# Aaaaaack!!



## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Well, Poppy and I had an interesting evening.

We went to the dog park today, Poppy's absolutely favorite place to go.

She played and ran and had a great time for about an hour. The last 10-15 minutes she was sort of clingy with me. Something she never is at the dog park. It was a cordial visit with no bad tempered dogs or altercations.

After arriving home, Poppy had a snack, a drink and a little nap. She laid by me and I reached down to pet her and found a crusty but wet spot on her side. My fingers came up bloody.

Off to the emergency vet as, of course, it is after hours.

Poppy has an L shaped tear in her side, about 1" long in each direction.

The vets were starting surgery on another dog so they requested that I leave Poppy so they could patch her up when they finished the other surgery.
They knocked her out, cleaned things up, sutured her closed, about 8-9 stitches as far as I could tell, and then they reversed the sedation to wake her up. 

She is on antibiotics, pain meds and has another weird haircut, bald spot, just when her other weird surgery haircuts were growing out.

We started an obedience class last week so training and practicing while high on pain meds should be a riot!

On the up side, the vets and staff are in love with Poppy and complimented her on being so loving and well behaved, in spite of what all they had to do to her tonight! 

Aaaaack! Another 10 days of having to keep her quiet and no playing or running. Sigh! At least it's not the tail. A t-shirt should suffice to keep her boo boo clean and un molested by poodle lips.

That was our day....how was yours?

Cathy and Poppy


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

Poor Poppy! Good thoughts and prayers are with you.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Poor Poppy, but what a brave girl she was. I hope it heals quickly and uneventfully, and she is soon back to tearing around. Have you any idea what caused it? Perhaps it would be worth checking the area of park you were in for branch snags or other jagged things.


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## Muggles (Mar 14, 2015)

Ouch! Poor Poppy. I'm glad she was such a good patient, hopefully the recovery process is smooth for you both. Good luck with the class!


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## Sammy the spoo (Jul 7, 2016)

Oh no! That is too bad...  I wonder what happened... What is your guess? A sharp branch she grazed against mid-play? Either way, I hope she recovers quickly. I know those last days were hard with her last surgery! Will be thinking of you guys!

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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Poor Poppy! Another ten days of restricted activity... Speedy healing, brave Poppy!


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

*Aaaaaack!!* is right - OMG, poor Poppy and poor you. I hope it heals quickly without any problems.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Wow poor Poppy! What do you suppose happened? Remember my Thanksgiving grooming fiasco when I cut Javelin? This sounds pretty similar and he felt well pretty fast. I am sure you will find this easier than the tail surgery since it sounds like she shouldn't be able to reach those sutures as easily as her tail.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Oh no poor Poppy. I do wish the regular vets are avail on sundays because I've also spent many weekends worrying at the pet ER. Most of us do our outings with our dogs on the weekend so it is when they are most prone to injury. It is good that Poppy is very young and heals fast. 
Kit mouths Lucky on the face so I find blood on Lucky sometimes but then I realize Kit is still loosing her teeth. She has shark teeth right now where her old teeth are next to her new teeth so it looks like she has crazy teeth. 


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I am sorry, poor Poppy ! ;-)

I am sure she will heal really fast. I say 3-4 days and she's almost like new. I wonder what happened though. Poor thing, she wasn't complainong and had a big tear on her side... :-(


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Poor Poppy! Glad you were able to get her in last night and that she's on the mend. At least you have an excuse for your obedience class.


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

Oh no, poor little Poppy! I also wonder what happened, is it possible to recall where she was just before being clingy at the park. I don't envy you going through activity restrictions again, but this will probably (hopefully) heal quickly.


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## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

Poor Poppy! That's bad luck. I do hope you can identify the source. I bet it will heal quickly though!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

I can only think that the last dog that she played with, a similar sized poodle, had something to do with this and it was purely an accident. He was playing rather rough with lots of toothy displays and lots of grabbing involved. I did not hear any yelps or anything that sounded or looked worrisome. Poppy was playing as hard as he was.

