Tag Archives: Elbow dysplasia

Tilly in her cone of shame

Beat the Boredom

Tilly after her elbow arthroscopy

Her legs must be chilly?

Cage Rest and Cone?

What do you do when you’ve got a sick or injured pet? What if they’re on cage rest? What if they are doomed to wear the cone of shame? We have been faced with this problem for weeks now.

But it’s not only that, what if they’re home alone or the weather is bad? How do you entertain a bored pet?

Exercise their brain!

For a dog on cage rest as our Tilly was after her elbow arthroscopy, wearing a cone to protect her stitches, life was very miserable and we feared for her mental wellbeing. Not only that but two weeks into her confinement, her spay scar became infected, so she was double coned and confined for a further two weeks.

Tricks and Tips

How did we cope? Well, we had two large dog crates which were situated in the main parts of the house so that wherever we were, she could be nearby. She had a soft toy with her at all times, but that had to be operated on to remove the squeakers. Toby hates squeakers and she was driving him crazy!

A stuffed KONG

A well-stuffed KONG always proves popular!

Due to the amount of space available, we decided to use smaller treat toys to entertain her. She couldn’t have coped with the puzzle toys in such a restricted environment. Our go-to toy for most occasions is the KONG. Stuffed to the gills with tasty treats, what dog could resist? And you can always freeze it for longer-lasting play. You simply can’t go wrong with a KONG!

Our second choice was the Starmark Treat Ringer Orb which proved such a big hit with Toby as a pup.

Treat Ringer Orb

The challenging Treat Ringer Orb

At first, Tilly found this difficult and it lay untouched in her crate, but by removing a treat and letting her get a taste of it, she was motivated to try for herself and eventually got the hang of it. Now it’s one of her favourite evening challenges.

Thirdly was an old favourite, the Lotus Ball. This is a very simple toy and probably better suited to retrieving, but for Tilly, it contained another little treat for her to extract and keep her mind active. To make it more appealing, we boosted it up with a jackpot treat, Davies Puffed Jerky. Our dogs go wild for it.

Lotus Ball and Puffed Jerky

Lotus Ball and Puffed Jerky

Puzzle Toys

If your dog is not restricted space-wise, there are numerous puzzle toys to keep them entertained. If you haven’t tried one before it’s best to start with something straightforward as you will find they are easily discouraged if they can’t get the hang of it. A great starter toy is the Nina Ottosson Dog Smart.

Nina Ottosson Dog Smart

Nina Ottosson Dog Smart

Another simple toy is the Lick n Snack Platter which gives them an instant win, plus licking can have a calming effect on your dog. Great as a feeding bowl, too.

Moving on you then can progress to the K9 Pursuits Interactive IQ Game Watson, and bring out the super-sleuth in your dog. There is the Nina Ottosson Dog Brick Interactive Toy, which has 3 different treat-feeding features and is a long time favourite. Or why not try the Dogit Mind Games Interactive Dog Toy that challenges both their physical and mental abilities. The K9 Pursuits Multi Maze is a 2-in-1 anti-gobble slow feeder and interactive game! The best of both worlds with its three interchangeable centrepieces all offering a different challenge!

Interactive Games

There are games to suit all levels: from top left, K9 Pursuits Interactive IQ Game Watson, Trixie Lick n Snack Platter, middle, K9 Pursuits Multi Maze Slow Feeder, bottom left, Dogit Mind Games Interactive Dog Toy and the Nina Ottosson Dog Brick Interactive Toy

Or your dog may prefer soft toys, so why not make these interactive too? If they’re not treat motivated but love a squeak, what about the Puzzle Plush Hide A Squirrel. Three furry gremlins to remove from their tree trunk nest.

Alternatively, there is the Sniffing Blanket Strategy Game, which has multiple hiding places for treats and small toys. Excellent for the keen forager.

Interactive Soft Toys

Some dogs prefer soft toys like the Puzzle Plush Hide a Squirrel or the Sniffing Blanket Strategy Game

You may find something above that you think is suitable for your dog but if not we have plenty more to choose from in our Interactive Play section or even our Treat-Dispensing Toys. And don’t forget the all-important Dog Treats to accompany your strategy games.

Keeping Cats Occupied

Cat in crateIf your cat is confined to a crate for any reason here are some tips and tricks:

  • Keep the crate super clean, changing water and blankets regularly.
  • Ensure the crate is in an area in the house where the family spends most of their time to prevent loneliness and boredom.
  • Keep some toys in the crate, perhaps infused with catnip, or dangling through the bars for entertainment. Swap the toys from time to time to give your cat something new to play with.
  • Have a regular routine so your cat knows what to expect and when. At night half cover the outside of the crate with a blanket.
  • Talk to your cat or play music or the TV so there is some background noise.
  • A cat pheromone spray may also help to calm and de-stress anxious cats.
Cat Enrichment Toys

From left to right Snack Mouse Treat Dispensing Toy for Cats, FroliCat CHEESE Automatic Cat Teaser, Cat Activity Fun Board Interactive Toy

There are a wide variety of enrichment toys available to keep your feline active and prevent boredom. There are self-play toys such as the FroliCat CHEESE Automatic Cat Teaser. Useful when they are home alone.

