Reassurance/help/guidance/advice for surgery recovery for big goony dog
February 3, 2025 5:33 AM Subscribe
Our dog is having surgery on his knee tomorrow. We are worried about his recovery and how to care for him and make sure his surgery is successful and he's not miserable.
I forget what the surgery is called but it's sort of ACL adacent and is to secure his floating kneecap to it's appropriate spot and prevent more debilitating injury in the future.
Keypoints:
1 - we trust the vet and the advice we have been given
2 - they have provided meds and guidance for his recovery
3 - we are both at home and can monitor him
The challenges:
He's 65 pounds and so is his best friend, The Other Dog. He's six, other dog is about nine. It's a lot of dog.
Neither of them spend much time on leashes, ever, except walking across a parking lot etc. We live in a rural area where they basically run free like wild animals and they act like wild animals.
Mr. Llama just hurt his shoulder, badly. We think maybe rotator cuff. Our original plan was that Mr. Llama would do a lot of carrying. That is looking challenging. But I think we can secure him in a crate and we could manage it together. Him being the dog, not Mr. Llama.
We have lots of stairs and sleep upstairs, but we are thinking of sleeping downstairs while he is recovering. He sleeps with us in our bed. Maybe we could move the mattress onto the floor. Or build a ramp to the bed???
We will have treats galore. A distracting number of treats.
Does anyone have personal experience for advice about how to manage this?
I am very concerned about the size of the dogs and their normally wild, impulsive ways. I'm concerned about the eight week recovery period, and I'm concerned about managing his recovery once the drugs wear off and he does something impulsive like tear after the cat for lulz.
Any advice is appreciated. We're quite jumpy about our smol 65 pound boy.
I forget what the surgery is called but it's sort of ACL adacent and is to secure his floating kneecap to it's appropriate spot and prevent more debilitating injury in the future.
Keypoints:
1 - we trust the vet and the advice we have been given
2 - they have provided meds and guidance for his recovery
3 - we are both at home and can monitor him
The challenges:
He's 65 pounds and so is his best friend, The Other Dog. He's six, other dog is about nine. It's a lot of dog.
Neither of them spend much time on leashes, ever, except walking across a parking lot etc. We live in a rural area where they basically run free like wild animals and they act like wild animals.
Mr. Llama just hurt his shoulder, badly. We think maybe rotator cuff. Our original plan was that Mr. Llama would do a lot of carrying. That is looking challenging. But I think we can secure him in a crate and we could manage it together. Him being the dog, not Mr. Llama.
We have lots of stairs and sleep upstairs, but we are thinking of sleeping downstairs while he is recovering. He sleeps with us in our bed. Maybe we could move the mattress onto the floor. Or build a ramp to the bed???
We will have treats galore. A distracting number of treats.
Does anyone have personal experience for advice about how to manage this?
I am very concerned about the size of the dogs and their normally wild, impulsive ways. I'm concerned about the eight week recovery period, and I'm concerned about managing his recovery once the drugs wear off and he does something impulsive like tear after the cat for lulz.
Any advice is appreciated. We're quite jumpy about our smol 65 pound boy.
65 pounds is a lot to lug even without the crate. Would it be possible to get a harness with a handle such that one of you or both of you could sort of brace the dog up the stairs instead of carrying? The vet's office might even have one; when our old girl had her leg amputated the vet sent us home with a sling so we could hold her up. A harness with handle was better ergonomically, though. With the harness even I could haul her up and down, and I am a smol lady.
Would definitely confine to downstairs, and moving the mattress might make him feel more comfortable -- all the familiar smells.
Consider perhaps keeping him crated often during the recovery -- and if the vet doesn't feel good about longer-term sedation maybe try CBD or other calming treats to chill him out. For the first week I would bet he's too doped up/tired/feeling poorly to do much though, so you can just keep him with you on the one floor and probably be fine. But yeah, once he's feeling himself again you really don't want him tearing ass around -- and the best way to prevent that is if he's either in crate or on leash, until his recovery is really mostly done.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:28 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
Would definitely confine to downstairs, and moving the mattress might make him feel more comfortable -- all the familiar smells.
