He's definitely got a "weather leg"

My poor boy.  Winter is definitely harder on him than summer.  Changes in the barometric pressure definitely seem to affect him.  Mostly we can manage this through pain meds.  It's too bad that he doesn't do well on Rimadyl, so we're stuck with Tramadol.  I don't know if Tramadol ER is available for animals, but I might have to check into it.

We have had a couple of "incidents" since the weather got colder where he was in a lot of pain, but it came to a head a couple of weeks ago.  He was outside with Josie enjoying the nice weather for most of the day. We were in and out using the tile saw (we're re-tiling a bathroom) and every time we went outside, they were just lounging about enjoying the sunshine.  Once the sun started to drop, it got really chilly so I brought them inside with me and I sat down to read a few chapters of the book I'm reading when Winston got up and moved in front of me with a weird little noise.  I looked out the window and saw the poor 3-legged fox out there eating something.  If I'd paid closer attention, I would have realized that Winston was trying to tell me he hurt and I could have thrown more pain meds at him then.

A couple of hours passed before Winston tried to stand up again and it was a struggle.  Once he got onto all fours, he was leaning as far forward as he could be to take weight off of his back legs.  I gave him Tramadol then.  He moved downstairs and laid down in "his room" and stayed there.  I fed him a little food at dinnertime, but he wasn't all that interested.  At bedtime he decided he needed to go out and tried to stand up.  He kept trying but wasn't able to.  I finally tried to help him stand up and he screamed in pain.

He made it outside, but he was leaning forward and shuffling along and grunting and moaning in pain with every step.  It broke my heart.  I gave him more Tramadol and then set the alarm for every 4 hours to give him more Tramadol all night and laid down on the couch at the top of the stairs so that I would know if he needed anything.  At midnight he woke me up shuffling and making small pain noises.  I really didn't know if "now" was the time that it would be kindest to put him down.  Sure seemed like an easy decision at the time.  Unfortunately with him not able to stand up, there was no way I could load him into my car by myself.  When I woke up my husband to see if he would help me, he refused.  He wanted to wait until morning and see if it was better then.

I gave him more Tramadol and every 3-4 hours I gave him more.  By morning, he seemed slightly more comfortable and could stand up after a struggle.  I kept up with the every 4 hours schedule for the next 3 days.  By that time, he could stand up without too much struggle and it seemed as though most of the pain was in his left leg (the one where the hardware was removed from).  We slowly extended the time between pills and after a week, we are back to every 8 hours which is "normal".

I wish I knew what caused this and I'd take steps to prevent it, but it's still a mystery.  After 5 days I started walking him again for 5 minutes, and after 4 more days, we're walking around the little block again which is a 15 minute walk.  Today I might do the next block (20 minutes) and see how that goes.  They're bored just walking around the little block.

We've put his ball away where he can't get it, but yesterday when I went out to pick up poop, he and Josie ran around the yard chasing each other.  It was only about 5 minutes of running, but he seemed ok afterwards.

Standing on that left back leg?

Since my last blog entry I've been paying more attention to the little details about how Winston uses/doesn't use his back legs.  For a long time after his last surgery, he wouldn't fully stand on his left hind leg.  Most of his weight was on the right leg and he had the left foot down, but I could tell it was more for balance than anything else.

Lately I've been noticing that he really looks like he's standing on that leg.  I can see that the toes are more splayed on the right foot than on the left foot, so I suspect that there's still more weight on the right leg than the left, but he's doing better.  He also doesn't shuffle around as much to push off with the right leg when he stands up.  Again, it's still the right leg doing most of the work, but there's definitely some left leg use.

Amazing how little improvements like this make my day!

5 months post TPLO explant

I can't believe that it's been 5 months already!

I'm happy to report that Winston is doing pretty well.  We can walk 3 decent length walks (we're limited by his size and ability to cool himself down at this time of year before we're limited by his back legs).  He also gets some free times in the entire yard, but we can't do that daily or he reaches a tipping point where he gets too sore and then we have to cut back on all exercise.  We limit this to every other day or every third day.  He won't restrict himself, so we have to evaluate how sore he seems before we open the gate between the yards.

