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1. Puppy Raising: Hormones Are a Bitch -
Part 2
We workedouta planthat the nightsthe doctor and I were bothscheduledtoworkIwouldbringPenny
withme.If we had time to fitherin we would,andif notshe wouldgetpushedbackto the nextpossible
evening.Well,we managedtogetherdone onthe secondnightwe tried.I workedmynormal shiftfrom
4:00 pmuntil midnight,andthenwe startedpreppingPennyforsurgery.LuckyforPenny,mycoworker
Angelawasalsoon.Pennyabsolutelylovesherandis verycomfortable withher.Thismade getting
Pennypreppedaloteasieronher.
Whenwe realizedthatwe wouldhave time todoPenny’ssurgeryIslippedheranoral anti-anxiety
medicationtohelpherrelax.ItwasenoughtokeepPennyrelaxedenoughfor me togive heran
injectable sedative andpainmedicationcombo—we dothiswithall of ourpatientsbefore surgery.It
allowsusto keepthe level of the gasanesthesialowerduringthe surgery.Italsomade ita loteasierfor
us to drawa bloodsample to runand place an IV line andin Penny.
Penny under the influence of a sedative before surgery.
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That nightI alsoweighedher,aneededsteptobe able tocalculate appropriate drugdosesforher.She
was six poundslessthanthe lasttime Iweighedher.The weightlossmade sense,since she hadmisseda
fewmealsordidn’tfinisheatingall herfoodofferedinthe lastfew weeks.Butitwasa little concerning

2. that a still-growingpuppyhadlostthatmuchweight.Itwasalso anothersignthatPennywasdealing
withmore than justteenage rebellionandtestingme.
Once her IV was goingandwe ran a quickbloodpanel onherwe inducedherwithan injectable
anesthetic,placedabreathingtube inher,andmaintainedherongasanesthesia.We shavedherbelly,
scrubbedher,andmovedherintoour surgerysuite.
Pennydidreallywellinsurgeryandwe were able tonotonlyspay herbut doa stomachpexy.Thispexy
isa procedure done tokeepherstomachfromflippingif she were evertobloatinthe future;if that
happenedshe wouldneedemergencylifesavingsurgery.Beingaverylarge breeddogincreasesthe
possibilityof thisconditionhappeningtoher.Itisstill a seriouscondition,butthe treatmentforitwill
not be as invasive,herrecoverywill be alotfaster,anda lot lessexpensive.She alsohadherrear dew
clawsremoved.Noteverydogisbornwithrear dew claws,andunlike frontdew clawsthe rearonesare
oftennotfullyattachedbybone,butby mostlycartilage.Because of thistheytendtobe “floppy”and
can easilygetcaughton thingsandtorn. It isa veryeasyprocedure toremove themandmanydogs get
themremovedwhentheyare spayedorneutered.Ialsotookthe opportunitywhile Pennywasunder
anesthesiatoX-rayherhipsand elbows,justtocheckfor any signsof dysplasia.If Pennyisgoingtobe a
workingservice dog,she needstobe clearof any dysplasia.HavingGermanShepherdinhergenesitwas
a good ideatodo a preliminarycheck,since thatbreedisprone tobothhip and elbow dysplasia.Sofar
Pennyislookingclearof both.She will needX-raysagainataroundtwoyearsoldto be positive.
Penny on the surgery table as Amie assists the doctor.
Upon removingheruterus,itwasdiscoveredthatitwasslightlyenlarged,eitherstill fromthe false
pregnancyor possiblypreparingforanotherheatcycle.Justanotherindicatorof whyherbehaviorwas
still off andpossiblyhormone related.
It tookabout twohours tocomplete all of Penny’streatments.She woke upfromeverythingreally
calmlyandshe soon wentbackto sleepcomfortably.We keptheronsome strongpainmedicationandI
evenplacedapainpatch that wouldkeepaconstantlevel of painmedicationtokeephercomfortable
for the firstfewdaysaftersurgery.I stayedrightnexttoher,and eventooka short napwithher until
she was awake enoughtorealize where she was.
Amie resting next to Penny as she wakes up from her surgery.
A little after7:00 am I leftthe clinictogo home and sleepfora few hoursas I wasscheduledtowork
againat 3:00 pm. AtthispointI had beenupfor almost24 hoursand wasgettingreallytired.Ileft
Pennyat the clinicasshe was not quite readytogo home withme.She wasnot reallywantingtowalk
and I didn’tfeel comfortable leavingherunsupervisedwhileIslept.
WhenI arrivedback formy shiftPennywasveryhappytosee me.She had beena goodgirl for the day
staff.I wasveryhappyto hear that she wasn’tafraidof themand was verycooperative.
Duringher surgeryrecoverywe didkeepherona mildanti-anxietymedicationtohelpkeephercalm.
She neededtostayquiet:norunning,jumping,orhardplaying,justouttopotty onlyfortendays. This
was a little hardforher,but she managedokay.I didn’ttrusthernot to chew herskinstaplesoutwhen

