u/AgeNo2155

My young poodle mix recently required back surgery for ivdd that had left them paralyzed. Thankfully their prognosis is good and they’re showing sensation in feet and tail movement. But strict cage restriction is recommended for at least three weeks and little movement outside PT for six-eight weeks. That’s a very long time for a very energetic still young dog used to roaming the yard and house (and a long time for a helicopter pet parent). He was trained as a puppy to see the cage as his safe place and he’s not scared of the cage. But the cage door was always left open and now sitting still locked in while others are moving about the house is clearly driving him bonkers. If the door is left open he wants to play handicap Great Escape.

My question is if there’s any non-medication recommendations for helping the small dog through six weeks of caging during recovery. He has pain meds and anti anxiety meds rxd by the vet. They help but there’s long hours where even multiple people sitting next to the cage interacting or just sitting with him results in constant churning and whining.

Any practice pointers for keeping them calmer while caged during recovery? Do we just suck it up and leave him mostly isolated to recover despite the cries, so that we avoid too much movement?

Sometimes Reddit experts can have surprisingly insightful ideas that aren’t apparent from just researching alone online. Hoping there’s something I’m missing here that will make everyone more comfortable this spring. Thank you for your time.

TLDR: Any pointers for keeping energetic dog caged comfortably after surgery?