Advice/hints/tips on crating please

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Hi, I was wondering if you could give me some advice/tips/hints.

I've just come back from the vets and have been advised to crate Archie-boo (dog) for the next week. She was spayed on Tuesday and she has some swelling.

Is there anything I can do to ease her boredom, she also has a cone on.

Also how long at a time do I leave her in there for?

I use the crate for short periods of time but never more than about an hour.

Also how do I know if the crate is big enough. Sorry for all the questions.

Many thanks,

krlyr

Using a crate in this situation is a bit different since you're using it out of medical necessity rather than a situation you could slowly desensitize her to, but if she's OK for about an hour I think you're probably starting on good ground there.
One thing you might want to look into is an alterntive collar than a rigid plastic one if that's all you've got. The Comfy Cone looks a good alternative and I've heard good reviews on it. It's shaped the same but made of a semi-firm foam, so it holds it shape but doesn't whack on things so loudly, which can scare a dog. Plus you can fold it back to allow her to be able to eat and drink from a bowl.
http://www.allfourpaws.com/the_comfy_cone.php
http://canineconcepts.co.uk/en/first-aid-for-dogs/2247-comfy-cone-veterinary-collar.html

I would perhaps not focus too much on having her strictly shut in the crate but just resting. You might find it better to constrict her to a smaller room, for example, when you're out - a utility room or even a small bedroom, if you can block her off from jumping on the bed (won't help to be jumping up and down), she might settle better if she's not used to being shut in a crate for longer periods of time. If you don't have to leave her alone longer than that hour then I would personally just have her resting calmly on a bed, whether it's in a crate or not.
If she doesn't know a 'settle' command you might want to teach that. It differs to an "on your bed" command in that you're shaping and rewarding the act of actually settling down, rather than just going to a specific area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM0LeSBjxA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ0Rii_5ckE

Also consider 'crate games' or similar activities she can do while on her bed. Some ideas here - http://www.greendogwash.com/green-dog-blog/item/135-tips-for-a-dog-on-bed-rest
Lots of trick training ideas here
http://www.youtube.com/kikopup

I would say have the crate large enough that she can lay comfortably. One of mine prefers to lay sprawled out on his side - the crate I have doesn't allow this (though he can curl up fine), but then I rarely use it (infact it's packed up at the moment), if he was on enforced crate rest for any more than a night or two I'd probably buy a larger one. Height wise she should be able to stand up without hitting her head on the top, so she's not stooped over (won't do her stomach muscles much good I imagine)

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Thank you for all that advice. She has to keep the cone on until Friday, unfortunately she doesn't do calm, she's a bit of a nutter even the vet nurse commented on how crazy she is when she was there after surgery.

The vets have prescribed zylkene to help calm her, they've also said to stop using the pain killers they gave me.

I can't leave her for 2 mins alone as she keeps jumping on and off the sofa, so I think she needs to be in the crate.

I've got a small crate as that is what was recommended for JR's but as she's a cross I'm not sure if its still suitable. She can normally stand fine and turn, but the cone is making things harder for her.

I will definitely look at those links for the crate games, and the settle commands. Once again thank you.

krlyr

You might want to look at something like an Adaptil plugin to chill her out too. Try online pharmacies (Animed Direct, Vet UK, and Viovet to name a few I've used) or Ebay for the best prices - probably way cheaper than your vet! There are lots of calmative products on the market and different products work for different dogs.

If you don't have one already, I would suggest investing in a Kong or two as well (or the similar but cheaper version, the Busy Buddy Squirrel) and feeding her all her meals in that - it'll occupy her for a while, and you can build up the difficulty. If she's fed dry food you might want to slowly introduce a bit of wet food, e.g. Naturediet or similar high-quality wet foods, you can then pack the Kong and it'll be a bit tricker than just dry biscuits. Over time you can make it more difficult with more wet food, packed tighter, and then even start to freeze it. Don't do it too difficult too quickly as it may just bore her, but mine have frozen Kongs daily now and they last about half an hour - plus they have to work hard to get the food out so it helps tire them out as well as provide mental stimulation (plus licking/chewing produces endorphins than can help relax a dog)

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Thank you again.

I have a kong and all the usual chew toys/stag bars etc, but because of this cone she can't hold the toys/chews to use them. I'm going to look at other option to the cone.

krlyr

If you're around to supervise you could take the cone off while she has a Kong. You could maybe put a t-shirt on her to stop any immediate licking (and this may help calm her too, similar to how a Thundershirt works - like swaddling a baby) and then just keep an eye on her. Won't solve keeping her amused when you're not there but it should help tire her out even when you put the cone back on.