Frank Magnetico Webboard User Reg: 04-24-2009
Posts: 100
Loc: Texas
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Just wondering if anyone could give me some help with what I can do with my Mal while I am recovering from spinal surgery? I had him stay with my club's trainer while I was in the hospital. Now that I am home I am wondering what to do with him,he is climbing the walls with energy. I just started walking him yesterday against my surgeon's advice who said wait for 3 or 4 weeks. I guess My wife could walk him but working him is another story. Maybe she could just play ball with him in the yard. I have put a lot of work into this guy, I hope it doesn't go down the drain before I can start working him again. If another handler at my club was to work him once a week would that be detrimental to what we have done together? Just looking for some advice. I don't want to re-injure my self by doing something too soon, but I also don't want him to go crazy for the next 8 weeks. Has anyone else been in this situation? Thanks all, any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Jodi Moen Webboard User Reg: 12-28-2010
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Loc: USA
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First off sorry to hear about your surgery, and hope your recovery is speedy.
Would you be able to play house fetch or other indoor games/training to help burn off the energy?
My animals are not "like" family, they ARE family.
When I was down with a bad knee and couldn't do much with the dogs physically, I did a lot of mental stimulation with them.
I did lots of scentwork- nosework and scent discrimination. If your dog is a Mondio dog, now would be a great time to work on the little woods. Even teaching new tricks helps to mentally stimulate a dog.
The dog will still need outside time, but fetch with the wife might be enough for a while as long as the dog is getting mentally stimulated. It's not something I would recommend for long term, but short term, it should be adequate.
Personally I never let anyone else handle my Mal when doing bitework- not even my boyfriend.
If you are worried the dog will forget how to work, he won't. I've had to suspend training the dogs for various reasons, and when we went back, the dogs were able to get right back where we left off with minimal refreshers.
Good luck and I hope all goes well with your recovery!
Frank Magnetico Webboard User Reg: 04-24-2009
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Loc: Texas
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Thanks for the replies, I agree that now would be a great time to start some scent work. I have wanted to for a while but seems that doing bite work and OB is the only thing we have been concentrating on.
Kelly I agree I am not comfortable with someone else handling my dog, especially in bite work. He is a Mal and I doubt he will forget how to bite before I can get back to handling him. I just don't see me scaling any walls with him for a while.
Anne Jones Webboard User Reg: 04-29-2004
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Loc: Northeast
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Quote: Bob Scott
Hoping for a speedy recovery!
If the early training was solid then the dog will bounce back easily.
DITTO
A treadmill was a big help for me with 2 high drive GSDs when I had shoulder surgery 3 years ago. That coupled with some mental work of teaching some stupid pet tricks, some scent work & some ball retrieving was enough to keep all of us sane.
Tresa Hendrix Webboard User Reg: 05-08-2008
Posts: 1473
Loc: Alaska
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Ditto to lots of scent games and tricks...I had to deal with my Dutch with a badly broken hand, that was bad enough but spinal surgery, be careful! Don't let him injure you!
Also, you can have him do tricks to burn off that energy. Teach him stuff like go run around a post and back for treats...or run to and jump an obstacle far away from you. If you had a "walky dog" or "springer" bike attachment you could have somebody bike him for you safely. Weight pulling would be another option...if he's old enough.
A tired dog is a good dog, a trained dog is a better dog.
Frank Magnetico Webboard User Reg: 04-24-2009
Posts: 100
Loc: Texas
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Tresa, thanks for all of those great options, I will definitely try those. This really STINKS be laid up like this, the poor guy just looks at me like "come on let's do something". That is for the short time he's standing still.
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What to do while recovering from surgery
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