3. not directlysupervised.The firstnighthome,Iputa collaron herto preventherfromgettingtoher
staplesandthe bandagesthatwere on herback feet.She wasterrifiedbythe collar.She satonher bed
frozenandtremblingforalmost30 minutesbefore she wouldlaydownandgo tosleep.She didadjust,
but she hatedthe collar.I wasable to findhera post-operativesuitthatwouldcompletely coverher
spayincisionsoshe couldn’tlickorchew at it.Andas longas I kepther rear feetbandagedshe leftthose
alone as well.She wasaverygood patientandallowedme tochange herbandagesandcheckher belly
daily.She evenallowedme toremove all the skinstaplesbymyself whenitcame time todo so.
WhenPennywashealedupenoughtodo shortoutingsandexercise,she wasveryexcited.She wasso
happyto be able to run and playagain.She evenseemedexcitedtogoto the store withme again,but
she was still constantlylookingoverhershoulderanduncomfortable withcertainpeople passingus.She
still wasn’therself yet.
Now,itcan take multiple weeksandupto multiple monthsforcertainhormonestofullyleave the body,
so itwasn’tsurprisingthatPennydidn’tgobackto her normal self rightaway.She still seemedalittle
lost.She wasstill nervousoutinpublicandrefusingtotake treatsat times.She wasstill strugglingto
walkwithoutpullingandbeingeasilydistracted.
It was time tosee if we couldhelpPennyreturntoherself again.Idecidedtotryan alternative approach
and setPennyupwithan appointmentwithaholisticveterinarian.We metwiththe new vetandstarted
some herbal supplementstohelphormoneimbalance andwe gave acupuncture atry. But once again
she was weighedandshe hadlostanothertwopoundsinthe twoand a half weekssince herspay
surgery.She hadbeeneatingwell,butevidentlynotenough.
We startedseeingpositiveresultsthe dayafterherfirsttreatment.She startedtoregainherfocuson
walksagain.She wasstill easilydistractedbutable torefocusforthe firsttime inweeks.Alongwiththis
treatmentplanwe didourbestto decrease herstresslevel aswell.
Penny relaxing during her acupuncture treatment.
We hadplansto travel to the VancouverWebfest,butPennywasn’treadytodoa triplike thatso we
stayedhome.Istill hadthe time off workso I tookthisopportunitytospenditwithPennyandsee if we
couldmake progresstogether.Thistime waswell spent.We tookshortoutingseverydaytodifferent
placeslike malls,differentstores,andwalksbyherself.EachdayI saw a little improvement.She was
eagerto go out,excitedtoearnfoodrewards,evenlookingtodoshort trainingsessions,eatingall the
foodofferedtoherat meal times,refocused,andalot calmer.Ievenstoppedbymyworkand my
coworkersnoticedadifferenceinher.
We finishedPenny’ssecondacupuncturetreatmentjustbefore Istartedwritingthisblog. She has
gainedbackfour of the eightpoundsshe hadlostand is eatinggreateveryday.She isstill nervousand
not trustingof certainpeople,butitisvariable.Some peopleshe willwalkrightuptoand othersshe will
back awayfrom and lookoverher shoulderuntil she issure thattheyare not followingus.Thisisstill a
workin progressandwe will continue towatchheron this.We have had several verysuccessfuloutings
withPennysoI feel like we are makingprogressinthe rightdirectionwith her.

4. Howeverherfuture asa service dogis still upinthe air as some of her recentbehaviorhasnotexactly
beenservice dogcaliber.Ihave alwayssaidthatpuppyraisingisa bitof a rollercoasterride withups
and downs.Pennyhasregressedalot overthe lastfew months,butsometimesyouneedtotake afew
stepsbackwardsto move forward.Goingthrougha heatcycle,false pregnancy,majorsurgery,and
possiblygettingreadytogo back intoa heatcycle has takenitstoll on Penny.It’sa lotfor anypuppyto
go through,especiallyasucha sensitive one like Penny.We are takingthingsslowlywithPennyatthe
momentanddoingeverythingwe canthinkof tosee if we can getherback to the puppyshe wasbefore
all the changesin herlife.Onlytime will tell if these behavioral changeswerecausedbythe hormone
change or if thisisthe dog she ismaturingintoor maybe a little of both.We are payingveryclose
attentiontowhatPennyisdoingand sayingtous and will be workingwithBrigadoonon making
decisionsonwhatisbestforher.
For more detailson our products and services,please feel free tovisitus at: psychiatricservice dog,
veterandog, medical alert dog, puppy, puppies.