Is stair climbing safe exercise for my dog after ACL surgery?

While I typically do recommend avoiding stairs, when it is not possible I have people use a leash on stairs to make sure the dog goes slow and does not cause too much stress on the incision. Double check with your vet to make sure that will be okay.

This is not a good exercise for a German Shepherd as this breed is prone to hip dysplasia which can be aggravated by climbing stairs. It would be much better to take Bruno out to run in a park or on open ground or go for long walks.

Her hips are not that bad but that one knee is pretty advanced. It is best to let her keep walking and climbing stairs to keep the joints in motion and prevent her from getting stiff. I would add a glucosamine and chondrotin supplement to help her joints and omega 3 fatty acids also. I would consider adding an anti inflammatory so she doesn’t get painful and can still fetch without paying for it the next day. From there they make other medicines to add but if she is getting around well with no lameness then I would wait until signs develop further

Exercise should be strictly limited for the first six weeks post surgery. To help guide you with Sunday's recovering, I will put a link to a website that details exactly what needs to be done in regards to exercise after this surgery. The first few weeks, Sunday will likely be toe tapping before moving on to gingerly putting weight on her leg. By six weeks post surgery, she should be using her leg without limping, but it will still be at least another six weeks before she is allowed to run, jump, or play. https://www.webvets.com/Resources/resource.php?Anterior-Cruciate-Ligament-Surgery-Post-Operative-Care-44

Many of my patients travel from out of town for surgery at my hospital, cruciate repairs included. As long as he doesn’t jump in and out of the car I don’t see any reason to withhold travel. Best of luck and I hope his recovery continues to do well. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can start doing this at anytime. It is all about not over doing it so perhaps keeps this limited to once daily. Also, I would consider relying more on walks (perhaps longer walks) than using the stairs at least until his bones are more developed (at least after 1 year of age). Good luck and have a nice day!

If it's been four weeks since her surgery, it should be perfectly fine to go ahead and bathe her now. It would be a good idea to use a non-slip mat of some kind in the tub to help make sure that she doesn't re-injure the leg, but otherwise there should be no problem at all with giving her a bath :)