Friday, July 31, 2009

how to keep my puppy calm?

9 month old puppy, super active, injured his knee, vet told me to keep him really calm, complete bed rest for 2 weeks, kind of hard to do since all he wants to do is play, vet offered tranquilizers, may have to take her up on it, any other ideas out there?
Answers:
Had similar problem..

My dog is a Carolina Dog %26 they are high-level of activity dogs. at the time he was 6 months old when this idiot man kicked him really hard %26 busted both of his hips.

So he had surgery. 1 plate %26 3 screws in each hip.. and not allowed to be active at all (total bed rest) for 4 weeks %26 then limited activity for 6 - 8 weeks following.

The ULTIMATE CHALLANGE.

Crating didn't work, he would try to stand in the crate (even the same day of picking him up from surgery) %26 dig at the door %26 sides (he normally liked his crate)

After a several rounds of trying to soothe him, laying on the floor with him hoping to help to keep him down. we finally agreed to use the doggie tranquilizers in order to keep him from hurting himself.

We created a "Doggie Camper Van" out of a moving box lined with his favorite blanket %26 mounted it on a wagon so that we could pull him into whatever room with us so he wouldn't try to get to us (while on tranquilzers, he decided to jump the baby gate %26 venture out of the kitchen and almost fell down the steps - we knew we had to find another option)

He would bang the Elizabethan Collar against the side of his box until he got it to pull apart. After putting it back on several times %26 realizing this activity potentially would cause damage, we finally gave up on the collar %26 wrapped him with layers of gauze to keep him from chewing his stiches/wounds.

It tooks lots of hands-on, almost like tending to an 8 week old puppy.. but we got thru it %26 I am happy he is healthy today!!

My suggestion after trying other alternatives is to ** use the tranquilizers to keep your dog from harming itself** :)
crate her as much as possible.especially when you are not there to supervise.
You need to crate him, or get a baby playpen or puppy playpen for him, where he will not be able to jump and move around much.
Take the tranquilizers. You don't want your dog to re-injure themselves. Good luck!
I would go for the meds the vet offered. You certainly don't want the puppy to hurt himself further because he can't calm himself down.
Walking your dog is usually the best way to burn up the dog's excess energy, while also establishing both your roles as leader and follower. But having a bum knee may prevent this. Check with your vet to see if you can take him for walks.

Remember, if you do walk you dog, you must keep the collar up high on its neck so you have more control. When you have more control, your dog will obey you better and walk with you better. And your dog is less likely to get into trouble, when you are in control. You want your dog to be calm and submissive on walks.

Never let your dog lead you. Always lead the dog. You must alway be the dominate one, especially when your dog is injured. It is for the dog's good.
Keep him in a dog crate, poor doggie. My dog had this too, but not so young. When he got too excited, I would howl; this made him howl. He would stop jumping while he howled.
you have to get it some toys and take it for walks or maybe play outside with him try that it might work!

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