Consider perhaps keeping him crated often during the recovery -- and if the vet doesn't feel good about longer-term sedation maybe try CBD or other calming treats to chill him out. For the first week I would bet he's too doped up/tired/feeling poorly to do much though, so you can just keep him with you on the one floor and probably be fine. But yeah, once he's feeling himself again you really don't want him tearing ass around -- and the best way to prevent that is if he's either in crate or on leash, until his recovery is really mostly done.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:28 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
all i want in the world is a photo of big goony dog
posted by changeling at 9:34 AM on February 3 [5 favorites]
posted by changeling at 9:34 AM on February 3 [5 favorites]
I just went through this with my 50lb pitty mutt who had ACL surgery. The drugs are your friends for the first few weeks... she was very sedated and it was good for everyone. After 2 weeks we could start introducing leash walks, and 2 or 3 leash walks a day with some trazodone at night to make sure she slept well went surprisingly ok. This is also a dog that got 2 or 3 miles off leash most days pre-surgery.
I set up a 3ft high puppy fence in my house so she didn't have to be in the actual crate unless I was out and she was in probably a 10ft x 4ft area most of the time... it was up against french doors to the patio so she had stuff to look at and good light for sunny naps. She was able to walk up and down stairs under supervision right away so there wasn't too much lifting and carrying. At night, I put the puppy fence around a dog bed on the floor next to my bed.
None of this is groundbreaking advice but the tl;dr is it's not going to be as bad as you think. I thought it would be a nightmare with my dog and her normal activity levels but it was just mildly inconvenient. Her training definitely backslid and I hated not getting to hike with her but she dealt with the situation surprisingly well.
posted by rachelv at 9:35 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
I set up a 3ft high puppy fence in my house so she didn't have to be in the actual crate unless I was out and she was in probably a 10ft x 4ft area most of the time... it was up against french doors to the patio so she had stuff to look at and good light for sunny naps. She was able to walk up and down stairs under supervision right away so there wasn't too much lifting and carrying. At night, I put the puppy fence around a dog bed on the floor next to my bed.
None of this is groundbreaking advice but the tl;dr is it's not going to be as bad as you think. I thought it would be a nightmare with my dog and her normal activity levels but it was just mildly inconvenient. Her training definitely backslid and I hated not getting to hike with her but she dealt with the situation surprisingly well.
posted by rachelv at 9:35 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
Best answer: We found harness helpful for maneuvering our smaller dog when he had TPLO surgery. Do all the walks you're allowed to, and try to make them interesting with lots of sniffing. Keep him stimulated to the degree you can with chewing toys, etc. Will he eat his meals out of a puzzle toy or snuffle mat? Brain stimulation can help keep him tired! My husband slept with our dog on the couch for two months until we got the go-ahead for more freedom of movement, and it was really helpful, so I do think it would be good to sleep somewhere he can sleep with you more feasibly.
posted by obfuscation at 9:55 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
posted by obfuscation at 9:55 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
Best answer: When we had a cat with a leg bone fracture the cat was officially put on cage rest. To ensure that he didn't try to run or jump or anything, not only did we put his food and water and cat pan right beside him so he didn't have to move, but my daughter also spent pretty much her every waking and sleeping moment lying beside him. He didn't get put in a cage, he was on a twin mattress on the floor with his cat pan and dishes at the same level as the mattress surface.
I credit her presences as making his complete recovery possible. He was never tempted to get up and move around because she was right there all the time so he had warmth, attention and company. I suggest you do something similar for your dog. As much as possible have someone passive beside him during the first few days where he is supposed to not be active. This way curiosity and the desire to be with his people and the need for stimulation will all not tempt him to do things he shouldn't. Yes, bring the mattress down to the ground floor and have a sleep over.
