In house dog minder after operation?

greengold9999

Hi All

Just back from UCD and my lab needs a cruciate repair. The big problem is that we both work and although my parents can help out here and there, trying to have 6 weeks cover using holidays is impossible. Does anyone know of any such service or anyone who may be willing to consider it? I am northside, glasnevin area.

andreac

Just wondering why you need an in house dog minder?

My girl had her cruciate done in UCD and i was working full time. To be honest, for the first 6 weeks they cant go anywhere but their crate to toilet and toilet back to crate, 24 hours a day. So paying someone to come in then would be wasted really.

I used to let my girl out to the loo and then gave her a kong when i was leaving (8.15am) to keep her busy for a bit and then i was home then by 5.30 or so everyday.
She managed just fine and was in a big crate, with plenty of room to turn around and lie out flat. Unless your dog is going to be left for much longer on their own than that, i wouldnt think you would need an in house minder.

tk123

It depends on the dog to be fair. My boy was crated twice for operations and would have gone nuts/broken out of the crate and smashed his leg apart if he had of been left alone all day.

OP are you looking for somebody to drop in during the day and spend some time with the dog or stay there all day? Would your own vet be able to crate the dog during the day for you? When we started at the first operation my dog was crying to be let out for the first few days chancing that we might let him out. I mentioned it to my vet at one of the dressing changes that we weren't sure at first if he actually needed to go to the loo or was chancing being released from jail - my vet said at the time "He goes out to the loo 3 times a day and if you're having problems he'll come here and be crated for the 4 weeks'.. now she was only saying that to make sure I wasn't going to give in to him (which I wasn't lol) but it was an option if we needed it. I use Anicare at the Botanic Gardens btw

greengold9999

LOL tk123, I use Anicare vets too - I will ask them if they could take her as I know I am going to find it hard to confine her - she has me very well trained!

One of my problems is that work is going to be mental for the next 6 months so my day is about to get a lot longer and my partner often has long days so I just could not leave her alone in the crate so it is definitely someone to come in for the day.

What kind of bedding do you put in the crate - do you just use her normal bed? I will start to get her used to being in there while we wait for a date and to make arrangements.

tk123

I used 2 sheets of vet bed but put her normal bedding in now to try and get her used to it. Start feeding her meals and treats in the crate too and building up her time in it - I fed all his meals in kongs for a few weeks before the op and during recovery. I had one crate in the kitchen and one in the sitting room (the 2 main rooms we'd be in) and kind or coordinated his loo breaks and moving him between the two crates so he'd be near us = him relaxed and asleep. First time around it took a couple of days for him to realise he was confined, second time around he loved the new bigger crate and took to it straight away. I used a dap plugin beside the crate too.
Both our operations were in Gilabbey down in Cork and Mary in Anicare did all the wound checks, dressing changes etc. That might be an option for you too - you'd probably save a few quid and a lot of time going there for post-op stuff rather than UCD?
Assuming you drive you should probably invest in a ramp - no more jumping in and out of the car!

greengold9999

I will definitely ask about the post op care, thx, it would it a lot easier to go to Anicare for sure.
Had not thought about a ramp - good thinking!

on_my_oe

I've sent you a PM of someone local if you decide you want a daytime visitor who I'd recommend 100%