Thor's Big Day

I am a mean dog mom.  On Thor’s first birthday I scheduled Thor’s neuter surgery (not going to lie I have been counting down the days for months now! ).  I also had him get the gastropexy, which is where they permanently attached his stomach to the abdominal wall to prevent the stomach from twisting due to GDV also known as bloat.  Thor was in the high risk group due to him being a German Shepherd, he is a large dog and likely to be around the 100 lb size, has a deep chest, can be aggressive and nervous, is very active after he eats, and drinks a large amount of water following exercise.  Bloat is an emergency and can be fatal within hours.  My biggest fear was it happening while I was at work, by the time I would make it home it would be too late.  After talking to both the vet and his breeder I decided it was best to have the surgery. 

Thor had to be at the vet nice and early and was not allowed to eat breakfast. 

(waiting at the vet)

I am convinced that Thor knew exactly what was happening and he was not happy about it.  He didn’t’ want the really nice assistant girl to be anywhere near him and every time he saw her he would start barking.  Then when the vet tried to look at him he barked at the vet which he has never done before.  Thankfully my vet did really well with him and Thor finally let him complete his exam.  When they were ready to take him back I quickly said my good-byes and gave him a quick hug before heading out the door.  It was hard to leave him behind but I knew it was for the best.  I love my vet and they kept me up to date through the day.  Everything went well and that evening I was able to pick him up.  He was rocking the “cone of shame” and was more than ready to leave.  The ride home he just lay down close to me and enjoyed whatever drugs they had given him. 

 

(poor boy!)

Once he got home he was excited to be where he felt safe and walked around the yard with a goofy face. 

 

 

 

Once the excitement of being home started to wear down Thor went from having a goofy face to an “I am not amused” face. 

He wanted nothing to do with his dinner at first but after adding a little soft food to the mix he manage to eat most of it. 

 

(Molly telling Thor it will be ok)

 

After I brought him inside, the poor boy couldn’t stop whimpering and pacing.  He would settle down after a little bit, lay down, fall asleep, only to wake up minutes latter crying and would start pacing all over again. 

Finally I decided it was time for bed.  When I put him in his kennel for the night he lay right down and was out cold for the rest of the night.  After that Thor did really well.  The hard part was keeping him calm for 6 days to let everything heal.  Even on pain meds he wanted to run around and play so I often had to keep him on his leash so he would behave. 

(Thor really really wanting to play outside)

(he finally gave up and took a nap)

He also wasn’t a fan of the antibiotics they put him on and the only way to get him to take it was to push it all the way down his throat.   Thankfully he seems to loves me and never put up a fight or tried to bite me. 

It has been a week and a few days now since the surgery and he is back to his old self.  Everything seems to be healing nicely even though he has some swelling still where the boys use to be so we are watching that.  All in all I am happy that it is all done and over with, now time to work more OT to pay it all off!