I'd definitely suggest you bring everything you can to him and you get down on the ground with him and spend time there - bring your device or some books, plan on taking turns just chilling and cuddling. I'd suggest that you try to spend the next few days after surgery in a puppy pile, with his fellow dog too confined to kennel beside him. Dogs understand being left behind in the den - it's natural behaviour for puppies before they are old enough to roam, and it's natural behaviour for dogs during bad weather. They hunker down during blizzards and hurricanes. If you can tap into this instinct, he won't get restless.
If the cat doesn't normally cuddle with him, I'd banish the cat temporarily. You can let it roam around outside, or shut it up somewhere upstairs. Similarly, if other dog gets boisterous, you might divide and conquer and keep other dog out of his sight unless it too can be convinced to go torpid on the convalescent room mattress - and try turning the heat up so that it makes everyone sleepy.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:03 AM on February 3
I credit her presences as making his complete recovery possible. He was never tempted to get up and move around because she was right there all the time so he had warmth, attention and company. I suggest you do something similar for your dog. As much as possible have someone passive beside him during the first few days where he is supposed to not be active. This way curiosity and the desire to be with his people and the need for stimulation will all not tempt him to do things he shouldn't. Yes, bring the mattress down to the ground floor and have a sleep over.
I'd definitely suggest you bring everything you can to him and you get down on the ground with him and spend time there - bring your device or some books, plan on taking turns just chilling and cuddling. I'd suggest that you try to spend the next few days after surgery in a puppy pile, with his fellow dog too confined to kennel beside him. Dogs understand being left behind in the den - it's natural behaviour for puppies before they are old enough to roam, and it's natural behaviour for dogs during bad weather. They hunker down during blizzards and hurricanes. If you can tap into this instinct, he won't get restless.
If the cat doesn't normally cuddle with him, I'd banish the cat temporarily. You can let it roam around outside, or shut it up somewhere upstairs. Similarly, if other dog gets boisterous, you might divide and conquer and keep other dog out of his sight unless it too can be convinced to go torpid on the convalescent room mattress - and try turning the heat up so that it makes everyone sleepy.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:03 AM on February 3
Best answer: Lots of good advice, my addition is after the first few weeks of recovery start to work their brain during exercise restrictions. Treat and peanut butter stuffed kongs, frozen solid, can be surprisingly distracting for a working dog. Clicker based obedience training, you can even start by teaching him leash manners which will help when he can start leashed walks again, crate training if he's not already crate trained, low impact tricks, etc. etc.
We liked an exercise pen when we were supervising (but expens are not safe unsupervised for big dogs in my personal experience), it removes the temptation to jump up on couches or get mad zoomies. And agreeing if someone can sit in the expen with him that's the simplest way to keep them calm and lazy.
posted by muddgirl at 10:09 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
We liked an exercise pen when we were supervising (but expens are not safe unsupervised for big dogs in my personal experience), it removes the temptation to jump up on couches or get mad zoomies. And agreeing if someone can sit in the expen with him that's the simplest way to keep them calm and lazy.
posted by muddgirl at 10:09 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
Our 60-ish pound pup went through a knee surgery recently! Here are some things we learned:
They want you to crate the dog, but they also send your dog home with a big old cone, in our case so comically large that there was no way the dog was getting in the crate with it on. So we did like rachelv and set up a gate/pen/fence area (for example) that still kept him enclosed and controlled but was so much easier to navigate. It's also easy to reconfigure as a fence to keep him into larger but still controlled parts of your house when you want to.
The painkillers and sedation keep the pup shockingly chill for the first week or two. You could probably request an extended prescription if you want to have that behavior modification for longer.
Is this a rear leg? They sent us home with a sling to put under his belly to support him as he walks. He got used to it really fast. A harness with a handle on the back, as far back as you can get it for balance, is good too. We like Ruffwear harnesses for that.