Just glad I discovered the hole before it festered for a few days. The wound looks good this morning and Poppy is back on bunny patrol wearing her donut. 

I cut back her pain meds today as two pills knocked her on her butt last night. Can always bump it back up if I need to.

We both slept well last night and I expect her to recover quickly.

Thank you all for your kind words.

Here is the bunny patrol kid on duty.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Poppy, please feel much better soon. Gentle hugs from me and Noelle, too.


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

I was going to say that acting clingy is more indicative of a dog interaction gone bad than a tear from an inanimate object. Believe me, Wilson has had his share of drive by thorn attacks gone wrong. He never acts the least bit upset until infection sets in. A "pinch" from his playmates will leave him with a bit of a worried look. We've also had problems with our chain link fencing causing some tiny slices. The dogs love to rub against the fence, and I have to go out with the pliers searching for the sticky out spots. I hate that moment when you are petting your dog and your hand comes back with blood on it. I always feel like it sets off an alarm similar to a submarine dive warning, followed by the mad hunt for the source of the blood.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Charmed said:


> I was going to say that acting clingy is more indicative of a dog interaction gone bad than a tear from an inanimate object. Believe me, Wilson has had his share of drive by thorn attacks gone wrong. He never acts the least bit upset until infection sets in. A "pinch" from his playmates will leave him with a bit of a worried look. We've also had problems with our chain link fencing causing some tiny slices. The dogs love to rub against the fence, and I have to go out with the pliers searching for the sticky out spots. I hate that moment when you are petting your dog and your hand comes back with blood on it. I always feel like it sets off an alarm similar to a submarine dive warning, followed by the mad hunt for the source of the blood.


I do think you are right about why they become clingy all of a sudden. She is a very confident dog so that should have been a big clue to me. Your analogy of the submarine dive warning is spot on. Puts you instantly in search mode. Blood on my hand that night and I grabbed a bath towel, and the clippers, put the towel on the bed, Poppy on the towel and began my search. Was going to clip off that spot for a better look, but when I saw how big it was and saw the muscle exposed through the tear it was grab the dog, the purse and out the door to the e-vet, and unfortunately I know EXACTLY how long of a drive that is.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

*Update!!*

Poppy is doing well, three days into recovery from the dog park boo boo.

I am supposed to keep her quiet, no running, jumping, zoomies, etc, and keep her dry. 

HA! All was well for the first two days. Pills no longer knock her out. We had snow storm all day today, 6 inches of heavy wet snow....just the kind she wants to bound around in. We changed out wet t-shirts for dry ones all day long. Could not go walking...too much wet, can't bathe her if she gets nasty dirty wet. We did lots and lots of brain games and indoor recall exercises today. She got bored with that. We were supposed to have class tonight but it was cancelled.

I baked a pie while she napped and did laundry all day, how exciting! In a couple of days the snow should all be melted and we can get back to loose leash walking outside. On a good note, I could take the donut off as she tolerates the t-shirt now! First couple of days the t-shirt rubbing on sutures annoyed her.

I am so glad I had a lot of things in my first aid kit so that I did not have to scramble around after the fact trying to find cones, donuts, t-shirts etc. i also keep liverwurst in the freezer for giving pills. I get a roll of it and slice it up and freeze the slices in baggies. Then all I have to do is thaw a bag and I have it ready. Few dogs will turn down liverwurst even if there is a pill inside!

Tomorrow I will give her some bone broth that I made as a special treat.

Everyone have a good night.

Cathy and Poppy from Snowy Colorado


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Poor Poppy! She has the rottenest luck! Itchy stitches are no fun at all!
I ran into a similar thing with Molly. except there was no blood, just a nice deep puncture wound on her neck......and I immediately knew then why she had been warning off my son's GR adolescent pup all day when she usually loved playing with him!!! I was lucky enough to be able to flush it and treat it myself and it healed quickly........... When he gets too rowdy now, she stops playing with him and will leave him with her best snarl!!!!! Hahaha he is 4x times bigger than her but he defers to her always!


