Dog on crate rest- help!

[FiveHoursSleep]

One of our dogs has torn both his cruciates and had a bilateral TPLO today.
He's staying in at the vets until Friday so he can have all the drugs and then will be back in our busy (4 children, 2 dogs, 2 cats, etc) house where he will be crated and on lead only for the next 8 weeks.
He's used to having 60-90 minutes of off lead exercise with our other dog a day, so it's going to be difficult for both of them.
Some of you must have been through having to crate rest a large active dog for this long before, has anyone got any hints or tips.
There will be a lot of physiotherapy involved I should think, so I guess that will make things more interesting for him, plus I'm going to feed him from a kong 3x a day, rather than twice but what else can I do to keep him from getting bored?

[AuntieMay]

Our dale was rated twice for hip replacements, for 3 months each time, 3x5. Minute walks only per day.
He was crate trained and it honestly wasn't a problem, we did kings and sitting by the crate calmly talking, rawhide chews, and moving the crate around the house so during the day it was in our kitchen and events in the living room. We did find it was only the last couple of weeks when he was almost fully recovered that he was restless. He was 5 and 6 at the time.

[AuntieMay]

kongs and evenings

[Bubble2bubble]

Ddog is three weeks post cruciate op now. Also a large active dog who just lives for his off lead runs :(

He had never been crated in his life so I got him a doggy playpen which was great for a while but on about day 5 I caught him trying to climb out of it which was not so good...

I have compromised by confining him to our sunroom with rugs and loads of non- slip vet bed on the floor. ( my biggest fear is that he skids on the hard floors). This means we can see him and he can see we are there - the vet nurse suggested that shutting him away somewhere like a small utility room can just make him jump around more to try and escape.
The first few days he did a lot of sleeping so it wasn't too hard. We all took it in turns to sit with him and the DC brushed him a lot which he loves.
I take him out to the garden every couple of hours and he is itching to get off the lead now but has actually adapted better than I thought.

[FiveHoursSleep]

Our boy was an adult rescue from Ireland so we did crate him when we first had him.
I'm hoping he won't be too traumatised on having to be put back in.
I think after the first couple of weeks, he can trail around the house on a lead after me. I'm not sure how he will cope when I take the other one out for walks though :(
Because he's had both legs done at the same time, I'm hoping he will just want to sit around until it's safer for him to move around.

[Bubble2bubble]

Yes, we are at the point now where I am letting him wander around the house as long as it's quiet, and he's quite happy with that. I just put him out of the way if someone comes to the door or it there's too much going on and I can't watch him.
The other nightmare scenario is that ddog3 wants to play - ddog3 is 34 kg and way too rough for a dog with a cruciate repair.

[Groovester]

Reading to pick up some tips. 1yr old pup goes in tomorrow for cruciate op so we will have a similar situation to deal with. He was crated as a tiny pup but we got rid of it a while ago. It's been resurrected from the attic to get him used to it again before tomorrow.

[twocockersarebetterthanone]

I'm 4 weeks into the 6 week recovery for my boy with leg op. He's done much better than I thought he would. I have another dog and I do feel really guilty when I take him out without the other but the one on rest doesn't seem too bothered.

It's been hell but there's light at the end of the tunnel!!

[Groovester]

That's good to know!

[FiveHoursSleep]

It's great to hear some positive stories.
Broken dog is coming home tomorrow and I know dog1 will want to play with him. It's going to be a challenge keeping them away from each other.

[twocockersarebetterthanone]

Keeping them apart is the hardest part. Ours have had to make do playing through the stair gates.

[ErniesGhostlyGoldTops]

Don't underestimate the value of giving him either a lot less to eat or a very low calorie diet. A low cal diet would be kinder as they still get the bulk without the energy and feel less deprived. If they are not chock full of energy they feel like doing less and that is the goal here after all. Been there and manipulating the diet really helps. Long term getting and keeping the dog thin will really help in the future with his healing and managing the condition.

[wishiwasacollie]

We had 12 weeks of crate rest for a 16 week old border collie. We got through it by having the crate with us around the house. Freezing foid in a kong or a plastic childs bucket. We also bought a few of the brain games and played with her. We used to keep the doir open when watching tv with her lying beside the crate til she got adept as sneaking through the gate then taking off round the room......we got through it. Looking back i have no idea how

[FiveHoursSleep]

He's not overweight anyhow, and often leaves his dinner, so I'm not sure he'll want to eat if he doesn't exercise.
Will be watching this closely though.
Have bought some kongs in anticipation.

[RaveclawZia13]

My dog was on crate rest for about 10 weeks just before she turned one. Her surgery was to break both of her front legs so definitely no jumping about.

We used to spread her food around her cage so she had to find it and had a brain game. We also used to tie dog toys to string and pop them through the top of the cage so she had to try and catch them low enough so there was no jumping.

Also dogtv on YouTube she used to enjoy watching their videos once a day.

[FiveHoursSleep]

We've got him home and crated. He's pretty steady on his feet considering but he's come home with a pain patch, a number of shaved patches and a rosette that says he was a Brave Boy

[Groovester]

Awww, what a handsome chap.

[JimmyChoosChimichanga]

Dogs are the best aren't they? What a stunner!

[FiveHoursSleep]

Another question for crated dogs. He's not wanting to eat his normal food and he hasn't done a poo since Wednesday.
There probably isn't much there to poo out tbh and he'll do it when he has to but the eating concerns me a little.
If you've had a crated dog, did you give them their normal food, or something else?

[Bubble2bubble]

Ddog wasn't too keen to eat at first and didn't eat at all while he stayed at the vets. I had to tempt him with some tinned food or sardines on his normal food for a week or so, though he's back to normal now. I also either let him eat lying down or put his bowl raised up on a step as he didn't look very comfortable leaning over.

[RaveclawZia13]

We had to feed chicken and she didn't poo for about 3 days I think.

If he's on pain meds I would recommend tempting to eat anything since he'll need food in his stomach for his meds.

He probably doesn't need to go to the toilet since he isn't exercising and his legs will feel funny so he may not want to stand on them.

[JimmyChoosChimichanga]

If he is on NSAIDs (for example Rimadyl or Carprieve) don't give them on an empty stomach as you risk gastric issues just like us with aspirin/ibuprofen etc. He may tend to get bunged if he isn't moving about so a higher fibre might help him during his enforced rest OP.

[FiveHoursSleep]

Yeah, am being careful with the NSAIDs. He is on loxicom, as previcox made him sick ( he's a weird dog). Have got him to eat a couple of kongs stuffed with a Burns/Caesar mix.
He still has a fentanyl patch on which needs to come off on Monday.

[FiveHoursSleep]

Yay, we have a poo! Sorry TMI but it mus be a relief for the poor boy.

[Bubble2bubble]

Yay, good boy!
Previcox made ddog so sick he stopped eating for days :(

Here he is doing the sad eyes " you haven't walked me in three weeks"

[Bubble2bubble]

Here he is..