CCL Recovery advice

morning everyone, hope all are well.
Captain my rottie boy has snapped his cruciate and is having surgery next week for a new bionic knee I'm gutted for him obviously and he is in a real mess on the Tramadol to sedate him till they can operate. I'm very concerned about after care because I have a job where I have to travel and my employer is saying that they cannot guarantee I won't have to travel due to the nature of my role. My other half was supposed to start a new contract later in August so I need advice from people who've been through this about after care. My feeling is he is going to need 24/7 supervision, I can't crate him as he is scared of metal noises and it would stress him too much plus I don't think I would get him in it in the first place.
Does one of us need to be at home with him all the time?
Probably a silly question
thanks,
Emma and Captain x

Having been through it twice with my Rott i personally wouldn't advise leaving him alone at all even more so out of a crate.
Have you spoke to the specialist as some will keep them for rehabilitation?

Hiya and thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately Cap is very anxious and udders from nervous aggression which means noone else can really get near him so we are doing this ourselves with vet coaching us at home and the normal checks on progress. Thanks again, Emma

I'm sorry that poor Captain has ruptured his cruciate. My neighbour's dog had the op about a year ago and she took time off work for the first two weeks but fortunately her dog was very calm and was quite happy just to sleep and her dog walker would go in twice a day to check on her until her daughter was back from school. However, she then did the cruciate on the other leg which apparently is very common after having one leg done. This fortunately fell during school holidays so her teenage children could dog sit her. After 9 months she was as right as rain, fully sound etc. My advice would be that you cannot leave Captain alone certainly for a few weeks until it has started to knit. The vet I'm sure will have told you that the first few months are crucial that they don't jump, run, twist on the newly operated leg. I don't think you have a choice as I believe one of you have to be there with him.

This info has come off my vet's website:
Post-operative cruciate ligament care for dogs
Exercise

Your pet must be forced to rest for the first six weeks following cruciate ligament surgery. This means:

Your pet should be confined to a small room or quiet area for the six-week rest period.
Only short (maximum 10 minutes) exercise is allowed – your pet may be slow walked on a leash in order to go to the toilet.
Things to avoid:

Walking up and down flights of stairs, jumping up or any uncontrolled activity.
Slipping when walking on wet or smooth surfaces as this places strain on the recovering limb.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

I went through it with my BC x GSD 18 months ago.

She was crated permanently except for wee breaks for a week, then allowed out of crate as long as she kept calm but as I have other dogs I kept her in the crate for longer just allowed her out when I could sit on the sofa and watch her. She wasn't out of the crate unsupervised for about a month

She had 5 min on lead strolls around the garden then built it up 5 mins at a time. Luckily she's not an overly bouncy dog so that made things easier. The first few weeks or so when she's doped up on Metacam were easier as she just slept a lot. I managed her crate time with lots of raw bones etc to give her something to do. You have to keep an eye on their weight though.

Pain in the butt and not nice for her but 18 months on she's practically fully recovered and has no issues with her leg although I do not let her play ball or jump anymore just in case.

It is some years since our last dog had a cruciate op.....she was a collie cross.........but I well remember the aftercare, and I would definitely not recommend leaving your chap alone during the recovery period. As you rightly surmised, it is virtually a 24 hour a day job because you really don't want anything to happen that will necessitate going back in for more surgery.

It sounds as if you will have problems, so I do hope that you can sort something out. Good luck, to both you and poor Captain. With the right after care, he should be as good as new.