch out, it stains. Don't feel bad about returning to the vet - I always think better overcautious than under cautious. Be sure to update when you get back! Hugs to you and to Leia

She might be shuddering because she's cold. She's not moving around much, and I know I've had to tuck Lou under a blanket many times since he was injured, where I never had to before. Maybe try covering her with a blanket and see if she stops - if she does, then you have the answer. I agree with Batmom, she should be having at least an antiinflammatory for the pain, Deramaxx(cheaper) and Metacam (expensive) both have worked well here. They need to be given with food. And really, I cannot say enough good things about Traumeel gel, it really helped Lou a lot. If you can't find it in your area, I would be quite happy to purolate some down to you. Just check out the progression of his bruising and swelling, I am sure it was the traumeel that got it down so quickly: Lou on Monday Oct 9, 3 days post op: Oct 12 As you can see, the improvement was phenomenal, we did ice his leg, as well as apply aloe gel, and traumeel gel. Having him get up gently and move around slowly helped a lot too, although it was extremely difficult to watch him. He is now doing extremely well, and his leg has no puffiness or bruising at all. I post these pics not to highjack your thread, but just to let you see what a difference a few days can make. I really think the traumeel was the most important thing we did, and it also seemed to ease his pain. Please don't feel your a pest, you're not. Of all the activities that happen on the board, in my opinion this H&M forum has helped me the most. Hence I hang around - and you are helping others with your experience, as the first thing I do when something happens here is do a search of GT to get information. This thread will come up for someone else searching the site in dire need of help and information. Lou's thread ran for days and days, and the prayers generated helped him heal, and helped me stay sane. The people on this site are some of the most well informed grey owners around, and also some of the kindest people I've ever been in contact with, and all of them are happy to be able to pass on what they know to others in their time of need. I have no doubts you'll be doing the same for others, as you are now becoming an expert, unfortunately, about the aftermath of a dog attack. It's a horrible thing, but that is your silver lining. About your vet, you know, you're paying good money to your vet, if you feel he is not attending to your concerns, after this is all over you might consider shopping around. I have, and I now have 2 vets, both of whom never rush me, and always fully answer my questions. You deserve the same.

The melatonin really worked great here, 3 mg size no more than twice a day, you can get it again in any health food store.

Is she distractable at all with any foods? I know sometimes that works with Bailey, he is a diva as well but if he's busy with an extra special snack, or getting major pettings, I can sneak up from behind to do what I need to do Also, does she give her scream of death when the vet is working on her? If not, she's giving you the business. I know how tough it is to discern when they are being a diva or not, but it's a good bet if she doesn't scream with the vet, than she's being a minx with you. And they are soooo good at it!

Checking in to see how Leia has been doing, and very sorry to hear you're having a rough time. I totally understand; when Lou first came home from the vets he was a complete mess, and I was too. It is so very hard to watch them in such shape. You are doing the right thing by coming here and asking questions; if it wasn't for the people on this site I would have lost it a looong time ago. To reiterate what others have said, she will get better, but it will take time. For the swelling, if she will let you, try icing it, 5 minutes on and 5 minutes off for a while. I also used aloe vera gel, chilled, on Lou and that helped a lot. Also a product called traumeel gel, you can get it in any health food store, and it will help enormously with the swelling. Get the gel, not the cream, it goes on easier in sore spots, and use only on swelling and bruised areas, not on any open cuts. The cone will continue to drive her nuts, as she's a site hound, and they really don't adapt to it. If you can get a hold of a bite not collar, or work out a way for her muzzle to work, that would be much better. I also found that melatonin worked well when Lou got anxious. I even took some myself. Tramado worked great for pain, and codeine often does too. She may been an antiinflammatory drug as well, something like metacam. As far as that pesky staple goes, if it's been 2 weeks, it can come out. If it's possible, have someone else try to distract her, and take it out yourself. Much easier than going in for just a staple, and it should come out easily. I used my tweezers last time I had to do it and had no problem. Distracting Leia is the key here. I know it's hard, but do try to relax and get some time for yourself. I drove myself to distraction during the first week of Lou's recovery. Your girl has the best parents she could have, remember that! :grouphug

I am so very sorry this has happened AGAIN. As others have said, thank goodness you were (yes you did) able to protect your girl. A pitbull clamped on is no walk in the park, it's actually amazing you got him off of her. Have several stiff drinks, and start looking for a baseball diamond and some grey buddies to get together with. You are going to be nervous for quite some time on walks; we found that going to baseball diamonds with other greys or even on our own was a lot more relaxing than having to look out for other dogs all the time, never mind all the other trouble out there on walks like glass, wormy poop, and dead animals. In time, you will be able to relax a bit, and consider going for walks again. I always try to take my boys out when there are less dogs around, like late at night or very early in the morning. But the diamond is the big favorite around here, both for people and greys. Keep your chin up, you did your best and your girl is still in one piece because of you both. :gouphug :grouphug

Anniversaries are really tough. We still miss Cody too. We have a corner of our garden that I've made a wood plaque for, with "Cody's Corner" on it. I try to think of our good times together, instead of the end, and the feelings of loss, but it takes a long time to move through that grief. It helps to think of him at the bridge, chasing after small pupsicles and romping around like the big puppy he was. Fudgie was dearly loved, and you and Goods will see him again one day. :grouphug

I am so sorry you lost your Thunder. He knew he was loved, and loved well, you can see it in his eyes. :grouphug Run free at the bridge, sweet Thunder!

We know your pain.

What a wonderful boy. He was loved. Run free, sweet Murphy.

Such a beautiful boy. :grouphug

I'm so sorry. :grouphug

I'm so sorry. Run free at the bridge with Cody, puppers.

I'm so very sorry you lost Tiger. He is in good company at the bridge.