Stairs are pretty much a no go at first. Are there stairs to get outside? We had four feet down from our back deck, so we built a 12 foot ramp. Memail me if you want suggestions for that.
Keep him on a leash and/or fenced off from temptations (cats! squirrels! delivery people!) until the vet says he's free to do his normal activity. It might be a bummer, but having to do a second surgery would be sooo much worse!
posted by whatnotever at 11:12 AM on February 3
They want you to crate the dog, but they also send your dog home with a big old cone, in our case so comically large that there was no way the dog was getting in the crate with it on. So we did like rachelv and set up a gate/pen/fence area (for example) that still kept him enclosed and controlled but was so much easier to navigate. It's also easy to reconfigure as a fence to keep him into larger but still controlled parts of your house when you want to.
The painkillers and sedation keep the pup shockingly chill for the first week or two. You could probably request an extended prescription if you want to have that behavior modification for longer.
Is this a rear leg? They sent us home with a sling to put under his belly to support him as he walks. He got used to it really fast. A harness with a handle on the back, as far back as you can get it for balance, is good too. We like Ruffwear harnesses for that.
Stairs are pretty much a no go at first. Are there stairs to get outside? We had four feet down from our back deck, so we built a 12 foot ramp. Memail me if you want suggestions for that.
Keep him on a leash and/or fenced off from temptations (cats! squirrels! delivery people!) until the vet says he's free to do his normal activity. It might be a bummer, but having to do a second surgery would be sooo much worse!
posted by whatnotever at 11:12 AM on February 3
Best answer: DRUGS. I had to fight like hell to get them to give me enough to keep my dog from being a danger to himself. You know your own animal best and if you think you need more, be exceedingly clear that you cannot keep him safe without them. My (insane) dog needed trazodone, acepromazine, and gabapentin, all at fairly high doses. Once they're adequately sedated then most other problems are solved too.
If he can't be calm in an ex-pen then keep him crated. With enough drugs he won't mind.
Sleep downstairs with him. Do not build a ramp to the bed because of the risk of him impulsively jumping off. If you have outdoor steps you might want to build a ramp for those.
posted by HotToddy at 1:47 PM on February 3 [2 favorites]
If he can't be calm in an ex-pen then keep him crated. With enough drugs he won't mind.
Sleep downstairs with him. Do not build a ramp to the bed because of the risk of him impulsively jumping off. If you have outdoor steps you might want to build a ramp for those.
posted by HotToddy at 1:47 PM on February 3 [2 favorites]
Best answer: One of my nonMefite friends' dog just had a similar surgery so I sent a link to this question to her so she might get some useful information. She read it and sent me an answer to the question so I'll share it with y'all.
i have experienced the ACL tear with 3 different dogs. My current dog is 45 lbs but my two previous with this energy are Rottweilers.
The surgery you are discussing sounds like TPLO. Years ago they did Lateral Suture surgery. It costs less but I was soon convinced TPLO is more stable with quicker recovery time (3-4 months)
I sleep in the living room with my dog. Stairs are a big ‘no no’ although to go outside to pee (or whatever) I have to ensure his injured leg bears no weight. No getting up on the couch or bed and either separate your dogs the first month or be sure you are watching for no playful interactions.
1. Dutifully administer medicines timely.
2. Use a Lick Sleeve
3. Check to see if your dog needs to go out middle of the night.
4. Only have him walk outside for a few min and not long distances
5. Your dog may act like they are better than they are- they are on pain medications
6. Check regularly for swelling and/or discharge
posted by a humble nudibranch at 1:49 PM on February 3 [3 favorites]
i have experienced the ACL tear with 3 different dogs. My current dog is 45 lbs but my two previous with this energy are Rottweilers.
