Hello! On the 26th of November our sweet Drogo was hit by a car (we suspect) and the impact dislocated both of his hind legs from his hip. Luckily that was the extent of his injuries, as it could have been much worse. He had surgery on the 27th and we expect to bring him home from the vet's on the 7th of December. I have been told I'll have to confine him to a crate for the better part of the day, to make sure he doesn't strain himself until February. I would appreciate if you could give me some advice on how to care for him and what I could do to make sure he will be comfy and happy. He just turned 7 months old on the 1st and I hate the thought of him not being allowed to run around the yard (which is fenced properly, we don't know how he managed to get out, but are continuing to look for any small hole or side that might need fixing), but I know he has to heal. He also lost about 5-6 kg as a result of his surgery, but I was told that is within normal limits. Any tips on exercise, special diet, games, distractions, natural pain relief, general post-op care etc. would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for your time!
Hi @Hajnal Kis Sorry to hear about your dog. Isn't your vet going to cover most of your questions? If not ask the vet to give you written advice. Now to somehing we might be able to help you. 1. Has she been crate trained? 2. Did she jump a gate? Or escape via a left open front door? If not crate trained you will need to work on that immediately. See the thread on crate training. Buy a houseline so that you can slow your dog down when he moves to go to toilets.
I have asked the vet multiple questions, however at the rate they're receiving patients it's a miracle we can get to speak to him at all (he is one of the best surgeons in the region and has multiple patients coming in at all times). But it didn't cross my mind to ask for written instructions, thank you very much for suggesting that! As for how he got out he must have somehow jumped the fence, although until now he had trouble jumping on anything higher than 1 meter (it's true though, we didn't really give him a chance to do so). He is not crate trained, I will get on that as soon as possible! As for a houseline, I will have to research that. Thank you very much!
Hi @Hajnal Kis Sometimes the dog gets the front legs on the top of a fence/gate and then uses the back legs to climb up and then the dog is over. If that is so, then you'll need to change your fence/gate design. Once they have escaped once, they tend to repeat it. Here is link to dog house line on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Company-Animals-Puppy-Assorted-Colours/dp/B005TFNPK8 Good luck on managing your patient.
Have a look at this really useful thread for dogs on restricted exercise, there's loads to do to keep Drogo busy. https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/things-to-do-for-dogs-on-restricted-exercise.10654/