He's still on pain meds, and that's how it will be for the rest of his life.  We've been able to cut back the dosage a bit as long as we manage his exercise.

He's still got some muscle atrophy in his back legs, but not too bad.  I also notice that he doesn't fully use the left hind leg.  For example, when he stands up, he shuffles his back legs around under him until he gets the right one in place, and he uses that one as his "push off" leg.

He runs and plays soccer with his big green horse ball, and is generally a happy guy, so we can live with the restrictions that we've got.

10.5 weeks post TPLO explant

It's been a bit of a roller coaster since Winston got his hardware removed.  He has had kind of a rough time and I questioned the decision more than once.  At the same time, I really don't think the main problem is the hardware or the removal.  He's just a big guy and he's got arthritis and it's just going to get worse over time.

He's on pain pills for the rest of his life, and some days seem to be better (or worse) than others.  Yesterday was one of those days, and today there's some lingering soreness.

At the same time, he's a pretty happy dog and he gets to play and he can go for "normal" walks and life is getting back to normal for us.  I just think the definition of "normal" is slightly different now than it was before.

Day 5 post left TPLO "explant"

Not much change between yesterday and today other than today Winston stood up to eat instead of being served in bed.  He also seemed a little more concerned about me doing his leg exercises.  He's been standing up more, so maybe his leg is a bit more sore?  He doesn't really stand on it yet (still), so I'm unsure.  Still no word on the results of the lab culture, and as far as I'm concerned no news is good news.

Winston's incision looks good.  The swelling is going down and his skin doesn't feel as warm as it did on day one.

Today it's rainy and gloomy and Winston wanted to wander around the yard during his potty breaks, but we don't want his incision getting wet, so that didn't happen.  He's bored in his pen, but doing ok.

Day 4 post left TPLO "explant"

Winston continues to get better.  He is moving more easily today and when I did his leg exercises, he just relaxed onto his side and seemed unconcerned.  I was able to do a full bicycle motion today.

When standing, he is still toe-touching, but when he walks, he is putting even more weight on the leg than he has in a month.  The back pad of his foot looks fully engaged, and his back looks straight as he walks.

Today is the first day I don't feel so guilty about putting him through yet another surgery.  I'm hopeful that he can get to a more "normal"state.

Today is also the first day that I might have heard a result of the lab culture (though maybe that depends on when the sample got to the lab... so realistically maybe tomorrow would be the first day).  No news at this point is good news.  I'm hoping for the best.

Winston's incision looks good, and some of the swelling has started to go down.

Day 3 post left TPLO "explant"

Winston is doing much better today.  He's walking more normally on his right leg and is actually putting some good weight down when he walks on the left leg.  He isn't struggling so much to stand up.  He's interested in both food and water.

I'm feeding him while he is lying down.  Our next major step in "progress" will be when he starts standing up to eat.

Today he let me do his full set of range of motion exercises without being too concerned.  The leg feels tight and he's worried about what I'm doing, but the action in his knee feels smooth not "clunky" like it did before.

Saturday, Day 2 post left TPLO "explant"

Last night was kind of rough.  Winston was uncomfortable and restless.  He's in his "room" in a pen down on the landing and I slept on the couch at the top of the stairs.  Every time he moved and rattled his big e-collar I woke up.  I think I kept one ear open for him all night.  He gets pain pills at midnight so I just stayed up til then and then tried to sleep afterwards.  He wanted to go out at midnight but then even though he shifted around a lot, he stayed put until the cat alarm went off at 5:30am.  He was really stiff, but was able to stand up under his own power.

