My dog is at 8 days recovery from getting spayed. (6 year old KC Cavalier Spaniel) She’s supposedly good to “resume normal activity” at 10 days. Normal is she and her mama enjoy their freedom on this large property-including exclude digging under my raised beds and hunting so exuberantly. AND her incision has healed so well. I’m at the end of my rope-and I have a very long rope. Advice?
Two more days. You’ve got it.
Will she play along with hunting for her meals in a crinkled and folding towel twice a day? Frozen pupsicles to entertain? Tied out or an X pen so she can watch some of the activity?
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Excellent ideas! Thanks! I really needed the moral support. Deeply appreciated!
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Two days… you got this.
Freeze yogurt and broth into a lick mat or the food bowl.
Throw kibble in the grass on a leash and let her forage for her food.
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Can confirm that throwing kibble or low-calorie snacks in the grass or hidden around the house is a GREAT way to tire out the over active little brains. I do this when my youngest German Shepherd (she’s six and still hasn’t outgrown crackhead status) is being extra crackhead and needs some sort of outlet. Kibble or baby carrots are the favorite in our house. If I use kibble, then that amount gets subtracted from their next meal. I also like the Outward Hound Snoop toy to stuff with kibble. It’s soft and squishy enough that they can pick it up and throw it around but not turn it into a wrecking ball. You can also do several short but active obedience sessions throughout the day to get the brain cells working. A mentally tired dog is a good dog!
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Thank you! Crackhead describes it. Maybe Tweeker for this yappy girl. I will do these things today. My whole back deck is set up for new obedience practices. Its like romper room. Then the cat brings in a shrew and it’s CrackheadTweeker Groundhog Day! Countdown! At least today is raining…
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Tossing kibble into an empty toilet paper or paper towel tube and folding the ends is also a fun way to keep them busy for a bit.
It is almost only one more day now!
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For next time you need to entertain: this food toy/puzzle keeps my beagle busy for an hour if you freeze broth in it with a few treats or kibble. Then he naps.
Even better in the winter when I stick him outside and it takes longer to melt.
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Wow thanks everyone! TODAY is FREEDOM DAY! I ran a line of fence so she couldn’t go in the garden and dig at least for another week I hope-took all the gates down, put her bells on, moved my bed back into the bedroom (I’d put it on the floor so she wouldn’t jump) and away we go! Your suggestions are so great. I’m going to try the paper towel roll/one today just for ducks. Everyone (cat, mama dog, spayed girl) are sooo happy. Me too. It’s like a curtain of stress lifted. I’ll leave the post up bc it has a lot of great suggestions. THANK YOU ALL!
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You are a great momma!
Glad to hear the curtain of stress is gone and things can start getting back to normal.
I purchased this game: https://thenoseynose.com/ at Christmas time in case we had a bad winter with lots of snow, but we had a mild winter with hardly any snow. BUT Lilly hates the humidity so we will make this our summertime inside game in the AC. Apparently 5 mins of nose work is equal to 30 mins of running??? I am looking forward to playing with her. We did rat/barn hunt intro training a few weeks ago and she loved it.
