I have the advise of the lovely vet who had bella in his care and i have it written down too,BUT,i hear bella crying in the day and in the night in v.short burst when she moves her head..i know she must be extremly sore and she has her meds ontime everday.they've said she can have her buster collar off 10 days after the op,i dont think its going to be that soon as although things are progressing v.nicely(swelling is going down no infection so far and its oozing how he said it would ect) it looks nasty:-(

i feel so sorry for her..

when she first came home she wouldnt go up the garden for a wee alone i had to go with her,she still is frightened of me leaving her alone so im still goin with her im still holding her food and water bowl for her as i dont think taking that buster collar off to eat and drink is good advise at all,im not prepared to catch her ear when taking off or putting it back on...but im wondering if anyone eles whos had major or minor ops how long the recovery was?

for the first time in months shes come to lay in the living room with us.
shes not alone all the time i go to lay with her when i can,that floors cold you know!!!and those memory foam beds aint half comfy!! lol...
just a bit of back ground and im after your experiences to reassure me im not being an over protective mummy.

Hi Romside

I don't think you are being over-protective - just being the lovely mummy she needs right now.  It must be very scarey for her to be in pain and she obviously needs to be near you as much as possible.  I would baby her & feed her just what she wants when she wants it.

I would contact the vet & see if she can have any more pain relief - it sounds like her levels of pain are too high & that will get in the way of healing.

In terms of the collar - presumably it's to stop her scratching her ear?  I wonder if there is a more comfy one she could wear.  I have seen soft felt ones which look pretty good & the dog uses them a bit as a pillow and it seems less distressing.

It sounds like she is making progress & once she is well she will have forgotten about all of this & will just be free from her previous pain.  Mind you - unfortunately you won't be able to forget so quickly . . .

I bought a blow up collar for my dog recently the comfy collar many places sell them this is an example.  I took it to show my specialist and he was more than happy for her to use this instead of the awful lamp shade, and with this is was more like a pillow and didn't restrict her vision or ability to eat and drink
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Comfy-Collar-Veterinary-Size/dp/B003XLF0DU/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1355058699&sr=1-1

Day by day she will feel more comfortable,one of mine was in pain for a few days after surgery,I was ringing the vet up during the night I was so distraught watching her in pain,the blow up collar is a good idea,fingers crossed for a speedy recovery,hope shes brighter tomorrow.

Sheila xx

thanks all,i shall be having a good old look at the collar youve suggested although im not sure it will be suitable as she has a scar right down her face,and i worry she'll be able to reach it..i shall have a look tho thank you

How is Bella today,hope she is brighter.

Sheila

Today bella is seeming better than she was shes more mobile shes going outside more not so much in confidence but is asking to go out, she'll get out of her bed to come follow me around a little bit now so heres hoping its onwards and UPWARDS now..
thank you for asking....

shes gonna love her xmas prezzie!!

So glad she is a bit brighter,they are a big worry at times.

Sheila

Spoke to A vet yesterday as it was her 7 day check up....i came away really ...lets say not happy but breathing calmly!

Firstly i rang to book app,got told caris nor jacob no longer work there so that annoyed me to begin with and thought well she needs to be seen so have to book..

gets there to hear the cocky new receptionsist saying to people in front they dont do direct claims...hmm they do cos ive done two??

anyway see the vet shes about 10 and tried royally pulling the wool over my eyes and tried worrying the hell out of me...

(i feel for less in the know customers)
said to take bellas collar off so she can have a feel of her ear to which i replied nope!! specialist told me to not let anyone touch it,he specifically said your vet can see the ear if you lift the ear up and he wont need to touch so dont worry....thats clear enough for me...and i know neither jacob nor caris would have wanted to...

then she says lets do bloods and a swab to check for infection...?????

i thought hold up here....theres no swelling no smell no discharge (that souldnt be there) NA we're NOT putting her through anymore than needed.
she says shes tilting her head and shaking a teeny bit,well yes of course she is the stitches are agrovating the life out of her and shes crying because when she trys to shake the itch off it bloody hurts!!!!

long and the short of it she wanted to charge me for bloods a swab to go to the lab consult antibiotics NEW type of antibiotics and painkillers....so whats the new ones for then?
surely if shes on new antis (for the imaginary infection)then the lab result will be worth nothing...or am i a div?

im fed up my poor dog has been through hell and she cant even hang her head in the vets lap that she knows...

on the up side bella has me looking out for her!!

so i phoned my specialist last night who got back to me this morning...i sent him photos of the ear via e mail,he agrees with me theres no need for touching,and what he could see(very clear pics i made sure) theres no need for treating an infection that isnt there....

so.....i need a new vet!!! BUT bella is doing well

oh dear,hope you can find a good vet,

Sheila

It is awful when the vet leaves that you know and trust, it takes time to build up the same again, I would ask to see the senior vet in future and once this condition has settled ask around about a better practice.

I hope she continues to make good progress.

Would it be worth asking the reception there if they could forward a letter on to either of your old vets.  If you seal an envelope - tell them it is a thankyou card or some such!  and you could pop a note in to tell them what has gone on and that if possible you would rather use them could they forward details of their new place on to you

lol roxlola i thought of that but caris went to ireland and jacob back to poland sooo dont think it'll be worthmy while lol

And regarding the senior vet there isnt one!!! no one has run the vets for years now if im honest its stupid...there are now two young girls in there that no one knows...

have done some ringing round and im gong to speak to the vet at a practise that sounds like a new place to settle when matthew is back from scotland tommorrow...

need to find one who wont shudder at the thoughtof bella giving cuddles or talking for that matter!!