My poor old lady dog is awaiting TPLO surgery later this week. She has to stay quiet and contained. She’s so depressed. She’ll need to stay this way for at least another 2.5 weeks. Then she can finally go on short walks.
I’m doing all the enrichment I can think of (frozen treats, snuffle mats, quiet training, snuggle time, dog chews, toys)…but there are still hours and hours of boredom. She’s a dog who loves to go outside and play and this lifestyle is miserable for her.
What can I do???
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Can you sit outside with her? We did this with our TPLO dog - got her an outdoor hammock, and just sat and let her watch the world go by. Made her feel more included.
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Well, maybe? She won’t sit outside without pulling on the leash. But maybe in a crate?
I AM investing in a dog stroller (I know, I know), but it’s not here yet.
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Maybe use a harness with a handle to contain her a bit, and give you something to do a smidge of man-handling until she gets the idea. Or you can half-hitch her, that seems to end pulling quickly.
Just grab a bed for her, and a sit-spot for you, and go sit on your driveway or something. Maybe do one of her snuffy puzzle toys out there, just to break it up.
It’s hard, and heartbreaking. I spent money on the cheapest cheap toys I could, and gave out a new one every day.
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Thank you so much. It’s totally heartbreaking, and I am SOO averse to dog suffering. But in this case, her suffering has a time limit. If we can just get through the healing process she’ll have a better quality of life.
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Recommendation for post surgery: get the Lick Sleeve. SO much easier to manage than a cone!!
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Thanks for the tip! Cones are the worst.
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Do NOT feel embarrassed about this! We got a dog stroller for one of our dogs who was recovering from surgery and then had another illness develop so we knew her time was limited. Our only regret was that we didn’t do it sooner! She loved going for “walks” in her stroller. Really improved her quality of life hugely.
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Oh, I am 100% secure in my identity as the neighborhood crazy dog lady. The stroller is completely on-brand and I have no regrets! LOL
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Same here. My husband, upon seeing dog strollers for the first time-- when we were visiting a touristy town – stated that he was NEVER getting one. So I waited until he was on a business trip to order one for our oldster.
On rainy days, I’d put the good old boy in the stroller, and roll it around the house in place of a walk outside. As he aged, eventually becoming blind, we began using it constantly when we traveled with him. It was a lifesaver.
Now, with a small young dog, we can take her so many more places using the stroller – it’s much easier to manage, and far more comfortable, than one of those wearable dog carriers. I’ve also noticed that vehicles treat us more politely in a parking lot or when crossing a street (do they think it’s a tiny baby stroller?).
Don’t think I don’t remind my husband of his comment every now and then, as he gets the stroller in or out of the back seat, lol.
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We got a lot of attention, too, as our girl was a greyhound and I don’t think most people are accustomed to seeing a big dog in a stroller. Hers was basically a platform so we added a foam crate bed and a comforter on top to make it comfy. Envision a queen being carried around on a royal litter and you’ll get a decent idea of how it looked. 
We had to train her to get into it, of course. But liberal tossing of treats inside and lots of encouragement made it a relatively easy task.
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Yeah, I think our girl is going to be reluctant at first. I’m hoping that generous amounts of bribery will do the trick :). She’s a sucker for hot dogs.
Sorry about your pup and hoping surgery and recovery go well and quickly!
This is timely post as my girl goes for her spay/pexi surgery tomorrow and I have to keep her quiet for 10 days. She is very active and we are on a farm, so she is used to free play and often. She is terrible on a leash but will walk well with a halter style lead (perfect pace). I have no idea how I’m going to keep her so quiet for so long. I will ask vet for some medical help, but want to keep her quietly involved outdoors as much as I can - as she loves being outside, but chases and jumps around a lot, so I will be keeping her leashed/contained. My girl is crate trained and we do have a 7 x 12’ outdoor dog house, but she can jump when shes in there (only jumps when I arrive to let her out as she gets so excited). I took 4 days off of work to be with her to help keep her quiet as she gets overexcited when she sees me coming home, which I worry about. So I thought if I just stay home, she’ll have no reason to get excited lol.
There are some great ideas on here and i wlll be trying some of them for sure. She’s not a food fan so snuffle mats are not her thing, but she does enjoy a good toy so I’m thinking I better stock up!
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I know you say she’s not a food fan, but what about special treats? There’s a toy called the WestPaw Toppl. It’s basically a rubber bowl. I put some treats inside (hot dog pieces for a picky eater), fill up with unsalted beef broth, and freeze. They love it. (Quick note that there is a hole in the side, but you can plug it with a piece of carrot, string cheese, or whatever).
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I will look that up! I’m on my way to a pet store soon and see what they have. I have one of those round puzzle toys that “poop” out treats if they hit it the right way. I forgot about it as I haven’t used it with her since she was a pup. She may like that with some of her liver treats as she does enjoy those.
That sounds interesting. Do you know what it’s called?
When my loves to play pup got spayed, I had the vet give me trazodone for her. It was enough to keep her quiet and chill and I didn’t have to crate her or leash walk her at all. She mostly just laid out on the porch in the sun, went out to the yard to go potty and then came back to the porch.
Can you get access to a small boat? We used to take our dog out in a canoe when she was going through CCL surgery. It allowed her to have a change of scenery and smell different things. She seemed to enjoy it. You may get a similar result driving a car slowly with the windows open.
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I’m actually not too sure! It was given as a gift when I first got her. I know they called it a Level 1 toy and it looks like a flying saucer. You put treats in the top and when the dog hits it with their nose or paw, the treats pop out. Keeps her busy for a little bit (though she learned how to pick it up with her mouth and shake it to get treats lol).