As the day went on, he wanted to go out and go potty nearly every two hours.  There were a few times that I just told him to settle back down.  I sat in his pen with him and read a book to keep him company.  He was happy for that.  I tried to move his leg and was able to move it for about 5 repetitions, but it's still pretty swollen and he finally leaned over to put his head across my arm.  I figured this was an improvement, so I let it go and we did the same thing again later in the day.

He's eating ok, but wasn't really interested in water until evening.

Winston's back home after TPLO plate removal

We picked Winston up at noon today and I was a little surprised to see that the recovery for this surgery is very similar to the previous surgeries.  Two weeks of almost no activity and then we can start walking again starting with 5 minute walks.  The difference here is that every few days we can increase by 5 minutes instead of every week or two weeks.  Actually, I guess this makes sense because he hasn't had regular exercise in over a month and his muscles have noticeably atrophied in that time.  If we do too much too soon, he'll be too sore to move.

We're to start PT asap, and that will be critical as he heals.  I'm to start doing the passive exercises with his leg 20 repetitions three times a day every day is what our paperwork says.

I was a bit horrified to see him walk as they brought him out to the car.  He looks awful and it looks like his right leg doesn't work right anymore either.  It might have been kinder to just put him down instead of putting him through this again.

We got him home and I sat with him for a bit.  He finally struggled to stand up and couldn't manage it so I helped lift him up with the sling and helped him outside to go potty.  This is not a good sign.  He came back in and went to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

At dinner time I helped him up again and we went out for a potty break.  He is definitely not walking normally.  It looks he went horseback riding for several hours and his legs are bent into that "cowboy" shape.  I'm pretty worried.

I fed him dinner in bed, and he was interested in food, but not water.  I tried to do his passive exercises and he leaned over and took my arm gently in his mouth to tell me to stop.  I remember how I felt the day after my shoulder surgery and if someone had tried to move my arm for me that day I would have gladly shot them, so I decided we would try again tomorrow.

Later in the evening, Don took him out to go potty and said that he'd stood up on his own.  Winston's incision had drained all over his leg and made a puddle on his bed.  It looked ok, so I blotted up the puddle and left the residue on his leg alone.

Left leg TPLO plate removal today

We dropped Winston off this morning for removal of his TPLO plate and a check of the meniscus in his left knee.  Putting him through this again was heart wrenching.  He figured out what was up as we loaded him into the car, and he was not a happy camper.  When we got to AMVS and we went into one of the exam rooms, he started crying and buried his head in Don's lap and begged us in doggy body language NOT to leave him here.  My poor boy.  I wish I could explain that we were trying to make him better.

I chose the DNR option again, and there was a part of me that honestly expected to get a call that Winston had died during surgery.  I wouldn't be surprised if he just gives up.  The hours crept by, and the more time passed without that call, I figured that he'd made it through surgery.

Finally, Dr. Duerr called to say that the surgery had gone well.  He said that a couple of the screws were loose, and he hardly ever sees that, so he's going to send off a culture to the lab to see if there's an underlying infection going on.  Also the meniscus was torn and frayed, so they removed part of it.  He wasn't sure if they were going to keep him overnight or if he could come home later, so he said he'd call back in a couple of hours and make the decision at that time.  After another hour, they called back and decided to keep him overnight.

Checked by the vet

Winston has been in pain off and on since my last blog.  I tried taking him off the pain pills but every time I do and then walk him farther than around the block (about a 15 minute walk), he ends up on three legs again.  It's a little depressing.

Today we went to AMVS to get his leg checked.  Without doing surgery it's hard to say exactly what is going on, but they suspect that he's torn his meniscus.  We're to continue with pain pills and continue resting him while we consider our options.  The best option for Winston is to remove the TPLO plate, and check/repair the meniscus.  It sounds like the recovery from surgery isn't as bad as having the TPLO done in the first place.

We're expecting a tax refund this year.  I guess it's going to Winston.

Another setback?

For the past month, Winston's been getting some limited free time in the back yard.  First we walk and then he gets some time to be loose in the yard while I pick up poop and small branches that the tree has dropped.  We don't have any toys back there for him to play with so he thinks it's a little boring, but I don't want him running a lot yet.