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## marialydia (Nov 23, 2013)

Wow, what a saga! Poppy is a stoic, that's for sure. Glad it's on the mend, maybe a day or two inside will let the wound heal without it getting stretched while she is outside walking and running around?


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

marialydia said:


> Wow, what a saga! Poppy is a stoic, that's for sure. Glad it's on the mend, maybe a day or two inside will let the wound heal without it getting stretched while she is outside walking and running around?


Stoic....yes! Also, giant spurts of the zoomies IN THE HOUSE are not helpful right now. While the wound looks to be healing fast I am challenged with keeping her wuiet. Pain med slowed her down for 1 day, now that's not working. Moving to higher value treats for training distractions as usual treats are now not exciting enough. Snow storm did not help. Tomorrow and Sunday we will make the rounds of several dog friendly stores and practice loose leash walking with distractions. That wears both of us out. 

Stitches come out a week from today. Gonna be a loooong week as she is feeling spunky.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Lucky was like that too. He was okay for about two days with the pain meds but then he decided to become bouncy even with the cone. What I did is have him tethered to me at all times so he does not have opportunities. No balls, other dogs, or distractions. He slept most of the time with his prized yak cheese. lol 

Snow! It is my favorite thing. I love it! We never see it in FL. I can't believe it is still snowing in late May. We are going to Denver this summer for a doctor's appointment. I've never been to Colorado so I am very excited to see it!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

snow0160 said:


> Lucky was like that too. He was okay for about two days with the pain meds but then he decided to become bouncy even with the cone. What I did is have him tethered to me at all times so he does not have opportunities. No balls, other dogs, or distractions. He slept most of the time with his prized yak cheese. lol
> 
> Snow! It is my favorite thing. I love it! We never see it in FL. I can't believe it is still snowing in late May. We are going to Denver this summer for a doctor's appointment. I've never been to Colorado so I am very excited to see it!


I grew up in Minnesota and lived there for 37 years. I have seen and moved more snow than I ever care to think about. Thankfully, here, on the front range, we get lots of sun so snow seldom last very long. It is highly unusual for us to get snow this time of year. It was really pretty and GIANT snowflakes. It was a really heavy wet snow so moisture content will help trees and grass. We had a warmer than usual winter and spring and flowers which usually bloom the first of June already have come and gone. Unfortunately, due to the weight of the snow, there were a lot of broken and damaged trees.

You will enjoy visiting Colorado and if you tell me a few days before you come I can give you pointers on some places to go. Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park are extra special places to see and you really need to spend a whole day there. I'll be your tour guide! Maybe you could run up to Fort Collins and have the lovely and talented Dr. Gil do some cranial work on you to prevent migraines. We are only 1 hour north of Denver!

Poppy is napping a lot today, maybe yesterday wore her out. When she wakes we will go out and run some errands. Snow will be gone in just a couple of days and we can think about planting tomatoes!

Have a great weekend! Cathy and Poppy, the silly headless wonder dog!


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Viking Queen said:


> I grew up in Minnesota and lived there for 37 years. I have seen and moved more snow than I ever care to think about. Thankfully, here, on the front range, we get lots of sun so snow seldom last very long. It is highly unusual for us to get snow this time of year. It was really pretty and GIANT snowflakes. It was a really heavy wet snow so moisture content will help trees and grass. We had a warmer than usual winter and spring and flowers which usually bloom the first of June already have come and gone. Unfortunately, due to the weight of the snow, there were a lot of broken and damaged trees.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I love this photo of Poppy. So adorable! This will be my first trip to Colorado! I'm super excited. I see so many beautiful photos of the state. I wish I was good at snow sports but I am not. Thank you so much I would to get some pointers. I will definitely let you know a few days in advance. I am super excited to visit. I will be visiting Colorado at least twice this year. I come this summer for pre-op and then surgery in the fall. I hope to be able to still have fun. I wish I can bring Lucky!


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