Cruciate surgery, a fracture, a spinal problem, a large wound: the operation is done by somebody else, and the recovery is entirely yours. Most complications after orthopaedic surgery in dogs come from doing too much too soon, and the reason is always the same. The dog feels fine at ten days and the tissue is not healed until much later.
Prepare before the dog comes home
- Non-slip flooring along every route the dog will use: runners or rugs on tiles and wood, right from the door
- A confinement space: a pen, a crate the dog already accepts, or one small room gated off. Set it up days in advance if the surgery is planned
- Bed low and firm rather than a deep soft one that is hard to climb out of
- Stairs blocked, the lift used instead, and a ramp for the car
- Food and water within reach without the dog needing to circle furniture
- The collar or body suit fitted before you need it, and a spare
Write the plan on one sheet and put it on the fridge: what the dog may do this week, what it may not, and who is responsible for each outing. Everyone in the household follows the same version.
The phases, in general terms
Your vet's instructions are the plan; what follows is only the shape of it. Early on, the dog is confined, goes outside on a short lead only to toilet, and does nothing else. Then controlled lead walks of a few minutes, increasing on a written schedule. Later, longer lead walks, gentle slopes, and eventually a return to free exercise, usually much later than owners expect.
Physiotherapy or hydrotherapy is frequently part of the middle phase and is worth doing if it is offered: muscle rebuilt properly is what protects the joint afterwards.
Occupying a dog that cannot move
This is where households struggle, and the answer is mental work, which costs the body nothing.
- Feed every meal from a puzzle feeder, a snuffle mat, or scattered on a towel within reach
- Hide food in the room and let the dog find it from a lying position
- Stuffed and frozen toys and long-lasting chews, supervised
- Training that does not involve movement: chin rest, touch a target with the nose, watch, gentle handling exercises
- A window view if the dog enjoys watching, blocked if it winds the dog up
- Company: a dog confined alone for eleven hours will not rest calmly, it will pace and scratch at the gate
What to watch for
Call the practice rather than waiting if you see swelling, heat or discharge at the wound, a wound that opens, persistent licking despite the collar, a dog that will not eat for more than a day, sudden worsening lameness, or unusual lethargy beyond the first forty-eight hours.
Take a photograph of the wound daily in the first week. Changes are easier to see side by side, and the photographs are useful if you need to describe it by telephone.
Pain relief
Give it as prescribed, on time, and do not stop early because the dog seems comfortable: comfort is the medication working. A dog with well-controlled pain also rests better, which is the point of the whole exercise. Never add human painkillers, and tell your vet about any supplement you are giving.
Other animals and children
A second dog in the household is the commonest reason a recovery goes wrong, because two dogs playing is exactly the movement the plan forbids. Separate them with a gate for the whole restricted period rather than supervising and hoping, and walk them separately.
Children need a rule they can follow: nobody calls the dog, nobody throws anything, nobody encourages it to get up. Giving them a job helps, filling the food puzzle, doing the chin-rest training, so they are involved in the calm version rather than the exciting one.
The last two weeks, which are the riskiest
By then the wound looks healed, the dog is bored and strong, and everyone is tired of the routine. That is precisely when the sofa jump or the slip on the tiles undoes an operation.
Hold the line to the date your vet gave you, and when free exercise resumes, resume it gradually: short off-lead periods on flat, soft ground before anything else. A dog that has been confined for eight weeks will sprint, turn and stop like an athlete who has not trained, which is how the other cruciate goes.
The working household problem
Restricted activity assumes somebody is there. In practice the dog is confined alone all day, which produces exactly the frustration that makes it launch off the sofa when you come home.
Break the day with short, calm visits: a controlled toilet trip on a short lead, fresh water, a chew, and quiet company. That is a very different booking from a walk, and it should be described that way, with the vet's restrictions written down: how many minutes, on a lead, no stairs, no stopping on slopes, the wound checked and reported.
At PAWLY those visits are booked precisely like that during recovery periods, and the report records how the dog moved, whether the wound looked the same, and whether it was licking at it.
General information for dog owners in Luxembourg, not veterinary or legal advice. For your own dog, ask your vet, a qualified behaviourist or your commune. How this journal is written and checked.
Away from your dog all day?
PAWLY provides individual dog walks, home visits and overnight care in your own home, across Luxembourg City. Same walker every time, written report after every visit.
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