Heel to Heal
In October, PJ, my beloved terrier mix and dead ringer for Tramp in Disney’s classic, Lady and the Tramp, tore a ligament in her knee, which we had surgically repaired. Recovery and then rehabilitating a dog’s leg is slow work, but it is made much faster and safer because of the communication she and I share. Here are a few commands/skills that are a gift to an injured dog and to a worried caretaker:
Calm Crating
Safely resting an injured dog is key, and a crate is a great way to do that. Even though it had been years since PJ has been regularly crated, she did not forget. This is a skill every dog should have because you never know when you will need it.
Loose Leash
PJ needed to be walked on lead for many weeks after surgery and, once winter settled in and ice arrived, those weeks stretched into months. If she were wild, spinning, or dragging, she could have easily reinjured herself. She wasn’t perfect every moment, but she was calm most of the time and I could easily calm her when it was needed.
Handling Handling
Stretching, icing, heat packs, passive range of motion exercises are all part of her rehab. If I had to fight with her to help her, I would risk her leg and our relationship. Because handling exercises are a part of my life with all my dogs, I could help her to the best of my ability. Handling exercises, as taught in My Smart Puppy, are a life necessity.
Solid Wait
Often around the house, I had to stop her in her tracks as I tried to prevent sliding around corners, climbing stairs, going out the door, or hopping up on the couch. “Wait” means pause a second. Her responsiveness to this useful command allowed her as much freedom as possible in a time when she could have very little.
Thank goodness she knew all this before her ligament tore, so I could support her with relative ease. It was all worth it. This spring she is racing up hills and hunting in the dead winter grasses as she always has. It makes me smile.
So do your pets a favor and put these four things on your “to-do” list. If you never need them--great! But if you do, you (and your dog) will be glad you did the work now.
--Sarah Wilson, MySmartPuppy.com
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Sarah Wilson is a pet behavior specialist, author, media personality, and a regular contributor to Wag Reflex. Sarah's books include, "Dogology", "My Smart Puppy", and "Tails from the Barkside", all available now.
Руслан on June 03, 2009 at 03:41 AM
So do your pets a favor and put these four things on your “to-do” list.
Claire on June 09, 2009 at 06:04 AM
Glad PJ is all better! Your advice about making handling exercises just part of our daily life has really made a difference for us. I can inspect and clip my dog's nails now with no problem. I had to get out a really deep splinter too recently and he stayed calm the whole time....so much easier for both of us. Thank you!
Carolyn on June 09, 2009 at 06:09 AM
Teaching skills to our dogs BEFORE we really need them is such great advice. It just makes so many aspects of doggy care-taking so much easier.
Sheltercat on June 09, 2009 at 08:58 AM
I need to work on handling. Thanks for the reminder to prep our dogs, just in case we need it someday. :-)
Melissa on June 15, 2009 at 01:09 PM
Very helpful suggestions of skills that are easy to work on ahead of time and essential when there's a need like PJ's. Thank you!
joesen on December 16, 2010 at 10:14 PM
PJ needed to be walked on lead for many weeks after surgery and, once winter settled in and ice arrived, those weeks stretched into months. If she were wild, spinning, or dragging, she could have easily reinjured herself. She wasn’t perfect every moment, but she was calm most of the time and I could easily calm her when it was needed.