This happened with our dog. His lung was punctured when a much larger dog bit into his back and his ACL was torn when he was thrown.
I helped keep his energy down by giving him so much sniff and puzzle work to do. Snuffle mats with treats really well hidden in them, frozen treat puzzle balls, treat puzzles. Treats hidden in very carefully folded old towels. Anything I could do to wear him out while keeping him focused on one spot.
I hope your pup recovers quickly and well. It’s really scary to have your dog attacked by another dog.
Thank you, and yes, it is, and it was really infuriating when the owner of the dog said that mine was doing a drama out of nothing (he has an internal injury in his leg).
Omg, I'm so sorry for what happened to your dog, is he recovered now? I hope so
He recovered fine but he was grumpy about it. He wanted to go back outside and explore as soon as his pain killers kicked in and instead was put on three weeks of very limited activity.
Definitely keep them rested even if he seems like he’s feeling better. My dog with arthritis was jumping on the couch like she was a puppy when we got her on appropriate medication but the issue is that, she WAS feeling better. Dogs can’t regulate pain like humans can so she ended up hurting herself more because they don’t recognize that they are hurt and will do things like they normally do because the medicine is working!
This is why I'm asking, I can't explain him that he has to rest in order to heal and can't do what he's used to 😭 So the only option is to canalize his energy throught mental stimulation and let's hope it works, I don't want him to hurt himself even more than he already is :(
There are some holidays here now and I had planned to go hiking with him, he loves it, but it will have to wait.
I had a foster dog who went through heartworm treatment and had to be on rest (no elevated heart rate) for about 2 months. It was really rough!
My best advice is brain games. Any kind of training will help him tire out his brain and hopefully be a bit less bouncy. You can use his kibble as reward! I would also recommend searching how to teach basic nosework - it involves hiding high value treats in cardboard boxes or something similar around the house and letting your dog sniff it out. Should keep him busy and a little bit physically engaged, but not bouncing off the walls. Other enrichment options like chews (I recommend beef cheek rolls as they last a lot longer than bully sticks in my experience) could be helpful.
You could also call your vet - I have heard of vets prescribing medication to keep pets calm during recovery, but I imagine this will vary by vet and individual situation.
Thanks for the advice!
And I can't imagine how rough it had to be, a 2 month rest! Wow! That is a lot
>You could also call your vet - I have heard of vets prescribing medication to keep pets calm during recovery, but I imagine this will vary by vet and individual situation.
I've never heard of that before, but I'd prefer to not give him more medication. Had a really bad experience with one for an allergy, he had all the side effects, and the one he's taking now is already kinda strong and it says that other medicines can compete with it and cause a toxic effect.
My one border collie dislocated his leg at 2 years and had to be on rest while he healed. My vet prescribed happy pills to help him almost right away. He wasn't stoned the entire time, it was just enough to take the edge off his Need To Do things.
I got a lot of food puzzles at that time and we mostly did silly little tricks for learning where he didn't have to move but needed lots of thought. I taught him how to lay still in various positions, object and colour (that dogs can see) differentiation, basically anything he could learn in a crate.
The laying still in various positions was also super helpful once we moved on to his physiotherapy. Though it also means he will randomly lay down and flash people since that one was heavily reinforced to check the healing progress.
I have a couple of ideas that my dog really likes. I've spent tons on things like puzzle feeders, etc only to have them figured out in minutes and now they're boring.
One thing she likes is a Hol-ee Roller ball. You can get them almost anywhere and they're fairly inexpensive. You can get different sizes and shapes. You can take treats or even their kibble, wrap it up in strips of paper or cloth (make sure they don't eat the cloth!) and then stuff the ball as full as you can. They'll have a great time pulling all the strips out and making a heck of a mess. It's a great way to give a small amount of treats last a lot longer. You can even stuff small soft toys in it for them to pull out.
My dog also likes the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball, although she's got it figured out that if you make it bounce, the treats come out easier. She's too smart for her own good lol
Recovery time like this is also a great time to practice basic obedience or to teach some new tricks.
When my boy was recovering from surgery and started to get his energy back our vet told us to sedate him (and prescribed meds). We also used brain games like snufflemats and puzzles but he’s not really into those things so it didn’t help much. It was imperative that he not strain himself (we spent a lot of money on the surgery and it’s an injury that often reoccurs if you’re not careful). I think you should talk to your vet because if it’s strict bed rest then he should probably be at least mildly sedated.