Next, there are the food puzzle toys that encourage foraging and make them work for their treats with the Cat Activity Fun Board Interactive Toy being one good example, and the Snack Mouse Treat Dispensing Toy for Cats, another. Your cat will learn to manipulate the toy to release the food.

Then there are interactive toys that are designed to strengthen the bond between you and your cat. The Cat Activity Fun Circle Interactive Toy is a game you can enjoy together, which is also suitable for older or sick pets and provides different activities on two different sides.

Take a look at our full range of Cat Strategy Games to find something to keep your kitty fully engaged.

So, do you know if your cat is bored? Take a look at this excellent article, Is Your Cat Bored? 10 Ways to Prevent Boredom, which explains how you can tell and provides some interesting ideas for enriching your cat’s environment.

Horses Need Enrichment Too!

Likit Equine Boredom Breaker

The Likit Boredom Breaker for Horses with Likit Refills in 4 delicious flavours

In a 24-hour period, a lot of equines will only have a few hours of mental and physical human engagement so boredom vices can set in. Enrichment toys can provide welcome relief for them and hung in the stable, the Likit Boredom Buster will do just that. Developed to provide environmental enrichment, this challenging stable toy is designed to get horses to work for their reward and there are four scrumptious Likit Treat flavours to choose from (available separately).

Enrichment provides a way to stimulate a horse’s natural instincts and is crucial to their overall wellbeing. By engaging these instincts, they can become healthier, happier equines.

Stock up and be prepared

In summary, ensure that your pets have a well-stocked chest with a wide variety of toys and games for both physical and mental stimulation. You can’t make every minute of your pet’s life exciting, but you can go a long way to keep their boredom at bay!

Tilly with the cone

Neutering – making that choice

Tilly wearing her cone

The cone of shame or e-collar

Tilly is Scored

It’s been a sad month for us. We had planned to breed from young Tilly. Such a lovely, bright, happy girl. Full of fun and love for everyone. Having waited for a long time to find a German Shepherd with the perfect nature, we wanted to ensure that her physical health was good too, so we had her DNA tested for DM (Degenerative Myelopathy, also known as chronic degenerative radiculomyelopathy – CDRM). Having had two GSDs with this condition, we wouldn’t risk perpetuating such a devastating disease. To our delight, she was clear. Next, we had hips and elbows scored. Her hips weren’t the best at 14, but the big let down was her elbow score of 3. It seems she has elbow dysplasia on the left side. This could be hereditary meaning she could pass it on to her offspring, but we will also have to deal with this painful condition that needs lifelong treatment.

X-Ray of Elbow

Choosing to neuter

Because of this, we made the difficult decision to have her spayed. It’s not easy to send a healthy dog under the knife, but we have two entire males in the house and it was the only sensible thing to do.

She came home from the op looking quite dopey, but we were certain she would brighten up later. Unfortunately, she didn’t and by 11 pm that evening, blood was dripping from her wound. We were told to expect some seepage and weren’t sure if that was what we were seeing.

A sleepless night followed and at 7 am the next morning, the blood was still dripping. By that time, there was a lot of it, so we couldn’t wait any longer and called the emergency vet. Back at the surgery, she was operated on again and the problem resolved. It was a really scary time and the guilt we felt for sending her in the first place was awful.

At the vet with a compression bandage to stop the bleeding

Cone versus suit

Thankfully, she has made good progress since then and it wasn’t long before her sore belly started to interest her. The inevitable cone or e-collar (Elizabethan collar) came out and she had to wear it. Everyone who has ever had a dog operated on will know the misery of the cone of shame. Shins, furniture, other dogs, nothing is sacred. It was a stressful week for all until we remembered a sample suit we had from the makers of the excellent Vetgood veterinary boots.

We used these Vetgood boots on Daisy to protect her feet when she was out and about and they were so brilliant, we decided we had to share, and now stock the full range.

We slipped the protective recovery suit on Tilly and hey presto, instant calm. Although it was a little big for her, it did the job and protected the site of the wound without causing upset to our girl or the rest of the pack and the gentle, constant pressure from the fabric had a dramatic soothing effect on her.

The two-piece design of the suit makes it easy to put on and take off when necessary. The vest and pants connect easily with Velcro. It’s made from 95% cotton with 5% lycra, so it stretches. It even has pockets inside where you can put ice packs, should that be necessary. It helps us humans help our pets heal and recover, and restores peace to a disrupted household!

We shall be stocking these suits very soon.

Tilly in her Vetgood Suit

Modelling the Vetgood Protective Recovery Pet Suit for Dogs and Cats