The foxes have taken up residence in the neighbor's old pool shed next door, so there are times that Winston has run along the fence, and he seems to do ok with that.  Josie is so excited to see him run that she's been trying to get him to join her running around the yard.  Sometimes he does, but not always.  

Yesterday I let them into the side/front yard (we live on a corner) and that's where Winston's big (horse sized) jolly ball has been sitting for over a year waiting for him.  He was so excited to see it and get to play with it that of course he did.  He didn't run hard, just an easy trot, and then he lay down and squeezed it a bunch.  After awhile I called them back to the back yard and shut the gate between the yards.

All seemed well until last night before bed.  When I called the dogs to go potty before bedtime Winston was on 3 legs.  He wasn't using his left hind leg.  Hmmmmm..... I guess he overused it today?  I gave him some pain pills and we all went to bed.

This morning he was extremely limpy but at least was using his leg again.  I've continued the pain pills and he doesn't get to walk or play today.

4 month update

Winston is doing well, and our walks are getting longer.  We get to walk through the neighborhood to the east of ours in addition to ours to make our longest loop and the walk takes about 50-60 minutes depending on how fast or slow we are.  Both dogs are loving the extra time and sights.

I've been loading them into the car and taking them with me when I run errands so that Winston learns that not all car rides end at the vet.  Sometimes we'll park and walk in a different area, but it's been so long since we've been out in "public" that the dogs need a refresher course on manners around other people.  I'm working on it.

March 9, 2010: Week 14 and all is well

Winston is allowed anywhere in the house except for beds.  He thinks this stinks.  We figured if his leg bone was only 80% healed at 12 weeks, it's best to wait until at least 16 weeks before we risk him hopping off of one of the beds.  He's still got a lot of muscle atrophy in his left back leg, and a little bit in his right hind leg, but with any luck and a little time and some more PT exercises that will get better. 

I've started Winston (and Josie because whatever he does, she wants to do too -- especially when there's biscuits involved) back on some of his physical therapy exercises at home.  Also when we encounter people (with or without dogs) on our walks, I'm asking both my dogs to sit while the other folks go by.  I need some more practice with timing on that one.  If I give them the biscuits too soon, they'll both stand up and bark or lunge.  This is new behavior since Winston had all of his surgeries and Josie joined our family.  I think it starts with her, but I could be wrong.  I can tell that Winston isn't as trusting of people as he was before all of this.  Anyway, distracting and bribing them with biscuits seems to be working, so hopefully with time they'll just focus on me instead of whatever's going on around them.

After our afternoon walk, Winston gets some off-leash time in the back yard.  I take him out on the leash and wait until Josie has run around looking for any stray bunnies that might be in the yard, and then I let him off the leash.  So far so good with this.  He has done a few trots and a little gentle run from time to time but so far not a lot of activity and no full-out "get the bunny" running.  I won't let him in the front yard until he's built up his leg muscles a bit more. 

March 4, 2010: Things that go bump in the night still scare me

I happened to wake up at 4:00am this morning and while I was dozing trying to fall back asleep, I thought I heard a noise downstairs.  It wasn't loud and I kept listening and didn't hear anything more.  I guess I fell back asleep because next thing I knew, the "cat alarm" was going off at 6:15.  Our cat, Tyler's internal clock is a little off and he starts each day by loudly complaining that we haven't fed him his canned breakfast treat.  Sometimes he starts this behavior at 3:00am.  Lately he's been closer to the correct time, but that could have something to do with me chasing him down the hall telling him that it's not time, and he needs to be quiet.

Anyway, my first thought after being slightly annoyed with Tyler, was about Winston.  Was that noise I heard him falling somewhere?  We gave him full stair privileges last week, and since then both of us have been really worried that he's going to fall down them again, or that he's going to hurt himself coming upstairs to let us know that he needs to go potty (Winston likes to spend the night on the couch downstairs since he's still not allowed on the beds).  Don's been leaving a light on so that the stairs aren't completely dark.

