Today is Day 6 of Mumble's "limited physical activity" sentence for the healing of his sprained leg/shoulder. Things are reasonably going well so far, but I definitely notice a difference already in his behavior.
First off, and on a positive note, in regards to his injury itself, I am really amazed at this medication the vet has put him on, because it seemed to help with the pain right away. And presumably it is helping with the inflammation too, so he is definitely showing signs of limping and stiffness less often. The medication is called Traumeel, and it is a natural, herbal anti-inflammatory and analgesic that is actually made for humans but can be used on dogs. Natural / herbal pain relief is probably better for Mumble, who has previously had an adverse reaction to either pain medication or sedatives. Given that Mumble now takes so many pills and supplements I had to create a chart to make sure I gave him everything at the right time, I decided I should become more educated about what I am putting into his body and did some online research. Traumeel is something that is apparently frequently prescribed to people for their sport related injuries, sprains, and recovery from surgery. It is a homeopathic blend with a lot of different active ingredients that stimulate the "healing of wounds, fractures and dislocation," act as an analgesic, and prevent inflammation and infection. What's great about it is that it can be given to dogs without the extensive bloodwork that may be required for ongoing use of more traditional pain medications. What I know is that Mumble seemed to react positively right away. Remarkably, as soon as his next walk after his first dose, he was already showing signs of improvement. So he'll continue taking his two pills twice a day, hidden in whatever I can convince him to eat at that moment, until the vet tells us otherwise.
In terms of Mumble's reaction to the limitation on his physical activities, I think overall he is doing well, but there is definitely a difference. This will be the first week since Mumble was 5 months old that he didn't go to daycare for at least a couple of days. Well, that's not totally true, he didn't go to daycare when we were in Georgia for Christmas, but that week he had my sister's dogs, Penny and Dexter, who are just as hyper as him, to play with every day all day, so that doesn't really count. Usually, he gets to spend at least a few days at The Loved Dog running around with 30-40 other dogs all day, herding them, and acting like he is the king of the place. So it's a big difference to go from that to being at home with no dogs to play with, only Rascal to herd around, and no one to be the king of (there is no way Rascal is letting Mumble be in charge of anything!).
So while I have not seen any "bad behaviors" (I don't want to dare to say "yet"), he is showing signs that he's a little bored. Last night (Day 5) when I came home from work, he greeted me as usual, and we went on a normal walk. His normal evening activity level is pretty mellow when we are just at home. He may play a little, we may practice some of his tricks or other stuff, and he might even chase around a treat toy, but he's pretty content to lounge around on the couch for a majority of the evening and have his belly rubbed. Last night, he was much more active. He started pulling apart stuffed toys, strewing stuffing around the room, chased Rascal back and forth to the bedroom and living room (until Rascal was tired of that game and with one scathing look, stopped Mumble in his tracks, and then retired to the back of the couch), etc. The worst though was that he was generally trying to demand constant attention. He attempted to destroy a treat toy because it was empty, and kept sitting right next to wherever I was and barking at me ever so quietly to get me to play with him. Maybe this is normal? I don't know; I've always been a believer in "a tired dog is a good dog," so Mumble stays pretty active and entertained so that he doesn't have to engage in inappropriate behaviors to gain my attention for an activity.
The sad thing was that as much attention as I could give him, I couldn't give him what he wanted, which was a lot of physical activity. He was whining at me because he wanted me to play rough with him on the floor, or throw a ball for him to run after, or take him outside to play with the dog from upstairs when it went by. My "attention" of petting him, and trying to get him to do low-impact things like trick or behavior skills would only placate him for a little bit, and then he'd be begging all over again.
We'll see how he is behaving tonight (Day 6) after yet another day at home. We had a great walk this morning - long, but not at a fast pace, and with plenty of "training" along the way. He is mastering the automatic stop and sit at the curb before we cross the street, so if he takes a new skill out of all of this, I guess that's a good thing too. Tomorrow, he'll most likely be coming to the office with me during the day, and then we'll still be going to our "Therapy Dog" class tomorrow night (it's the last class, and the vet approved his participation in this - but not in agility). 10 days to go until we go back to the vet for a check up to see if he is healed, or if the sentence continues!
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