Happy Birthday Zane

It's birthday number 2 for Zane. It's hard to believe all that he has been through in a years time but he is a healthier and stronger dog for all of it.
Zane has now been to 2 underwater treadmill sessions. He has taken to it pretty well and has a nice smooth gait when he is being buoyed by the water. The tank gets filled almost to hip height. Since Zane holds his head lower than normal, they have to be careful to not get the water too high or his nose might dip down into it. He walked for 2 separate 2 minute sessions on Tuesday. We are working up to 3, 3 minute walks per session. It doesn't seem like much but walking in water is hard work. Five minutes in the water is equal to 40 minutes on land.
At home, Zane is taking one 8-10 minute walk daily. We will slowly increase the time walking as he is able to tolerate it. I allow him to wander the backyard freely as long as someone is there to stop him in case he tries to play. He has demonstrated that he can run quite smoothly now too. We keep that to a minimum though! He is building up his stamina by trotting through our small wooded area. When he is tired he comes up to the deck to lay on one of his mats under the umbrella.
Zane's progress is great. At his 4 week post surgery check up, his Dr stated that he is doing great neurologically. When you flip his paws over to check for ataxia, he flips them right back where they belong. Way to go Zane!

Nearly 2 weeks since the latest surgery

Zane is doing very well. He has resumed eating and drinking but still hates taking all his medicines. He so hates his painkiller, Tramadol, that we have stopped giving it to him since he seems fine without it. The antibiotics are still a challenge to get into him. For a while, I was able to mix them in a little soft butter and then slap them on his tongue with a tiny spatula, clamp shut his mouth and blow a little air in his nose. They would slide right down his throat. One day however, he got his mouth back open just long enough to spit them back out. To show me just how much he hated the whole procedure, he spit them directly at me and nailed my whole side. I had Dane slobber mixed with (now)liquid butter and pills sliding all down my arm and leg. It was pretty nasty getting hacked on by my dog. He seemed rather amused as he ran off to the other room. I swear he acts like we are trying to poison him.
Zane's gait has been improving as well. It seems that his bionic knee is healing nicely and he doesn't limp on it anymore. He has returned to his favorite sleeping grounds, formerly known as my bed, and gets up and down on his own. We still keep him confined to "his" room (formerly known as the spare room) when we have to be out of the house. He even knows what it means when I tell him to go to his room and heads right in. He has a special Winnie the Pooh comforter that we got after the last surgery and he just loves to bury his face in it. He is also back to drinking out of the bathroom sink faucet. He just stands in front of it until someone gets up and turns it on. Sometimes he even does this in the middle of the night. Today he practiced climbing in and out of the tub (with my assistance and watchful eye) while Zoe and Zeke drank from opposite sides of the tub faucet. I have no idea where Daizy Lu was as she certainly missed out on all the tub fun. Had she known, she would have been right in the tub with Zane! I can't wait to get out the kiddie pool after Zane gets his staples removed. I bet Daizy will just love it!
Speaking of staple removal...tomorrow is Zane's 2 week checkup. He should be getting his staples removed as we find out what the next steps are in his recovery process. Hopefully, we will get to start doing rehab soon....keep those fingers crossed.