It’s been five days since Stevie was spayed, and she’s ready to party. Unfortunately, the Doc said she’s not allowed yet.
So this is where she’d like to be:
And this is where she is:
She’s only restricted for another few days, but I promised her I’d ask: any tips on how to keep our poor Stevie Wonder busy and tired, without letting her run and frolick and play?
Love and a Six-Foot Leash 
How pitiful…..darn cones!! Hope someone has suggestions for you…..I’m at a loss. The kong can entertain for just so long.
When I’m sick…the only thing I want to do is watch Bravo marathons of Flipping Out or Real Housewives of (Insert State) …. would the equivalent of that for Stevie be watching Dog Whisperer marathons???? Maybe get her a book of crosswords??? Let her read a trashy romance novel?? I don’t have any answers for you on that – Miss Ginger is getting spayed today so I’ll be dealing with an ailing girl soon enough. Good luck and let us know what helps Miss Stevie!! Hope she feels much better soon!
Hmmm, not sure what she likes… When Luna was not even allowed to go on walks cuz of her foot I played lots of hide and seek in the house, taught a couple tricks (play dead was figured out in like 2 days), and she got kongs and other chews. But I admit, I eventually broke down and broke doctors orders and took her to the dog park. She didn’t even need to use her 4th foot to outrun the pups, so I figured not much hard done and mentally it was very good for her. But of course your situation is different and running would injure things for sure.. soooo good luck 😉
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
Have you tried working on commands like “shake”? Teaching her something new is a great way to exercise her mind. I also like extra bouts of cuddling, Animal Planet watching, and doggie brain teaser toys – you know, the kind where they have to figure out what piece of the toy to move to get the treat. Hope Stevie doesn’t go stir crazy during her last few days of rest and is back to her stick killing ways in no time!
That’s really tough, a long time to wait without any fun. I am so glad Shiva was spayed by the shelter before we adopted her. We all would have gone insane!
I like Anna’s suggestion of teaching her some easy tricks. I also highly recommend nosework. If Shiva is bugging me and I don’t have time to play, I will put some cookies or kibble or cheese inside a toilet paper roll and hide it somewhere in the house, then ask her to go find it. You can start with an easy location at first and then make it more challenging as Stevie gets used to searching for things. If she is at all food motivated I am sure she will love it. And it is low-key enough to make the doctor happy.
Good luck!
Thanks for all the suggestions, friends. The critical detail I need to throw in is that she is not very food motivated. She will take cheese or liver or chicken sometimes and do a little work for it, but she will not work very hard. Makes it tough!
I was going to suggest mental games too. A pit bull that’s not food motivated? I haven’t met many of those! Can you do short walks? In this heat that would definitely wear her out quickly…
The dreaded cone. Poor Stevie. What about a marrow bone? A good bone keeps Tommy occupied for quite awhile.
Poor Stevie, the cone of shame. 😦 I hope you find something to keep her busy. Poor girl just looks so sad.
My sis had her puppy spayed this week. Like Anna, she also had to break doctor’s orders because her dog was going nuts. She let her run it out for a few minutes, and it seemed to help get that energy out of our system. I do like the idea of teaching tricks though.
Pretty soon. When my Lily was under the knife she acted like nothing ever happened. You could always start planning the pawrty
Benny & Lily
aww man, the cone makes any dog look just.so.sad. teaching tricks to a non-food motivated dog is impossible! i wouldn’t even know where to start! but i thought the trick part was a good idea.
feel better stevie! at least it’s too hot outside to do anything but run back inside.
Stevie, I just saw the most beautiful brindle greyhound boy yesterday. I think the two of you would make a great pair!
Hang on. Only a few more days until freedom!
Poor Stevie! We’ve had to think creatively too to keep Addie from being too active after her knee surgery. We have a stockpile of kongs, marrow bones, bully sticks and nylabones. I saw though that Stevie isn’t very treat-motivated, so I’m not sure how she’d take to those. We let Addie just lay out in the sun outside on our back patio and that seems to wear her out. She just basks in the sun, and when she comes inside it’s like she’s tired from just laying outside!
Do you think you could try to make a temporary smaller enclosure on your back porch or backyard?
See Alex! Another Bully stick endorsement! LOL!
That is a really tough one, though it seems everyone has good suggestions. I am probably a bad one to ask as I adopted Miss M just after she was spayed. And despite my efforts to try and keep her calm, she was one crazy dog who succeeded in infecting her spay scar until it became infected and developed the lump the size of a small golf ball. I thought I was the worst dog owner ever. Can chewing on sticks tire her out? Plus, I bet with all the hot weather, that helps too.
hi.
my dog was spayed when she was 1 year old so it was hard to keep her quiet. but be very careful, talk to your vet. we were advised to keep her calm(er) for 3 months after the operation to avoid creating an internal hernia. she could play, but running on the beach like there is no tomorrow was forbidden..
My dog loves Ikea kids toys. she likes to chew them until she finally makes a hole and take out all of the filling. then, Ill get it all back in and she can start again. it keeps her entertained for a while!
by the way, be careful with chewing bones. my vet says most of them are like mcdonalds for dogs (very caloric)
Awww, poor baby just wants to party! The cone picture is sweetly pitiful.
Other than what I’ve read, you could try making her a meatcicle… essentially it is wet dog food or something of a similar consistency, frozen into tasty blocks. A friend of mine did that with her dog that was on exercise restrictions for a healing injury. She’d make brick-sized ones and hide a rawhide in the middle or some other surprise, and said it took over an hour to get to the rawhide. I’ve done it using an old ice cube tray, and my pups enjoyed them a lot. Of course, just make sure little Stevie is outside for this gooey treat!
How about a nice car ride? Maybe to the park/ lake/ beach or some other area with a bit of excitement where you guys can drive up to and sit in the car with the windows down and watch the world go by. That helped when Shyla in a typical bout of bully idiocy jumped onto a metal stake and tore her whole shoulder muscle. (But yes, we too broke down after a couple of weeks and disobeyed doctor’s orders by taking her for short walks).
Poor Stevie, I cant believe she even wants to play because its so hot out. We got Havi the day she was spayed. It was so hard to keep her clam with so many changes.