Crate Rest for Active Anxious Dog
First, I’m so thankful for this subreddit - it’s been a Godsend as I navigate our diagnosis and aftermath of the first brutal flare up. So here’s what’s up…
The Dog: My beloved 4 year old rescue is an 8lb chi-poodle mix. Got him last year and he’s quickly become my everything. He’s very anxious in general (loves to be near his dads), loves to play ball, but not a fan of strangers or new experiences. HATES the vet and his crate.
The situation: A week and a half ago he had a bad flare up in the middle of the night, after an ER visit things got worse the next day with partial paralysis so it was off to emergency neuro. We opted for MRI and eventually surgery as it was suggested as his best option. He came home 2 days later and stayed in his crate decompressing and letting the anesthesia leave his system.
On the 4th day he was his old self, wanting to be velcro and regaining his stride (a bit wobbly on pee breaks but remarkably better).
The call for advice (or even just commiserations): We’re a week into crate rest and he’s now springing to life. sitting and pawing at the crate door, trying to climb the wall of his playpen, going crazy when one of us walks in the door from an errand. This is all on top of gabapentin 3x a day with Xanax as needed (all prescribed). Trazadone works better but he takes prozac for his anxiety so the docs didn’t want us relying on that.
How am I supposed to keep him settled for another 3+ weeks? I’m starting to go crazy. My partner has to go out of town for 10 days so I’ll be doing it alone but it’s just so all consuming.
If I put him in his crate to go on a run for 30 minutes, not even 5 minutes go by before our PetCam starts going off and he’s clawing at the door and crying. Kongs, lick mats, frozen treats - he finishes them all in 3 minutes.
I’m also scared this experience is going to make him even more anxious and stir up separation anxiety given I’m now here 24/7.
I don’t even know if there’s advice to give, but I just needed to type this out and maybe there’s something I’m missing? Or this just is what it is.
Edit: I do know dogs should calm after 15m or so in confined space. I do think my dog may, but I’ve intervened the past few tries because Im scared his climbing up (standing on two legs!) will cause a big set back. One of those “what is worse?” situations 🤦♂️