When I got up to check on them, I found both dogs downstairs on the couch together, so I have no idea what the noise was.  I'm just thankful that it wasn't Winston.

He's doing really well, and having an easier time walking.  He still doesn't totally engage the pad on that foot when he's standing, but he's getting closer.  I tried a little off leash time in the yard after a long walk this week for the first time, but he wanted to run so I put his leash back on and we went back into the house.  I'll try it again soon, but maybe without Josie out in the yard.

February 19, 2010, 11 weeks post TPLO, good news again

Winston seemed almost back to normal this morning.  He is standing up much easier than he has in the past few days.  The rest appears to be helping him.  I debated calling AMVS and rescheduling our appointment for next week since I know they're shorthanded this week, but then I thought if something happens this weekend that I'd regret changing the appointment, so we went as scheduled.

Dr Flynn did an exam and said that everything felt good and as he would expect.  They did x-rays and said that while he's still not fully healed, he's at 80% and everything looks good.  We're to keep doing what we're doing (letting him rest with some 5 minute walks) until Monday when we can return to 25 minute walks, and then if he does ok with that, we can try increasing to 30 minutes on schedule at 12 weeks.

I got the impression that little blips like this aren't unusual.  It was just a bit shocking to me how quickly the pain seemed to get really bad, and then how quickly he seemed to get over it.

February 18, 2010, 11 weeks post TPLO, a little better

Winston seemed better though he was still slow getting up.  I left the baby gate up and we didn't walk other than potty breaks during my work day.  I called AMVS to see what they thought and they suggested that I come in this week for a check instead of waiting until next week for his 12 week check.  We go tomorrow morning.

After work I took the pups out for a potty break and they both stood at the front door and really really really wanted to go for a walk.  I took them for a short walk up the street and back, for about 5 minutes total. I gave Winston some Tramadol before bedtime since he seemed a little uncomfortable.

February 17, 2010: 11 weeks post-TPLO, had a scare

Moving up to 25 minute walks has been more of a struggle than when we moved to 20 minute walks. We started by just changing the time on one walk, and after a few days we did two longer walks and then after a few days we did all three walks at 25 minutes.  After a day or two of that, Winston was really sore and limpy so we dropped back down.

Last Wednesday was 10 weeks after surgery and two weeks after we found out that the bones hadn't fully healed, and it was the earliest that the surgeon wanted us to give Winston some more stair privileges.  Up to this point, he's only been allowed to do the half-flight when one of us is with him.  We decided not to push the healing, so we didn't just take the baby-gate down all the time, but starting this past weekend, we've been taking it down for limited amounts of times.  Sometimes after we come back in from a walk or going potty, Winston wants to lie down in "his room".  Now we can start letting him stay down there and come upstairs or go downstairs on his own.  We still leave the gate up overnight, and if I expect someone, or think he might run down the stairs, I put the gate up.  So far he's been very good about going up and down at a reasonable speed, but he has definitely been doing more stairs than he has in months.

Monday was a sore day so Tuesday we dropped back down to 20 minutes each walk.  On Wednesday Winston seemed better so I thought we'd try for at least one 25 minute walk and the morning was nice (sunny and pretty warm), so we went for our long walk then.  He seemed like he felt fine and was enjoying life.

At lunch Winston was really slow to get up when we went out for a potty break, and seemed really subdued.  When he got up for our afternoon walk, he struggled to stand up and once he was standing, he had his head hung down like he thought he was in trouble.  I thought it was weird, but didn't really put two and two together.  We got about 3 houses down the street before I realized that he still had his head hung down near the ground and it wasn't because he was sniffing.  I think he was trying to keep as much weight off his back legs as he could.  We turned around and headed back home and I gave him some Tramadol.  By dinnertime three hours later he seemed better and was no longer hanging his head down.  He wanted to go for a walk, so we tried again and went for a 20 minute walk.  I am sooooo STOOOOOPID!

