Things have been a bit "exciting" around here lately. Bandit has an injury in his canine cruciate ligament (doggy ACL). I'm not exactly sure when he injured it but he wasn't himself last week so off to the vet we went. According to Colorado State University, the cause of this injury is usually genetics or poor physical condition, including weight. Boston terriers are known to have luxating patella issues, so this could be the source of the degradation. The good news is, he doesn't need surgical intervention just yet.
Bandit's vet prescribed gabapentin (pain medication) and carprofen (doggy ibuprofen) and bed rest for 2 weeks. BED REST?! He isn't allowed to play, jump on and off furniture or take the stairs. Like any other young dog, Bandit is active and loves 4 p.m. playtime and standing on the back of the couch performing neighborhood watch. He is not a fan of being crated; he whines and paws at the door and I don't want to sedate him with trazadone if I can avoid it. So what's a dog mom to do?
For starters, every gate and ramp in the house is set up somewhere. Living in a tri-level home makes things a bit more complicated but every set of stairs is now blocked. Since he is small, I can conveniently pick him up and move him about the house. If he were a bigger boy, I would be using a lift aid to get him around.
He isn't supposed to go for walks either. and he must go for a walk to get out his energy and to do his business. No just going in the backyard for him. This means for me. Carrying him to his favorite spot around the block to do his thing then carrying him home. All while having Smokey with us. It's a great workout for me. LOL
The biggest challenge for me so far has been keeping him from jumping and putting too much weight on the leg. He doesn't always use the ramp getting off the couch and standing on the back of the couch to see what is going on outside isn't ideal. As I previously mentioned, I don't want to sedate him for 2 weeks so I am trying to get him to couch potato as much as possible. Snuggles always help but that means I don't get much done in the day. As I am typing this, I have him contained behind me on a dog bed and he is snoozing away (winning) but as soon as I get up he is up. So, if you are wondering where I am the next 2 weeks, I'm on the couch with Bandit.
If you have any recommendations on how to keep a dog on bedrest, leave them in the comments!