The surgery you are discussing sounds like TPLO. Years ago they did Lateral Suture surgery. It costs less but I was soon convinced TPLO is more stable with quicker recovery time (3-4 months)
I sleep in the living room with my dog. Stairs are a big ‘no no’ although to go outside to pee (or whatever) I have to ensure his injured leg bears no weight. No getting up on the couch or bed and either separate your dogs the first month or be sure you are watching for no playful interactions.
1. Dutifully administer medicines timely.
2. Use a Lick Sleeve
3. Check to see if your dog needs to go out middle of the night.
4. Only have him walk outside for a few min and not long distances
5. Your dog may act like they are better than they are- they are on pain medications
6. Check regularly for swelling and/or discharge
posted by a humble nudibranch at 1:49 PM on February 3 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you everyone. So we've decided Mr Llama will sleep downstairs (at minimum. Maybe I will too, but there will be a lot of needs to manage in the rest of the household).
We'll put the mattress on the floor.
We have toddler gates but will look at adding additional so we can corral him into whatever room we're in.
Neither one of the dogs has ever been crated, and the cone thing sounds contraindicated. We'd already agreed to time basically stopping. Mr. Llama can work sitting next to our dude, so can I. So I guess we are sort of going into a meditation dog injury retreat kind of thing.
We've got a barrel of Trazadone, apparently. I'd been unaware.
I had already knitted him a blanket. Not to brag, but to brag, I made my first cables. I screwed up a lot of it. But he is not a critical guy. And we have homemade chicken soup, so that will hopefully improve his relationship with trazadone. He's a super taster. (Our other dog attacks food and you sense that if it were actually just bits of shoelaces soaked in beef broth she'd be completely cool with it but this guy *chews* when he eats. Like he might send it back. He spits out Milk Bones.) So I think he'll be pretty psyched to be the guy who gets bowls of chicken soup delivered to him although honestly we're probably going to be giving them both chicken soup.
We are looking into one of those things that are basically a tote bag for our dude because we do have steps in and out. Only a couple by the back door so we could maybe rig a ramp if necessary or just tote him up and down.
I can't figure out how an image gets shared online anymore but I gave it a shot. These are the geniuses in question. Hopefully you can see them. The knee boy is in orange. I'll try to post a sweeter photo after I get over my rage at why the heic file format is a default anywhere.
They aren't fighting. This is their idea of a perfectly relaxing way to wake up in the morning.
The photo does give you a good idea of what we're up against, however.
It doesn't look it but our girl on the right is very sweet but she looks terrifying as a default. I admire that in a woman.
I would give anything to look that fierce.
Thanks again everyone. If anyone has longer term or additional advice pleaseweigh in. Recovery is eight weeks. Surgery is tomorrow.
Reminding myself that time only moves in one direction, indifferent to current conditions.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:30 PM on February 3 [3 favorites]
We'll put the mattress on the floor.
We have toddler gates but will look at adding additional so we can corral him into whatever room we're in.
Neither one of the dogs has ever been crated, and the cone thing sounds contraindicated. We'd already agreed to time basically stopping. Mr. Llama can work sitting next to our dude, so can I. So I guess we are sort of going into a meditation dog injury retreat kind of thing.
We've got a barrel of Trazadone, apparently. I'd been unaware.
I had already knitted him a blanket. Not to brag, but to brag, I made my first cables. I screwed up a lot of it. But he is not a critical guy. And we have homemade chicken soup, so that will hopefully improve his relationship with trazadone. He's a super taster. (Our other dog attacks food and you sense that if it were actually just bits of shoelaces soaked in beef broth she'd be completely cool with it but this guy *chews* when he eats. Like he might send it back. He spits out Milk Bones.) So I think he'll be pretty psyched to be the guy who gets bowls of chicken soup delivered to him although honestly we're probably going to be giving them both chicken soup.
We are looking into one of those things that are basically a tote bag for our dude because we do have steps in and out. Only a couple by the back door so we could maybe rig a ramp if necessary or just tote him up and down.
