Deciding to treat your canine pet’s injuries with
Understanding that rest is a key ingredient for conservative management to be effective means that you will need to limit the space in your home where your furry friend can roam. Your dog’s bathroom needs may change and you will need to prepare a space in your home with appropriate matting for the early stages of recovery. As your pet spends more time in states of rest and relaxation you will want to prepare a ‘recovery bed’ for them that is comfortable and one that creates an ideal healing environment.
Prepare your mind, as the owner with a profound sense of the philosophy behind conservative management so that you can make detailed adjustments to your home and optimize recovery time.
Where Attention Goes Energy Flows: The Conservative Management Mindset
conservativeConservation management is a holistic treatment plan for dog’s recovering from injury. This approach does not use invasive surgery as a means to heal from injury. A combination of rest, anti-inflammatory medication, vitamins to increase the health of joints, knee braces, weight management, and other alternative therapies such as: Physical therapy, chiropractic for dogs and acupuncture.
If you have already decided that conservative management (CM) is the ideal path to recovery for you and your pet then be sure to fully grasp the philosophy behind this decision so that as you prepare your home you do so mindfully.
In addition to holistic therapies, conservative management also relies on rest. In states of rest the necessary cellular recovery within the injured area of the body begins to occur. The same is also true of humans: The body of the mammal is composed of billions of cells, continuously regenerating every minute. If more energy is extended outward through rigorous exercise, for example, less will be available to be directed inward toward cellular generation.
Consider this, experienced fatigue either in your pet or in your own body is not a lack of energy, but rather a result of energy being directed inward toward cellular healing instead of through external energy output. C
With this in mind you will want to begin to prepare your home to optimize rest for your canine friends.
Limit Available Space In Your Home For Your Dog To Roam: Barricade Sections Of Your Home Off
Encourage your dog to limit physical activity by barricading portions of your home off. This is particularly important if you have a staircase in your home. While your dog is in recovery it should not walk up and down stairs, this activity could risk further injury.
Establish a space in your home, perhaps a living room on the ground floor as the ‘recovery room’. During the initial stages of recovery barricade this room off as the only one your dog can spend time in. The use of a baby gate is perfect for any size dog and is designed to fit between doorways.
Be mindful to also block off stairwells in case your dog is out of its primary recovery room. Be sure that you can easily take your dog out for short walks on a leash from this room.
As the recovery process evolves you will naturally increase the space that is accessible to your dog in your home. Regardless stairs should remain off limit for the duration of recovery.
Designate A Recovery Room For Your Dog In Your Home
- Recovery Bed: This should be both comfortable and nurturing
- Easily accessible food and water
- Comfortable for you to spend time in with your dog
- On the ground floor, easy access to the outdoors!
Choose a room in your home that is designated as a recovery space for your furry friend. This room should have a comfortable bed that is on the floor. As you create this bed be mindful that you are the world to your pet and consider including in the bedding an old shirt that smells like you to provide comfort.
Your dog will be spending a lot of time resting so add anything to this bed to increase the potency of a nurturing space during this period.
This room should have easy access to the outdoors so that taking your recovering dog out to relieve himself or herself is easy to do given the injury. During the early stages of treatment depending on the severity of the injury you may want to consider putting down a puppy mat incase your dog cannot stand up to go outside to use the bathroom. These puppy mats can be easily acquired at any pet store; if the injury is severe you may also want to consider diapers.
During conservative management recovery occurs much faster than expected and there will not be a need for long-term puppy mats or diapers as your dog, through rest, will be up and walking in no time.
You will want to have both food and water easily accessible to your dog’s recovery bed. This will also help limit activity throughout the treatment time frame
Provide some entertainment for your furry friend in your recovery room that does not involve activity, some dogs enjoy watching TV, listening to music, or staring into a fireplace, but most of all they love to be around you. Spend as much time as possible in the recovery room; consider pulling your bed into this room to spend nights close to your pet. Talk to your dog and assure him or her through words and the tone in your voice that recovery is already happening and that you are there for them if they need anything!
The Practicalities: Creating Space That Is Easy For You To Manage
Choosing conservative management can be an excellent healing modality, but remember it involves time, energy, and space. Ensure that this process is as easy and practically convenient for you, the owner, as possible.
In your dog’s recovery room be sure that the leash, vitamins, and medicine are all easily accessible. If you live in a larger home remember that much of the home will be barricaded off to your dog. Avoid the trip hazard of climbing over baby gates every time you want to get something for your dog.
You will be providing anti-inflammatory medication and vitamins for your dog during this time period, have both of these easily accessible in the recovery room. You may want to create a station with all of the supplements, knee brace (if you are using one), food, and leash for your dog’s needs in the recovery room. Have all of your dog’s needs easily accessible in one spot.
As you move through this process make necessary preparations in your home to ensure that the process is as easy as possible for you and your family.
Create A Healing And Nurturing Space To Enable Conservative Management To Be A Successful Modality Of Recovery
You love your dog and would probably do almost anything to ensure their speedy recovery. conservative management is a loving endeavor that honors your pet in a holistic way. If complications arise during the treatment process be ready to take your dog to a veterinary clinic for consultations, this will ensure the absolute best for your pet.
Preparing your home for conservative management primarily involves barricading portions of your dwelling off from your dog to encourage rest. Additionally these preparations should include creating nurturing and comfortable spaces for your dog to rest and relax. Finally, be sure that your home is prepared in away that enables as much practical convenience for you as the owner.
Remember that a dog’s body, given a nurturing and restful environment, will naturally begin to heal on its own. The best thing you can do for your pet is to create space and hold space for this healing to occur naturally.
With a few preparations your home will be ready to hold healing space for your pet to enjoy a full recovery. With these simple preparations that support your dog’s healing process you are well on your way to having your furry friend up and running again!
***Contraindication: If complications at any point during conservative management please be to consult with your veterinary clinic.
These are awesome suggestions! It was a long 4 months but my dog is now pain free and walking normally after she healed using conservative management techniques. Thanks for sharing with dog owners that surgery is not always required.
One suggestion I would like to add is to disconnect your doorbell while your dog recovers. Our dog goes bonkers when the doorbell rings, so we wanted to eliminate this aggravation during her recovery. We recently reconnected it and she heard it again the other day. She immediately ran to the door and barked at the visitor. It was so good to see her back to her normal behavior.