What To Do with Pets

[AuntB]

Hi,
I am new here, been lurking for a while. Love this forum. How do you handle your indoor pets when you get home from the hospital? I have 2 active dogs and an elderly cat. They all love to sit in my lap or beside me and I know this could cause a problem. I guess it could be good exercise getting up to let them in and out of the house!:D
Thanks for all the helpful information that you provide. My surgery is Nov 10 RTKR

Bev

 

[cotton1958]

Hi there. Initially, when I got home, we blocked the dogs from the doorway so they wouldn't jump on me. Once I got settled in, I put something over my legs to protect them,...then we let them in and they were all over me, checked me out along with all my new 'stuff'. Then they went their own way. They have been very good and faithful to me and keep me company as I spend a lot of time in the basement. My spouse walks them though.

Best of luck to you!

_________________________

BTKR 8/09

 

[JudyS]

My dog was so smart he knew something was different. He was so gentle it was amazing. But i do think he is very smart. The cat pretty much begs for treats first thing in the morning then ignores me.
judy

 

[Jamie]

Hi, AuntB....welcome to BoneSmart and so glad you moved from lurking to posting! It will be great to get to know more about you as you prepare for your "new beginning."

You will want to control the more active canine members of your family. If they were to jump right on your knee, you probably wouldn't harm the new joint, but it will hurt like there's no tomorrow!! So, protect that surgery for at least a month or so. Probably the best is to put them on a leash for a while until they are used to you being back home again. Then the suggestion to cover your incision with pillows is good. You'll just have to be very careful. Some pets understand that you have a "boo-boo" and are very protective. Others just are happy to see you. You'll have to see which is the behavior of your family once you get back home.

 

[Texas]

hello Aunt B .welcome well i had a big lab and hes very active i couldnt stop him from jumping on the bed he would sit there and cry so i stacked sofa cushions on the free side of me between me and the dog he was fine with that just wanted to be there i think they sense things........pillow pillows pillows well goos luck to you and i hope you keep us posted........)

 

[Josephine]

I only have two cats but they also love sleeping on my lap but somehow they seemed to know that those treats were off the menu for a while. Odd that!

 

[loggon]

My husband kept out little dog away from me for a while. But we don't allow him on the furniture or in the bed anyway. (of course he does not go by what we allow when he decides he wants on the furniture:hehe

But tends to run in circles in front of you while you are walking and I was afraid of tripping.

But as with some of the others he seemed to sense something was wrong he did pretty good.

 

[FrogFeathers]

At the time of my surgery, I had only three dogs- a German Shepherd and two Chihuahuas. The Shepherd (Gypsy) was very aware something was going on. Afterall, Mommy had been gone for almost a month! I was in the hospital/rehab for two weeks and spent two weeks at my parents house. After PT one day, I had my husband take me home so I could see the dogs (and he brought the Chis to my parents house a few times to visit). Gypsy is one of those dogs who leans into you when you pet her, so I was braced for it. But she seemed to know and didn't lean against me or even really come too close till I sat down. The Chis went absolutely bonkers and jumped all over the place (except they didn't jump on me). I have photos of my Chis laying on either side of my surgical leg without actually being ON it. :hehe:

Now that story-time is over, my advice is to keep the dogs separate for your arrival home and then bring them in gradually to make sure they don't go nuts. We blocked ours in the kitchen so I could get into the house (then they knocked the gate down to rush into the living room, but they didn't do anything to me as stated above).

Here's a picture of Jasper, our teacup Chi, laying next to my leg during one of his visits at my parents' house. :D

 

[AuntB]

Thanks for all the good ideas. I will have hubby see if he can wrangle the dogs at least until I get in the house! I think animals do sense things about you and react accordingly. Just one (of many) concerns I have right now.
Frog, that Chi is so cute! Love the little guys!
Bev

 

[Chaco]

My little shih tzu loved to jump in my lap, so I quickly learned how to "protect" my incision with pillows. The first couple of weeks, I would be strapped into the CPM machine, with a pillow on top of my knee and my little dog lying on the pillow, riding it up and down! He loved it. I so wish now that I'd gotten a video.

Our pets can become our therapy dogs/cats!

 

[cindy88fan]

I was worried about the same thing. Didn't want the cat or dog jumping on my knees. But it was funny when I came walking in with the walker. My little dog was always at the back door as soon as I pulled into the drive and into the garage and would jump up. Well, with the walker...she saw it and was scared of it. She went running. It was so funny.:hehe: She's too fat and short to jump up on the bed but I would have somebody lift her up and she did just fine. She stayed away from my knees. She just curled up at my side. My cat...I had pillows over my knees when she was on the bed because she always likes walking all over me. But I had the pillows and everything was fine.

 

[FrogFeathers]

My little shih tzu loved to jump in my lap, so I quickly learned how to "protect" my incision with pillows. The first couple of weeks, I would be strapped into the CPM machine, with a pillow on top of my knee and my little dog lying on the pillow, riding it up and down! He loved it. I so wish now that I'd gotten a video.

Our pets can become our therapy dogs/cats!

Even now, seven months out, I put my hand over my incision when I'm sitting on the sofa. Since my surgery, the Chis kinda got together and shockingly, had a puppy. (shockingly because we didn't think Jasper was old enough to... ya know, *wink-wink*, but he was enough to create a single pup). So, this puppy (Bruno) is still oblivious to things. He's 4 1/2 months old now.

Our cats were terrified of my CPM machine. Only two of them came into the room enough to inspect it and after that, only one would lay on the bed with me when the machine was running. :hehe:

 

[cotton1958]

One of my dogs loves to lick the Vitamin E oil off my legs. :sct:

 

[Judles]

Welcome AuntB! It's amazing how gentle our doggies all seem to be! They have that 6th sense that must tell them we've been traumatized! They are the BEST therapy going! Good luck to you! I have 3 VERY active toy poodles.....it's very busy on the floor!! Just PLEASE watch your
step!!:p:thmb:

 

[Linda2]

My big dog was great--she knew I wasn't my usual self. The cat, however, took delight on leaping from the ground to bed and landing directly on my incision! He was smart enough to move out of reach after doing so, however.

 

[abunnybabe]

That's funny Linda. I am sneding my big lab on vacation, to his cousin's house for the first week, while I am in the hospital and for the next few days. This way my husband doesn't have to worry about going home to attend to Clyde.
When I had my arthroscopy in Aug he was gtreat, he seemed to know when I was hurting and would just sit nearby. He doesn't go on the furniture or into our bedroom so that was a non issue. Justmake sure to put all the toys away I tripped twice over his toys, and fell once.

 

[FrogFeathers]

I wish I had a photo of it- but there are times, even now, when I'm laying on the sofa with my legs elevated and I've got all three Chihuahuas sleeping on me and the Shepherd is laying on the other sofa cushion near my head.

I updated my Facebook status with my mobile phone as: "Patty is laying on the sofa, covered in Chis (say it out loud)." :hehe:

 

[Pat29627]

Doesn't it feel funny when your dog is licking the knee? My dog just loves coconut oil and I rub that into my knee sometimes. A couple times I allowed her to lick it and it's so freaky what with the partial numbness but still some feeling.

 

[Josephine]

I updated my Facebook status with my mobile phone as: "Patty is laying on the sofa, covered in Chis (say it out loud)." :hehe:

I tried it - you're a hoot, gal!