I think the pain pills started wearing off or he just got that much more sore that by 9pm he was panting and pacing and was really a very unhappy camper, so I gave him 4 more Tramadol.  An hour later he was still pacing and panting and was velcroed to me so that if I tried to hide in the bedroom, he stood outside the door panting and whining.  I thought I'd have to take him into the emergency clinic.  When he was getting Tramadol after surgery he was getting up to 8 pills at a time (yep, he's a big boy), so I figured I'd give him 4 more so that he would have a full dose and then we'd decide whether to head to the emergency clinic.  Within an hour the rest of the pills kicked in and he seemed comfortable and we both got to go to sleep.

February 5, 2010: 9 weeks post-op

Not much to report here.  Winston is slightly improved over last week.  He didn't really stand on his left hind leg when there was standing to be done (wating to get his leash on before we head out the door), and kind of limped around on it.  If he had to stand for too long (waiting for ME to put my socks and shoes on before a walk), he'd sit or lie down instead of standing while waitng for my slow pokey self.

Seems as though that's finally changing.  We were getting ready for a walk this week when I decided at the last minute I'd better take a nature break myself before we got out the door.  I shut the bathroom door because sometimes I don't appreciate Josie "helping".  She's so funny; just barges on in and puts her head in my lap for a pet cuz I'm conveniently stuck there.  Anyway.... when I opened the door, Winston was standing right there and had to back up so that I could come out.  Up to this week, he would have stood there or moved forward or sat down or even more likely been laying down nearby.  He wasn't able to put enough weight on that leg to use it to back up.  HOOOORAY!!!!!!!!!!

On Wednesday at 9 weeks, I wondered if he was well enough to try increasing his walks again instead of waiting for two week increments.  We increased one of our walks by 5 minutes and so far so good.  Depending on the weather, maybe we'll bump up the time on a second walk.  We're due for snow on Sunday.  :-(

January 27, 2010: 8 week TPLO check

Well, today we went for Winston's 8 week check.  He wasn't too upset about going to AMVS.  I guess it's been long enough that he didn't automatically expect bad things.  Good to know that he's willing to give us all the benefit of the doubt.  Good boy!

We got to go into an exam room right away and Winston paced and panted.  He also didn't want to go back for x-rays, but did it anyway.  He's so funny.... you can pretty much do anything with him.

Dr. Duerr looked at the x-rays and then did the exam.  The bone has started healing but isn't fully healed.  He seemed pleased with the progress considering what we've been through.  The result will never be as good for a "fresh" TPLO (not following a previous repair).  I asked whether we could take down the baby gate across the stairs.  He asked whether Winston walks up and down them and I said yes, but then qualified it by saying that if someone rang the doorbell, he might run down them.  He recommended waiting another two weeks before we take it down. 

We're to keep increasing his walks as well as he can tolerate them so that we can work on the muscle atrophy.  Today we bumped back up to walking around two blocks instead of just our own.  The pups were both happy when we went that far.

As far as increasing any other exercises, we're supposed to wait on that too and go back for another check in 4-6 weeks.  All in all, it was pretty much what I expected and good news.

January 22, 2010: Day 51, healing on track?

The past two weeks have been uneventful for the most part.  At 6 weeks we moved to walking around two blocks instead of just our own and Winston got more sore.  At first there wasn't a noticeable difference but the more we did it, the more he seemed to limp, so we've cut back to going just around our block again and he seems like he's doing better.  This is a marathon instead of a sprint so I don't mind if our progress is slow. 

What I see as progress:

• His leg looks good; there's no swelling anymore.  
• The little lump where the seroma was has gone down a lot and is pretty hard.  It doesn't feel like there's any fluid in there anymore (if there is, it's well hidden between the lumpy hard stuff).
• He's having an easier time standing up from a sitting or lying position.
• He's using the leg to step onto or off of the couch (it's a lateral move so there's no jumping involved).

