How to entertain puppy that is crated 24/7?

[kelseygirl707]

Hey guys,
Today My FIL accidently ran over our 18 week old Golden Retriever puppy. it's a miracle he is alive, luckly he is young, so his bones are still flexible. He does however have a fractured Pelvis, so we will have to crate him for at least a month, and the only time he can be out is when we carry him to the yard to go to the bathroom. (Sorry if I sound cold or emotionless as I write this, I'm trying to keep myself from sobbing.) We will be getting him chews and toys, but any other Ideas on putting some happy in his life? Anybody else gone through this. I am dreading going home tonight, it's going to kill me to see him hurt. We will have tranquilizers and pain meds, so he should sleep a lot luckly.


This is him 5 weeks ago when we brought him home.

 

[mrkpero]

I am so sorry for all you and your pup are going through. He is adorable! The only thing I could think of off the top of my head is putting peanut butter inside those rubber Kong toys. When my boxer was a pup we had to crate him all day while we worked and this kept him busy. It was a bit messy but we had lots of blankets to change out. Hope you get lots more ideas and best of luck to you!

 

[Nicole01]

He is so cute! I'm happy he made it! Kong toys are awesome. Buy the large size. You can fill it up with treats, peanut butter, meat, yogurt, ect... A lot of people freeze the foods inside the kong. He'll chew on marrow bones too. The LOVE the marrow inside the bones. Good luck keeping him calm. Goldens can be very active at this age!

 

[kelseygirl707]

I have the Peanutbutter in the kong trick before, I will have to pick one up tomorrow, cause I have no Idea where it is, plus it's tiny...

 

[thebritt]

Raw beef bones, with marrow inside, are absolutely irresistable! Just keep a bunch of clean blankies handy so they're easy to change out. Sorry about his injury. Luckily he's young and should heal well!

 

[debilorrah]

Kelsey, try carrots too. My dog loves carrots and they can take a while to knaw away at plus they are good for him. Poor little guy. I bet he isn't going to want to do much for a while.

 

[kelseygirl707]

I think I will pick him up some frosty paws doggie ice cream too... Ice cream makes everybody feel better....

 

[kelseygirl707]

Quote:
Funny, last night a friend was telling me to give him carrots, that her dog loves them too. The vet said he probably won't fight the crate for the first couple weeks, as he won't feel like doing anything.

 

[MetalSmitten]

poor guy

maybe get him a nice harness so that you can let him be on the couch with you when you watch tv or whatever, the harness lets you kinda hang on to him easier to prevent accidents. kongs and chews are always good to pass time, but especially at his age, i wouldn't recommend leaving a bully stick or gnaw bone or anything in there with him while he's unsupervised (choking hazard).

you can also work on training tricks while he's crated... things like shake, or speak, that don't require much movement but still exercise that brain of his.

good luck with him

 

[yinepu]

I went through this with an american eskimo pup .. the only difference was he was playing in the back yard and got run over by several dobermans who were playing rough.. fractured his pelvis right in the growth plate.. we had to keep him kenneled as well.. he was not permitted to jump up.. run or stand on his hind legs. We did take him out a lot and spent time with him on the couch or floor while watching tv.. so he did get a lot of "family time".. chew toys were his favorites along with his kong.. it is really hard to convince a puppy who feels better that they still have to take it easy.. but eventually he learned what was permitted and what wasn't. As he got older though he became very protective of his kennel (not to us.. but to other dogs).. it was also the place where he would stash everything he could sneak away with.. so when we went to look for missing toys.. we knew right where to look