Hi,

My dog has recently had an operation on her cruciate ligament and we have been advised by the vet to keep exercise to a maximum of 10 minutes twice daily until further notice while it heals. It's been almost eight weeks and in that time she has developed some quite serious behaviour problems which she didn't have before.

The poor thing is so bored she chews anything she can find to shreds when left alone for even a short while. She has also become very possessive of the house and barks constantly at anyone unfamilar (and sometimes people she knows who come into the house) which is very bad for us as we are currently trying to find a lodger.

She is also almost uncontrollable on walks, this behaviour is intermittent as sometimes she's fine but if she sees people or other dogs she whimpers and barks, sometimes it seems like over excitement and other times like aggression. I'm seriously worried that she will get away from me one day and hurt someone or herself. I use a haltil currently and am considering a muzzle.

I have been clicker training her to keep her occupied and she is very smart and has picked up quite complicated tasks quickly and seems to enjoy doing so, but the moment we get outside she's completely overwhelmed and mostly ignores me, the clicker and the treats.

I've bough her a big Kong toy with food inside which keeps her occupied for a short while when I'm out but I really need to do something to control the agression and barking.

I know the solution is probably more exercise but I can't do that until the vet says so and it's likely that she will need the same procedure on her other leg in the next few months! I'm worried that her behaviour will get even worse as her exercise is unlikely to increase for some time. please help.

Using food treats might not be the best if the dog can't burn off the energy it is putting in which is stoking the fire with no outlet.

I'd suggest inviting people round and working on the barking stuff at the door etc. but replace the food treats with toy rewards like a little tug toy or a soft toy.

I don't know the history of your dog but if you are able to split the meals in to three or four smaller meals throughout the day rather than one main meal or two. It will help keep the dog's energy levels stable and not produce increases in energy level which might help the dog deal with some urges to expend energy in negative ways.

Thank you hutch6, I had reduced the size of her meals to compensate for the treats but feeding her smaller portions more often sounds like something good to try She has however destroyed almost every toy we've given her, with the exception of the small kong so I'm not sure how effective using toys instead of treats wuold be?

A little background if it helps:

Grace is two and half, ridgeback x something else. We got her from our previous housemates who have gone travelling for a year. She's had quite a shake up since Christmas as her family have gone, leaving her with us, then there's the operation and reduced exercise and on top of all that she's lost her playmate, a small terrier who moved out recently when her owner got a new job up north.

She's fed Royal Canin, a small bowl twice a day and gets a fair few treats during clicker training which we do with her every day.

My partner is self employed so she is not often left for more than three or four hours at the most.

I'm sure you could start hydrotherapy soon, that should help a lot. I took mine 3 times a week for a while until he could walk more.
Ask your vet.
Alfie started hydro week 6
Cruciate operation diary

Quick update, I spoke to the vet on your advice and he's agreed that Grace have hydrotherapy. She's got her first session on so fingers crossed! Thanks for the suggestion.

Great, let us know how it goes
Oh don't expect too much the first visit or two

It went well, after the initial escape attempts she settled down on the hydro-treadmill and worked the leg a little

Quick question though, a friend has told me that she should have had an x-ray to check the surgery has been successful before the vet cleared her for the hydrotherapy. Is this true? She's had post-op check ups every 2 weeks and the vet was happy for her to start the therapy.... But now there's a seed of doubt in my mind!

I know the feeling !!! my boy is now 10 weeks and 1 day not been out for a walk since he had the first and second operation on his knee. Finn will be restricted on to his bed until he gets his brace made finally. But even than he will not be able to go for long walks. It is hard to keep them calm all the time, I did run out of ideas to keep my boy occupied.

X-ray checkups are very important, even if the x-rays show a bad results like in finns case. Don’t save on the wrong end ....have the x-rays done to see if its all okay….for your dogs sake!

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Mine never did. Hydrotherapy is extremely unlikely to do any harm whatsoever it can usually be used with very severe problems.
I'm sure if your vet or even the hydro therapist had any doubts, they would have checked

Is she more settled now?

Hmmmm, I just checked the paperwork and the surgeon recommended a follow up x ray at six weeks (surgeon different to our regular very who couldn't do the op), we're past that point now so I'll remind the vet!

Grace was very tired after the hydrotherapy but back to being barmy the next day. But I'm hopeful as it was only the first session and they kept it short.

One thing the hydrotherapist suggested was changing her food from royal canin (which she calls rocket fuel) to something with less protein to control her energy levels while exercise is restricted. She suggested gelert or James well beloved, but when I looked into it the protein levels seem very similar. Does anyone have any experience of calming foods?