The things that worry me:

• He's still not using his leg fully while we're in the house or when he's standing still.
• He's got a noticeable limp while walking.

His 8 week check with x-rays is scheduled for next Wednesday, so I'm hopeful that the bone will be fully healed and we'll be able to move onto some of the harder exercises that will force him to use his leg (lifting his other foot and walking in figure eights), but I won't do any of that until we know more.  It could be that he's just healing slower this time and we need to wait.

January 11, 2010: Day 40 - back to longer walks

On Saturday I tried taking Winston around the block for three of our four walks.  He didn't seem overly sore, so we did it again on Sunday and then again today.  I think we've officially moved to this distance/time.  About time!  On Wednesday we reach the six-week milestone and we're supposed to start increasing walk time/distance again.  It seems like our progress is slower than last time, but I think that the weather is definitely a factor at times.  Not only the weather, but the roads must be considered.  The county budget must have tightened up because our street doesn't get plowed during the snowstorms anymore.  The street to the west side of our property does.  The snowpack and then ice is slick at times and we don't want Winston to slip and fall. 

January 8, 2010: Day 37 - Slow but steady

 The temps crept up a bit today so we did a 5 minute walk at 9am when it was coldest and then by the time I got off work at 3, it was in the low 30s so we went around the block.  Winston seemed fine with that, so this evening after dinner I bundled them up in their coats and we went around the block again.

January 7, 2010: Day 36, Winston is less sore

So it's REALLY (ok, for us anyway) cold today.  When I woke up it was -11F and windy, so it was pretty ugly outside when we went for a potty break.  Winston seemed pretty uncomfortable on his leg in that cold, and I don't blame him.  Newly healed tissue, healing bone, and metal plates and screws aren't much fun in the cold.  We didn't go out again until about 10am when it had warmed up to about 5 degrees and the wind had died down.  We did a 5 minute walk all bundled in our coats.  When out walking today and around the house, Winston seems more comfortable on his leg than he was yesterday, so we did a 10 minute walk at midday and then another quick 5 minute walk at 3pm.  Our only outings after that were potty breaks in the yard.

January 6, 2010: Day 35 - Winston's pretty sore

Ok, so the three longer walks yesterday was tough on him.  There were a couple of times that he stood up, and just didn't want to use his leg at first.  He did start walking on it, but I could tell he was saying, "Ouch."  It's snowing and in the teens, so even though we've walked 3 times today, I've kept it to 5 minutes per walk.  He still wants to get out and do it.  Once he gets going, he's not limping too much.

January 5, 2010: Day 34 - increased time on another walk

The weather is still holding nice and Winston seems to feel good, so we tried 3 around-the-block walks and one 5 minute walk.  This evening he still seems fine, but the true test will be tomorrow.  I expect he'll be more sore, but I'm just not sure how bad it will be.

January 4, 2010: Day 33, Increased walk time

Not much to report here.  We've been able to increase two of our walks to around the block (about 12 minutes each) and we've been doing two 5-minute walks in addition to that.  Winston has gotten used to the additional time and activity.  Depending on the weather, we should be able to bump up one of the other walks to around the block.  We're supposed to get a cold snap with some snow on Wednesday, so we'll see what happens.

January 2, 2010: Day 31, Walking around the block again

The weather has warmed up (it's 47 right now according to our little weather station) so there's more dry pavement to walk on.  The rest of the street is either slushy or snowy depending on where we are and what time of day it is, so we tried walking around the block for our last walk of the day on December 30th.  Winston was noticeably tired afterwards, but didn't seem much more sore from it.  On New Years Eve and New Years Day we walked two 5 minute walks and one "long" walk -- it's about 12 minutes rather than 10 so we increased the time just a bit more than the recommended increase.  Winston is no longer more tired from it.  I'm thinking that we might try for a second round the block walk today.  We've already done one 5 minute and one round the block walk.