December 5, 2009, 3 days post-TPLO

Winston got me up at 3:30 this morning to go out and go potty and we've all been up ever since. I see a nap in my future. Winston's leg seems a little less swollen around the knee area but about the same in the hock area. He wasn't as happy today when I tried to ice his leg as he was yesterday. I think I managed only 5 minutes before he stood up. He definitely feels better because he has grabbed a Nylabone to chew on a couple of times already this morning and he is finding it easier to stand up. The standing up part isn't so good; he wants to go outside every time he stands up but I'm not letting him. He's gone potty twice since 3:30 (though no poop yet this morning which I know will need to happen sometime), but last time he convinced me that he needed to go out he just went out and ate snow and stared at our neighbor who is out doing something on his ATV again. Now every time Winston stands up I just tell him to lie down. I figure he'll whine at me if he's really serious. He's been trying the sad eyes so far and I'm not falling for it. I don't think he's figured out yet that if he whines I will take him out. Up to this point the only time he whines is when he REALLY needs to go bad.

I'm enjoying spending time in his room with him these days because we finished the remodel from the floor up in this room. The popcorn on the ceiling is gone, the drywall repairs are done, the walls and ceiling have been re-textured and painted, and all the new doors are in and the casing is up and the new light, and switch/outlet covers are all installed. I'm toying with the idea of putting up crown molding, but we've only got 8 foot ceilings, so I'm still debating. I got a short piece of molding to see how it would look and I think it will be ok. Anyway, as long as I don't look down, it's really nice to be in here. Too bad about the floors because we've got a heat mat that will go under the slate once everything is installed. Winston would have had a nice toasty place to lie down. The new flooring in this room has to wait until it's safe for everyone to go down the deck stairs since that's the only other exit from the house.