15 month old going in for cranial crucial r surgery

[Sheree Small]

Hi all. In two days my "very active"golden doodle is going under the knife. I understand I have a long haul ahead of me. I foresee my biggest challenge will be maintaining activity restrictions. She loves to run and jump and chase her sister. Even with a sore knee. My regular vet says restriction means keep her in the house and the orthopedist says it means in a crate 6-8 weeks. I am looking for advice from people who have been through this before. We have a crate that is really just big enough to sleep in. I also have and acre with stairs so there will be no free access to outside. Zoey is 48 lbs and as I said very active. We usually play several times a day to burn excess energy. Thanks for any input. Sheree

[Amy and Annabelle]

I can see where that would be a challenge. I had a hard enough time keeping Annabelle quiet while she recovered from her spay surgery. I have a big wire kennel that she spent a lot of time in. She had toys, water and her bed in there. She was so ready to run and play about 3 days after the surgery that is was hard to keep her in there, she was so sad. Hopefully someone has some great ideas for you.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I got an enormous crate that took over our lounge when Boris had to rest for six weeks following operations on his shoulders. There was enough space for a large bed plus some toys and bowls and he could stand up and turn around. I was also able to put Riley in with him when needed. It was amazing how it all worked out. We did lift him at night onto our bed and off in the mornings and propped up furniture so he couldn't jump or fall off the bed when we were asleep. If we hadn't been abe to do that one of us would have slept in the lounge with him. 

[Sheree Small]

That is a really cute visual with the pup propped safely in bed like a baby. I think our house will undergo some changes for the next few weeks... Months

[Robin and Libby Louise]

It is extremely important to listen to the surgeon.  Libby had this surgery last September and in January she had more surgery for a torn meniscus in the same knee (which was much easier to recover from).  But when they say no playing or no stairs, they mean it.  I slept downstairs with Libby until she was released to go up and down again - I blocked off the steps to make sure she didn't use her own judgment (LOL).  As an only dog, it was probably easier to keep her calm.  Not sure how things would have gone if she had a sibling.  But if you need to keep her in a crate so she recovers, do it.  You will not want to go through this again if at all possible.  It's really tough when they start to feel better - you just want to let them be dogs, but I can't stress enough the importance of keeping to the surgeon's schedule and doing the icing, exercises or whatever it is that they tell you to do.  We also took Libby to physical therapy and the hydrotherapy really helped.  Good luck - I will be looking for updates!

[Sheree Small]

We are going to all try to be good patients. I'm very nervous about the process, but we want todo this right the first time! Thanks so much!

[Robin and Libby Louise]

You're welcome - wishing you the best!

[Stella]

The rehab is a long process, and it is vital that you keep your dog quiet at the beginning. If you can't be there to supervise, then in the crate is best. Use an xpen to stop the two dogs playing when you are home but can't be watching. Carry up and down stairs until vet gives you clearance. Try to find a rehab professional near you to help with the exercises and progressing activity. Mental exercise can be as tiring as physical exercise, teach her to play the 'shell game', get a couple of the Nina Ottoson games, go for car rides etc. Once she is more mobile you can hide treats around the house and teach her to 'find it'. It is amazing how using their brains can tire them out!! Good luck!

[Sheree Small]

Thank you. I was thinking of getting a couple Nina Ottonson games anyway so this should be a good time!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

This was our set up.  Seven weeks in this pen with the exception of trips outside on leash to potty.  We had two steps to the outside and she was allowed to go down those.  We had to help the first couple times.  This seven weeks was followed by six more weeks in the house off leash.  All outside activity was on leash.  She was very groggy and sleepy the first few days.  If we were watching TV I would sit on the floor and let her sit beside me.  I always had a leash on her though just in case the doorbell would ring or something.  We also took chicken wire and put it on top of the pen so she couldn't jump if she decided to.  It really went much better than I expected.

Here is her incision.

This was her ride during this time.  We wanted to be able to get her outside and walk with Sophie so we bought this to use.  Came in handy.

[Sheree Small]

Thanks for the pics and info. I was thinking about the ex pen. A tomorrow's the day! Yikes. I am going to try to upload a pre surgery pic, my Zoey looks similar to your doodle. Her hair is still changing, the latest being a stiffer dark Mohawk strip. Anyway, here she is in relaxed mode if I can get it to upload.

[Robin and Libby Louise]

Love this picture!  :)

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Ah, he does look a lot like Lucy.  Best of luck with the surgery and the recovery.  I think you will find it goes better than you anticipate it will.  Jarka's Monty just had his second one done.  He is doing well.