Help - Dog on Crate Rest

[DogOnCrateRest]

The fool hound is on strict crate rest for 6 weeks - only allowed out for 3 5 minute toilet breaks a day. Anyone got any advice?

How big does the crate need to be? She has a 42inch crate and she’s a medium sized dog. Is this big enough?

Should we sleep in the same room as her - I’ve put the crate in the room everyone is mostly in in the day but does she need company overnight or is it best to keep things as normal?

She is currently feeling very sorry for her self but i presume will get over than and get bored quickly - any tips for keeping her entertained.

Help please.

I’d ring back up the vets and ask their opinion on sizes, I would have her in overnight and can she have stimulation toys like frozen kong or is that a no?

Thanks will do - i asked a million questions but have just realised i haven’t asked the most obvious one.

Probably don’t want anything she’d use her paws to hold down. I’ve got her a lick mat and peanut butter - but that isn’t going to fill up 6 weeks.

Is she sedated at all? My cocker (who was 2 at the time) was on crate rest for 6 weeks and he was given sedatives to make it bearable for him. I honestly thought it would be awful for him but the surgery was quite intense and the mild sedatives kept him quite chill. We kept him in a crate in the living room but everything else stayed the same routine wise

You could maybe wedge it in the bars low enough that she doesn’t have to stand up but in the bars so she can’t hold it but it’s still some entertainment. I’d ring back up the vets though, I’ve had one of mine go through a surgery recently and they were fine with the (multiple!) times I’ve rung up just asking for clarification and advice

She’s not sedated but she has quite a lot of painkillers that i think are making her sleepy. We also have doggy Valium (absolutely not what it is called) in case she gets upset.

What’s the reasoning for being on such restrictive crate rest?

When our lab was on “crate rest” for 6 weeks after knee surgery we didn’t use a crate. We kept him in the living room, put stair gates on/kept doors shut and everything calm, put big boxes on all the sofas to block them so he wasn’t tempted to jump up and dh spent most evenings sitting on the floor beside him, we both took leave or wfh to have someone with him at all times, or had someone dog sit. For most of it he was pretty lethargic anyway, seemed to know he was sore, needed to heal and only really got up to change position, eat or to go out to toilet.

Dh slept on mattresses in living room with him (spoiled him rotten). We also only put the cone on at night as he wasn’t really interested in his stitches but thought safer overnight. dh got rudely awoken a few times with a cone to the face 😂

would have been harder if dc were younger and place not as calm.

https://foundations4lifetraining.blogspot.com/2010/03/some-one-recently-asked-me-to-pot-what.html?m=1

this has some nice ideas for activities during crate rest - you can pick and choose based on her specific injuries.

She has smashed a bone sufficiently that it is inoperable. So the idea is to keep her as still as possible and pray.

Dog dosed up to the nines. I’m on a mattress just round the corner. Everything crossed that this works.

We had this with our dog - we were told the break to his leg was so bad he would only recover with major surgery and we were not prepared to put him through it at 13.

After 6 weeks of strict crate rest he was cured - did not even limp. Unfortunately the crate did affect him - his memory was not as good etc afterwards .

We only put him through it because he was such a determined dog and he proved us right.

We were told to use as small a crate as possible so he could not move at all - gave him lots of strokes but it was hard work

Ours slept in his crate fine on his own at night. In the day he hated it so we just sort of barricaded a bit of a room off for him and put his bed in there and lick mats etc. And I took a fair bit of time off work to sit with him. We watched a lot of Netflix…. He grew very fond of period dramas!

I’ve posted a link to some brain game activities above (wasn’t approved immediately for some reason) but I’d be wary in your case of suggestions to give more freedom than the vets have suggested. The leg needs to be kept as still as possible to give your dog the best chance of recovery- making it more palatable for the 6 weeks could jeopardise that and it simply isn’t worth it.
Your dog will adjust. It sucks but worse case, I’d be looking at talking to the vets about mild sedation to help your dog cope with the restriction rather than trying to find work around. Try and act as normal as you can with your dog - that will help them cope
Good luck. I hope she makes a speedy recovery

This is similar to what we did when our pup was on 8-weeks crate rest following serious leg surgery. He was getting so upset in his crate jumping on his hind legs trying to get out that it was totally counter-productive to his recovery. We took him out, carried him everywhere and just kept him on a lead at home and sat/slept beside him on the floor. It was tough but he fully recovered 👍

They should be able to stand, sit, stretch out, shake themselves and walk around in a circle at least.