Doggie Depression & Other Things (post-surgery management)

Hi all,

I wasn't sure where to post this but as it's asking several different questions I thought this was the best place!

My 8yo Chihuahua (Pants) had surgery for a slipped disc on Tuesday & now has to be caged 24/7 for at least the next 4 weeks. Medically, he's doing really well & in himself he is perkier than I expected, but I'm worried he's going to become depressed in his cage. Even after the few days it's been, when I carry him back to his cage after toileting his ears & head go down & his whole body slumps. He's used to having the run of the house & spends most of his time wherever I am or playing with our Collie.
Is there anything I can do to try & prevent him getting really down?

Also, does anyone know of any good natural/herbal supplements that help the body heal? His incision runs almost the whole length of his back so it was obviously a big surgery & I want to make sure he heals as best & quickly as he can.

Final question. As his incision is so big, would it be good (when it heals) to apply some kind of oil to stop the scar becoming tight? I know Vit E is recommended for scars in humans, but would it be too much Vits for a Chi? Would something like Bio-oil be better?

I will be asking our vet all this on Monday, but sometimes owners have tried & tested ideas!

Thanks

I give my dog echinacea, which is supposed to help the immune system.
Not sure if this would be helpful?

Does your dog have to be crated all the time?
Can he not sit by you/on you if you can keep him calm?

Yep, the poor lad is only allowed out of his cage to toilet & he is not allowed to walk anywhere for 4 weeks. After that he will be able to spend graduating amounts of time outside his cage.

I'm hoping that once his staples are out & his incision is fully closed he'll be allowed lap time with me, but I don't think he will. In the meantime his cage is next to me most of the time & if hubby's workinging the garden & it's not too hot we'll put him out there for a bit as well.

Poor little man

I suppose the problem with being cooped up so much is going to be boredom, so how about providing him with a variety of sitting-still activities, like giving him his dinner in a Kong, bones to chew and so on. It sounds like you've already thought about this one, but you can also make sure he's still able to see what's going on around the place by taking his crate to wherever the action is and chatting away to him while he's in there.

Regarding the scar tissue, the thing with putting stuff on dogs' skin is that they're going to lick it off. Therefore, you don't really want to treat them with anything you wouldn't put straight into their mouths! If you feel that the skin is very dry, you might consider rubbing in a teeny bit of olive oil or something, but really you're better off putting your faith in his body's ability to heal itself.

Best wishes to you and your poorly pup

I hadn't thought of a Kong bone, that could be a good plan, although putting his dinner in it could be messy as he has wet food

At the moment I'm dividing his feed into 3 meals & he has a biscuit bone as well to try & relieve his boredom, obviously I have to watch how much he's eating as he's not getting any exercise, but I could cut down on his wet food & incorporate a kong bone.

Putting things on his skin shouldn't be a problem as he can't reach the incision to lick it, it's just to one side of his spine & we weren't given a cone collar for him.


Thanks for the input

Sorry to hear about your little dog and hope he gets better soon.

I really hope your poor doggie gets better soon. I'm sorry that both you and him have had to go through this, it must be horrendous. Kongs are a good idea, the other thing that might keep him occupied for quite a while, is one of those bones with the knots at either end (I'm really sorry I don't know the name of them) I know that they keep my dogs occupied for ages!

Raggers are also a good idea, my eldest dog has got a chocolate flavoured ragger, which may be an idea seen as your poor baby cannot have any exercise Tara and Blue both love untying the knots....

I'm not sure about anything to moisturise the scar, but I thought I'd just throw in a couple more ideas for boredom.

I really am sorry for what you're both going through.

Lorna.

Cheers for the ideas Lorna. Whats a Ragger??

Hi Pinx,

Its a short twisted rope, with a knot tied at either end...

http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/item...d-Rope--ragger

This is an example of one, but you can buy the chocolate flavoured ones from pet shops, I think I bought mine from Pets at home!

Hope he's doing well today Pinx - can't be fun in the hot weather for him.

Take care!

Hi I was told when my old bitch had her scar after a hysterectomy to get Lanolin and massage it gently into the scar, not sure if you can still get this though. Another thing to promote the healing process is to add aloe vera juice to the drinking water. I am sure it will only be a short time till she is on the mend. My friend had to cage her basset for the same problem and two weeks on there was a temendous improvement. Has anyone suggested hydrotherapy? once she is making a recover,y my little dacchie had a slipped disc and hyrotherapy and massage together with arnica helped him a long. He is now back on his feet albeit that he walks with a crab-like gait, Hope all goes well