Cruciate ligament surgery - any tips please

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My little girl is having surgery on her cruciate ligament today. She’s a super active springer spaniel so I’m quite nervous about her recovery period and how to manage her.

She’ll be staying overnight at the vets tonight

I’ve got a pen for downstairs - she’s really cuddly and loves just being with us so I thought it would work better than a crate as it’s big enough for us to go and sit in there with her, but how restricted should she be? The vet said room or crate rest so I assume a pen would be ok. I was also thinking we could put it out in the garden so she could some out with us if we’re out there gardening or something

We’ve got a crate for our bedroom so she can come up and sleep with us - she’s always slept in our room but does have a habit of sneaking up on our bed when she thinks we’re asleep. But stairs? Do I need some kind of sling? I’m worried about hurting/damaging her leg when carrying her.

She goes to work with DH, he’s got a crate for his office - but again, stairs. I’ve got tomorrow/next week off work.

I’ve bought her a lick mat and some sniffy/activity mats - is this too much activity?

The vet is giving us some meds to help keep her calm if needed.

I’m sure I’m freaking out over nothing and we’ll be fine, but any tips or recommendations for things that will help get us through the next 6-8 weeks will be very gratefully received.

Thank you!

Stairs are a no no from what I remember last year. We slept downstairs with Ddog for a few days (after having done that for a month while waiting for his op!)

We put very cheap carpet down in the kitchen dining room and hallway so Ddog could come out of the pen without risk of slipping

Our old chap has had both his ligaments done so we consider ourselves old hands!

You have to restrict movement as much as possible so that means no running, jumping, stairs and even an absolute minimum of walking (we even carried our old chap out into the garden so he was only on his feet for a minimum amount of time).
The trouble is that after just a couple of days the dog will feel much better and be wanting to be as mobile and active as normal so it is up to you to prevent this. We didn't want to keep our boy in his cage for long periods so instead we made up a huge bed on the floor of the living room and just sat with him making sure he couldn't do anything outside our control. To start with one of us even slept down there with him but later we put him on our bed and made sure he couldn't jump down.

Our specialist was very happy with us and our dogs recovery.
He expressed how disappointing it is when owners come in with a dog where the op has failed due (at their own admission) to them letting the dog get up and run around just a few days afterwards. Their explanation apparently being "he felt fine and wanted to run around as normal".

Definitely not stairs. We also blocked off all the sofas and chairs so our dog couldn’t climb on them.

we were also absolutely religious about exercise - literally to the point of setting a timer on a walk so that after 2.5 minutes we turned around and went home, increasing by a minute each period(can’t remember now how long it took to ramp up the times, but the vet will say).

ours had the metal pin put in her leg.

Yes to taking it extremely slowly. Full Recovery took 6 months, and we had hydrotherapy treatment too, which the insurance paid for.

It is really worth following the guidance on restricting movement even if healing looks to be going really well. It makes such a difference in the longer term even though they do get frustrated for a few weeks.

If they like food, I would freeze smash and carrot slices in kongs. That’s what we used to do for our Labradors when we had to go out for a few hours. Took them ages to clear it and get all the tiny bits out the bottom.

A pen will be fine as long as she doesn't try to jump out of it....ddog had both cruciates done in quick succession but on day 1 jumped up on the side of the pen because he wanted out. Tbf he had never been crated in his life and only wanted to be with us.
We compromised by just restricting him to one room at a time and have loads of non-slip vet bed on the floor ( wooden floors ). Skidding or slipping can undo everything post op.
Absolutely no stairs, and be really careful if you have steps at your outside doors etc. Onlead in the garden to stop any sudden running etc.
It's a long, tough recovery for an active dog but the results are amazing.

Another thing we did to avoid him getting stir-crazy was to take him out in his buggy (harnessed in of course) so he could still meet his pals and socialise but without putting any stress on the leg.

Our whole set-up worked so well that when the second leg was done a year later we just fell into the same routine and it was even easier than first time as we knew what worked (and what didn't). Even he seemed to understand.

Thanks all! I’m dreading the next few weeks.

Happy to sleep downstairs with her, but we do still have to get her upstairs as she goes to work with DH. plus, there’s a step into our house, and a small step on/off the patio in the garden

We’ll carry her up and down, but I’m worried about the best way to pick her up. I would normally put one arm under her bum and one round her chest but would some sort of sling that goes under her tummy be better?

I’ve screwed the pen to the living room wall so fingers crossed she can’t push it over. It’s quite tall so I don’t think she’ll jump out, but we thought it would be better than a crate as it’s big enough for us to sit in there with us if she starts getting fidgety or unsettled.

Unfortunately our whole downstairs is open plan and she’s used to getting on the couch. I can put a stair gate on the stairs but that’s about it.

She’s not massively food oriented but likes lick mats and we’ve got some of these https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/th/snuffle-mat but is that too much activity?

She’s not a lover of crates, she hated them as a puppy and refused to get in one so we never pushed it. We’ve been trying to get her used to one over the last few weeks and she’ll go in it now, but she’s not happy about it.

The vet is referring her for hydrotherapy as well and we’ll have physiotherapy and stuff.

It’s going to a fun few weeks - not.

We’ve got this pen https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/large-dog-play-pen?size=large&istCompanyId=7255ccad-a1fc-4729-af31-478f79e5071c&istFeedId=643142ca-4bc2-459f-88c5-ba9630b42bbb&istItemId=itxmxraxr&istBid=t

At the moment is set up fully but it’s flat against the wall (if that makes sense) and I’ve fixed it to the wall, but we can fold it down on itself and make it smaller if it’s too big.

Thanks!

I know you must be worried but will all seem better soon.
I’m sure the vet will advise but we had something like this to assist with movement after cl surgery for our collie cross a few years ago.
He also had hydrotherapy which really aided recovery.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adjustable-Lifting-Harness-Disabled-Rehabilitation/dp/B09MH6FT7T/ref=asc_df_B09MH6FT7T/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=570321252694&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3416803178172351262&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006539&hvtargid=pla-1636091197865&psc=1

Thank you!

Have dropped her off and had a good chat with the Vet who has answered all my worries so a lot happier now. I had visions of having to keep her completely still for 2 months but they were very reassuring and I’m panicking over nothing - well, not nothing, but not as bad as I thought iyswim.

She was first on the list so we should hear from them early evening 🤞

We took all the cushions off the sofa to make it lower, and put the cushions on the floor so she could still lie on them, and as far as possible put objects on the sofa so she couldn’t climb up.

such a palaver, but worth it as she made a really good recovery.