I can't figure out how an image gets shared online anymore but I gave it a shot. These are the geniuses in question. Hopefully you can see them. The knee boy is in orange. I'll try to post a sweeter photo after I get over my rage at why the heic file format is a default anywhere.
They aren't fighting. This is their idea of a perfectly relaxing way to wake up in the morning.
The photo does give you a good idea of what we're up against, however.
It doesn't look it but our girl on the right is very sweet but she looks terrifying as a default. I admire that in a woman.
I would give anything to look that fierce.
Thanks again everyone. If anyone has longer term or additional advice pleaseweigh in. Recovery is eight weeks. Surgery is tomorrow.
Reminding myself that time only moves in one direction, indifferent to current conditions.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:30 PM on February 3 [3 favorites]
Best answer: My dog had TPLO surgery last August; she's smaller than your pup, but I wanted to mention what worked for us. Nthing the lick sleeve -- I was very skeptical it would work, but our dog, who has panic attacks with cones, was totally chill with this thing, and it was super easy to put on. Could be more of an issue for a male dog though, simply owing to urination stances. Regardless, I definitely recommend it over a cone!
We did spend the first two or three weeks keeping our dog confined to one floor, and sleeping down there with her at night. We also confined her to one room when we had to be away from home for a while. She was also on gabapentin and rimadol for pain, and the gabapentin in particular made her drowsy and pretty chill. We also had a sling given to us by the vet for use in helping our dog negotiate stairs when necessary, but tbh it never felt like a lot of help.
Wishing your pup a speedy recovery!
posted by Janta at 6:12 PM on February 3
We did spend the first two or three weeks keeping our dog confined to one floor, and sleeping down there with her at night. We also confined her to one room when we had to be away from home for a while. She was also on gabapentin and rimadol for pain, and the gabapentin in particular made her drowsy and pretty chill. We also had a sling given to us by the vet for use in helping our dog negotiate stairs when necessary, but tbh it never felt like a lot of help.
Wishing your pup a speedy recovery!
posted by Janta at 6:12 PM on February 3
My 70 pound dog had TPLO on both knees back to back – we got the all clear on knee #1 and he started limping on knee #2 two days later. It was a fun and very expensive experience!
Agreed on sticking to one floor. My boy usually sleeps in a crate in the basement (his preference), so I moved the crate to the main floor. I had a baby gate to keep him from going up to the second floor, but he's not very interested in the second floor unless I'm up there, so I stuck to the first floor as much as possible. That included making myself a little nest on the living room floor so that we could sit and cuddle together, because the thing he was most sad about was that he wasn't allowed to jump up on the couch to be with me. :(
My guy is also extremely crazy and active and I was worried about him being able to rest. Trazodone is definitely your friend. For keeping him from licking/irritating the incision, the vet's office will likely give you a cone, but it will be one of those cheap plastic ones. My house is small and my dog is large so he kept bumping into walls and chipping paint. We ended up getting a soft cone off of Amazon that he seemed to prefer and saved my poor walls.
I'm sure your vet will give you specific instructions for walks, but we stuck to just going outside to potty (no stairs) for the first two weeks, then got the all clear at our first follow-up appointment to start doing five minute daily walks and build up to 30 minutes over the course of the 6 remaining weeks of recovery. This is really important as it helps your dog build back strength in the leg.
As others have said, honestly, it probably won't be as bad as you think it will be. The hardest part for us was the first few days; my boy was just so miserable and it broke my heart. But slowly but surely he started to put a little weight on the leg, then more, then more, and you could tell he was feeling better. It's been a little over a year since his second surgery and he's doing great now with no lingering issues. Good luck to you and the pup!
posted by anotheraccount at 11:56 AM on February 4
Agreed on sticking to one floor. My boy usually sleeps in a crate in the basement (his preference), so I moved the crate to the main floor. I had a baby gate to keep him from going up to the second floor, but he's not very interested in the second floor unless I'm up there, so I stuck to the first floor as much as possible. That included making myself a little nest on the living room floor so that we could sit and cuddle together, because the thing he was most sad about was that he wasn't allowed to jump up on the couch to be with me. :(
My guy is also extremely crazy and active and I was worried about him being able to rest. Trazodone is definitely your friend. For keeping him from licking/irritating the incision, the vet's office will likely give you a cone, but it will be one of those cheap plastic ones. My house is small and my dog is large so he kept bumping into walls and chipping paint. We ended up getting a soft cone off of Amazon that he seemed to prefer and saved my poor walls.
