How to keep a lively Staffy calm?

renowen

Hi looking for some advise please

On Wednesday my almost 3 year old Staff is going in for an op to fix Luxating Patella in one of her hind legs. I've been told after the op she WON'T be in plaster so she will need to rest as much as possible and get only short walks on the lead.

This is all well and good but how on EARTH do I get her to rest?!

She is, well, a Staff! Full of beans, leaping about the place constantly and only her twice daily walks calm her down!

Anyone have any tips for me? I'd hate for the surgery to be a waste of time because she overdid it

Thanks x

Fosterdog

I hope your girl gets well soon, it's never nice seeing them in pain.

The best thing is calm games with food, a tired mind means a tired dog.

have a look at this list for some ideas
http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&gs_nf=1&ds=sh&pq=dog%20puzzle&cp=11&gs_id=1k&xhr=t&q=dog+puzzle+toys&pf=p&tbm=shop&sclient=psy-ab&oq=dog+puzzle+&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=387f06cf0e6a503&biw=1280&bih=680

I would stop meals altogether and split all food between several mind games throughout the day

getcarter

Could you get hold of a crate? Also you could use some kongs with food in, also agree with the mind games or just training, sit, stay etc.

krlyr

You may be surprised at how well she adapts when she's actually got the cast on and in a confined area (are you using a crate? Could be worth it, or at least, a puppy pen to limit her free space). The anaesthetic may make her tired too - I had an op myself and after a few days the tiredness hit me like a brick wall.
I agree with Fosterdog, brain games will wear a dog out just as much, if not more, than physical exercise. Use her daily food ration as treats and mix the odd bonus treat in like small cubes of cheese or meat - remember that the decreased exercise may make her more prone to gaining weight which won't help with a leg issue, so you may need to cut her daily rations a little bit, but this is why it's a good idea to use it as treats for the games rather than meals, saves using extra calories on treats.
You could also swap some of her daily allowance for tough chews - bulls pizzle, paddywack, a raw marrowbone or similar. Or create tough stuffed Kongs - build up the difficultly slowly, but the ultimate Kong is one stuffed with a wet food and frozen overnight - takes my dogs half an hour or so to empty a Kong like this. A bit of hard work physically and the mental exercise too will help wear her out, and the actual act of chewing and licking release endorphins that will make her happier/calmer.