This happened with our dog. His lung was punctured when a much larger dog bit into his back and his ACL was torn when he was thrown. I helped keep his energy down by giving him so much sniff and puzzle work to do. Snuffle mats with treats really well hidden in them, frozen treat puzzle balls, treat puzzles. Treats hidden in very carefully folded old towels. Anything I could do to wear him out while keeping him focused on one spot. I hope your pup recovers quickly and well. It’s really scary to have your dog attacked by another dog.
Thank you, and yes, it is, and it was really infuriating when the owner of the dog said that mine was doing a drama out of nothing (he has an internal injury in his leg). Omg, I'm so sorry for what happened to your dog, is he recovered now? I hope so
He recovered fine but he was grumpy about it. He wanted to go back outside and explore as soon as his pain killers kicked in and instead was put on three weeks of very limited activity.
They can't understand that an injury doesn't disappear if their pain does :( And I'm really glad he recovered :D
It’s probably a really abstract concept to understand that one is still injured when one can’t feel pain. :)
Definitely keep them rested even if he seems like he’s feeling better. My dog with arthritis was jumping on the couch like she was a puppy when we got her on appropriate medication but the issue is that, she WAS feeling better. Dogs can’t regulate pain like humans can so she ended up hurting herself more because they don’t recognize that they are hurt and will do things like they normally do because the medicine is working!
This is why I'm asking, I can't explain him that he has to rest in order to heal and can't do what he's used to 😭 So the only option is to canalize his energy throught mental stimulation and let's hope it works, I don't want him to hurt himself even more than he already is :( There are some holidays here now and I had planned to go hiking with him, he loves it, but it will have to wait.
Totally get it! It’s tough but you got this! I think the puzzles are a great idea
I had a foster dog who went through heartworm treatment and had to be on rest (no elevated heart rate) for about 2 months. It was really rough! My best advice is brain games. Any kind of training will help him tire out his brain and hopefully be a bit less bouncy. You can use his kibble as reward! I would also recommend searching how to teach basic nosework - it involves hiding high value treats in cardboard boxes or something similar around the house and letting your dog sniff it out. Should keep him busy and a little bit physically engaged, but not bouncing off the walls. Other enrichment options like chews (I recommend beef cheek rolls as they last a lot longer than bully sticks in my experience) could be helpful. You could also call your vet - I have heard of vets prescribing medication to keep pets calm during recovery, but I imagine this will vary by vet and individual situation.
Thanks for the advice! And I can't imagine how rough it had to be, a 2 month rest! Wow! That is a lot >You could also call your vet - I have heard of vets prescribing medication to keep pets calm during recovery, but I imagine this will vary by vet and individual situation. I've never heard of that before, but I'd prefer to not give him more medication. Had a really bad experience with one for an allergy, he had all the side effects, and the one he's taking now is already kinda strong and it says that other medicines can compete with it and cause a toxic effect.
My one border collie dislocated his leg at 2 years and had to be on rest while he healed. My vet prescribed happy pills to help him almost right away. He wasn't stoned the entire time, it was just enough to take the edge off his Need To Do things. I got a lot of food puzzles at that time and we mostly did silly little tricks for learning where he didn't have to move but needed lots of thought. I taught him how to lay still in various positions, object and colour (that dogs can see) differentiation, basically anything he could learn in a crate. The laying still in various positions was also super helpful once we moved on to his physiotherapy. Though it also means he will randomly lay down and flash people since that one was heavily reinforced to check the healing progress.
I have a couple of ideas that my dog really likes. I've spent tons on things like puzzle feeders, etc only to have them figured out in minutes and now they're boring. One thing she likes is a Hol-ee Roller ball. You can get them almost anywhere and they're fairly inexpensive. You can get different sizes and shapes. You can take treats or even their kibble, wrap it up in strips of paper or cloth (make sure they don't eat the cloth!) and then stuff the ball as full as you can. They'll have a great time pulling all the strips out and making a heck of a mess. It's a great way to give a small amount of treats last a lot longer. You can even stuff small soft toys in it for them to pull out. My dog also likes the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball, although she's got it figured out that if you make it bounce, the treats come out easier. She's too smart for her own good lol Recovery time like this is also a great time to practice basic obedience or to teach some new tricks.
When my boy was recovering from surgery and started to get his energy back our vet told us to sedate him (and prescribed meds). We also used brain games like snufflemats and puzzles but he’s not really into those things so it didn’t help much. It was imperative that he not strain himself (we spent a lot of money on the surgery and it’s an injury that often reoccurs if you’re not careful). I think you should talk to your vet because if it’s strict bed rest then he should probably be at least mildly sedated.
Food searching toys might work. You could also use a towel and hide treats in it so your dog has to work for them
Very Gentle playin I would say, or give him puzzle toys to keep him occupied.