I'm sure your vet will give you specific instructions for walks, but we stuck to just going outside to potty (no stairs) for the first two weeks, then got the all clear at our first follow-up appointment to start doing five minute daily walks and build up to 30 minutes over the course of the 6 remaining weeks of recovery. This is really important as it helps your dog build back strength in the leg.
As others have said, honestly, it probably won't be as bad as you think it will be. The hardest part for us was the first few days; my boy was just so miserable and it broke my heart. But slowly but surely he started to put a little weight on the leg, then more, then more, and you could tell he was feeling better. It's been a little over a year since his second surgery and he's doing great now with no lingering issues. Good luck to you and the pup!
posted by anotheraccount at 11:56 AM on February 4
- create a recuperation area with a high-quality (joint-supporting) bed
- section it off with baby gates or get something like a fireplace protector to divide a room
- absolutely no high surfaces in the recuperation area
- no slippery floors, but different surfaces would be nice - rug, hard flooring, bed
- contained space, not enough room to zoom, but no crate unless it's absolutely necessary
- even if it becomes necessary, you need a crate with enough room for your dog to be on his side, stretched out and not touching the water bowl that's in there with him
- feed via toys as soon as he is alert (use licking mats with yoghurt/canned food/babyfood, or pour chicken soup into a Kong plugged with melted cheese, then freeze)
- when he can stand, use snuffle mats and snuffle boxes (aka cardboard box filled with corks - scatter treats or kibble, don't leave dog unattended) to tire him out
- you can do clicker training (5 minutes three times a day) to exercise your dog's brain, even lying down
- good clicker goals for immobile dogs include blinking, opening mouth, laying head down, practising toothbrushing, capturing a relaxed sigh, a happy selfie face, yawning, being patient with "leave it" for treats on or between paws
- rather than a licking sleeve, I have loved the protective foam collars that look like a UFO - soft, easy to navigate, easy to use. Possibly hard to find, though a friend of mine simply made one for her dog, so if you know a crafty person...
- try to make sure he's extra-comfortable otherwise: maybe some care for his pads or fur? a lovely breeze with interesting scents? music? sunlight?
- best way to hide pills for picky dogs is to melt some cheese and then create a sealed cheese ball around the pill. Then pretend to give it to other dog (obviously also actually give her some cheese)
- bring rags with scents from your walks with dog friend, anything non-gross that dog friend finds interesting
- novelty is good. Get a big bag of baby-safe plush toys from a thrift store and dole them out one by one
- destruction is fun - let him shred cardboard boxes and aforementioned plushies so he can live out his wild side
- best of luck!
posted by toucan at 2:45 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]
- section it off with baby gates or get something like a fireplace protector to divide a room
- absolutely no high surfaces in the recuperation area
- no slippery floors, but different surfaces would be nice - rug, hard flooring, bed
- contained space, not enough room to zoom, but no crate unless it's absolutely necessary
- even if it becomes necessary, you need a crate with enough room for your dog to be on his side, stretched out and not touching the water bowl that's in there with him
- feed via toys as soon as he is alert (use licking mats with yoghurt/canned food/babyfood, or pour chicken soup into a Kong plugged with melted cheese, then freeze)
- when he can stand, use snuffle mats and snuffle boxes (aka cardboard box filled with corks - scatter treats or kibble, don't leave dog unattended) to tire him out
- you can do clicker training (5 minutes three times a day) to exercise your dog's brain, even lying down
- good clicker goals for immobile dogs include blinking, opening mouth, laying head down, practising toothbrushing, capturing a relaxed sigh, a happy selfie face, yawning, being patient with "leave it" for treats on or between paws
- rather than a licking sleeve, I have loved the protective foam collars that look like a UFO - soft, easy to navigate, easy to use. Possibly hard to find, though a friend of mine simply made one for her dog, so if you know a crafty person...
