Preparing for dog recovery: small crate cost & regular food?

You are too kind! Yes, a recovery suit would be a great option if Bella will wear one, and crating her is also an excellent idea. It would keep her from running and jumping, and would help keep her quiet.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You need to get her wet food for large breed puppy, it may be one of the premium brands (Hill's, Royal, Eucanuba), but you can find something cheaper. If you use any of these food, you should not given any additional food supplements. Alternatively, you can cook food for the puppy. Mixture of cooked lean meat with rice, pasta and vegetables will be a good choice. In that case, you should add food supplements (from a pet shop or your vets) containing calcium and phosphorus. You can crate her if you have big enough cage.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is something that she needs to get used to. There is not necessarily a magic trick to make them stay in the crate without complaining about it. What I find helpful is to reward them for being in the crate. I like to give them a long lasting chew or treat (such as peanut butter) right when you get her inside (not when she complains). She will then associate the crate with something positive which may help make this more ok. This should help. Have a good day!

Most veterinarians will provide you with detailed discharge instructions upon return of your pet. With these instructions will likely include the cone you've described. Confining Pharah to her crate for the night may not be a bad idea if she's receptive to it, but it is certainly not required. Keeping her somewhat calm is fine as long as she has no access to her surgical site. As far as the procedure, I would recommend having the ovaries and uterus removed if you are sterilizing versus only the ovaries. While the procedure will prevent a pregnancy, it will not prevent future diseases like infections and tumors of the uterus. Dogs that are most predisposed to these conditions are middle to older age females that have not been bred previously. Hope this answers your question.

I'm sorry for Brody's injury. It sounds like he had ruptured his cranial cruciate ligament. Surgery is the ideal treatment but when that is not possible, crate rest is strongly recommended. Every time Brody steps on that leg he is injuring it further. If he tries to run and jump or play on it he will injure it even more. So 4-8 weeks of cage rest is better than a lifetime of chronic pain and lameness. There are things you can do to try to make it easier on him. Toys or chews that may interest him but that he can't swallow large pieces of. Make sure he can be out with you on a leash when possible instead of a cage. If he is super anxious or fighting the crate you may need to discuss anxiety or sedation medications with your vet. Here's an article that explains CCL injury a little bit more. I would recommend starting Brody on a supplement such as Dasaquin to try to limit arthritis effects in his knees. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1975

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This could be due to dietary indiscretion. I would recommend withholding food for at least 8 hours and then initiate a bland diet as outlined below. Once the symptoms stop, then transition back to his regular dog food and if the symptoms recur once back on his normal dog food, then repeat the bland diet and switch to a completely different brand of food such as Science Diet. If he worsens and the vomiting becomes more persistent and he becomes lethargic, then I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

I am so sorry to hear that Lilo lost all her puppies due to premature birth. Her appertite will take a few days to get back to normal. You should just continue to offer her the canned food and if she still doesn't seem to be recovering well, ask your vet for a prescription for a recovery diet such as Hill's A/D or Hill's Recovery.. I would also keep an eye on her rectal temperature to make sure she is not feverish, which can also cause a pet to feel quite sluggish and have a decreased appetite. Her post-op instructions should have been to keep her from running, jumping, and rough playing for the next 10 days until she has fully healed. You should also keep the incisoin dry and check it daily for any openings or drainage, which warrants a rechk with your vet if seen. If she has external sutures, you should be going back to the vet around that time to have the sutures removed. Typically after a major surgery like a c-section, the pet will have a bit of ileus (slow moving gut), which can delay pooping for 24-72 hours. As long as she isn't straining to go defecate, then its fine to continue monitoring her until she attempts to go. Plus her decrease in the amount of food she is eating is likely why she hasn't formed a good stool just yet. Give her lots of comfortable bedding and attention as she is likely mourning the loss of her pups. I hope that Lilo's spirits are lifted soon. Best wishes and take care. : )