- try to make sure he's extra-comfortable otherwise: maybe some care for his pads or fur? a lovely breeze with interesting scents? music? sunlight?
- best way to hide pills for picky dogs is to melt some cheese and then create a sealed cheese ball around the pill. Then pretend to give it to other dog (obviously also actually give her some cheese)
- bring rags with scents from your walks with dog friend, anything non-gross that dog friend finds interesting
- novelty is good. Get a big bag of baby-safe plush toys from a thrift store and dole them out one by one
- destruction is fun - let him shred cardboard boxes and aforementioned plushies so he can live out his wild side
- best of luck!
posted by toucan at 2:45 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Pet tax.
He's doing ok! It turned out that he needed an ACL repair too, so that's been fun.
He was very out of it for the first few days and he's still reliably out of it when he gets the fun meds. We have modularized the house so it's impossible for him to sprint to a window because Amazon pulled in the driveway, and we have in fact given up on Amazon for oh so many reasons.
We got him a Lick Sleeve (they really should have gone round the table one more time on naming that thing). It so far hasn't been necessary because I think his stitches are in a place that his leg doesn't want to move to provide access so far, but he'll likely work up to it.
We haven't had to use the cone because so far the stitches are inaccessble but we also got a soft bubbly one too. Basically we bought all the things. We're building up a nice supply of things he's rejected.
My 70 pound dog had TPLO on both knees back to back – we got the all clear on knee #1 and he started limping on knee #2 two days later.
This is 100% the kind of thing that will happen to us. Or he'll get the all-clear and we'll drive him to the emergency pet hospital with a facefull of porcupine quills.
Anyway, he's doing well and things are getting better but it has been so hard and so much work and honestly it was a ton of work in the first place.
Also he's only six years old but looks much older in the image above because of the week this spring where we went to Paris and we put him and his sister and in a fancy-ass pet kennel and he was so traumatized by the whole thing he aged like the portrait of Dorian Grey.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:08 AM on February 12
He's doing ok! It turned out that he needed an ACL repair too, so that's been fun.
He was very out of it for the first few days and he's still reliably out of it when he gets the fun meds. We have modularized the house so it's impossible for him to sprint to a window because Amazon pulled in the driveway, and we have in fact given up on Amazon for oh so many reasons.
We got him a Lick Sleeve (they really should have gone round the table one more time on naming that thing). It so far hasn't been necessary because I think his stitches are in a place that his leg doesn't want to move to provide access so far, but he'll likely work up to it.
We haven't had to use the cone because so far the stitches are inaccessble but we also got a soft bubbly one too. Basically we bought all the things. We're building up a nice supply of things he's rejected.
My 70 pound dog had TPLO on both knees back to back – we got the all clear on knee #1 and he started limping on knee #2 two days later.
This is 100% the kind of thing that will happen to us. Or he'll get the all-clear and we'll drive him to the emergency pet hospital with a facefull of porcupine quills.
Anyway, he's doing well and things are getting better but it has been so hard and so much work and honestly it was a ton of work in the first place.
Also he's only six years old but looks much older in the image above because of the week this spring where we went to Paris and we put him and his sister and in a fancy-ass pet kennel and he was so traumatized by the whole thing he aged like the portrait of Dorian Grey.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:08 AM on February 12
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Consider asking the vet about a course of Trazodone or similar while he’s recovering, to keep him from freaking out all the time.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:33 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]