Unequal Footing Among the Crew

Mobility Issues for Injured, Sick, and Infirm Dogs

It happens to everyone who has a multiple dog home. Inevitably, a crew member will get injured, sick, or simply grow older and have a mobility issue of some sort. This can cause a long or short term problem depending on the situation. Injuries need to heal, whether with or without surgery (which can increase recovery duration). Getting older happens and sadly, there is no long-term reverse to that situation. This means that you have to make adjustments to established routines.

But these scenarios do not have to be more difficult than they need to be. If a good foundation of manners is already in place in your home, you’re already a long way towards preventing the majority of problems. Minimizing pushing and shoving should be the first item on the agenda of any multiple dog household. With an infirm crew member, manners should become the required norm on a daily basis.

Establishing your role as benevolent leader is more important now than ever. Making it clear to the crew that politeness rules in the house is imperative when one of it’s members cannot be jostled. You are the one who is in charge of keeping your infirm/older crew member safest.

We will tackle the issue of an instance of illness/injury first. If it is safer to separate a crew member for the duration of his recovery, then try to do so at least for the majority of waking hours. It will mean more work for you in the short term but a faster recovery in the long term for your mobility-challenged pup. It will also ensure that safety comes first.

There are a variety of ways that separation can be done that are dependent on the seriousness of the injury/illness involved. Creating a special area for the one in need is one possibility. An x-pen or a crate cordoned off in a portion of a room can be creatively arranged to form an area for your recovering pup. With this option, the other dogs can see and interact with him in an appropriate manner while preventing jostling.

If you have the space, a separate room is another option. You can place a baby gate between areas to allow the recovering pup to interact with the others here as well.

Using x-pens, crates, and baby gates can provide a safe haven for a sick or infirm dog

You do have to be careful to not create jealousy between your injured/ill crew member and the others. It’s important to make sure that everyone gets attention. It’s a given that you need to tend to the one in need but please take care to not short the others during this stressful time. It will go a long way towards keeping the crew calmer as a whole.

You can allow whole crew interaction at times you feel it is comfortable doing so if you take control of the situation. Examples of this are leashing the one in need for combined potty breaks. This way, you can be right there to block interaction as needed. This also allows you to retain control of the activity level that your recovering crew member has. Sometimes a dog in need of recovery and calm behavior doesn’t realize that being active is a bad thing, An example of this is heartworm positive dog. He may feel mostly fine but too much activity can have detrimental effects that you definitely want to avoid.

It can be helpful to your recovering dog to get some small amount of exercise to relieve mental anxiety but this exercise must be gentle. By gentle exercise, I mean slow short walks that are more a change of scenery than strenuous in any way (while following instructions from your vet). A situation such as this may necessitate separate exercise jaunts. It’s more work for you, but it is time well spent. You may be more tired in the short term but you will ensure a faster and more solid recovery for your pup. You will also get more exercise yourself and that is rarely a bad thing for us humans!

For the aging crew member, depending on mobility issues, some of the same considerations may apply. But usually, the rest of the crew is already used to behaving mannerly towards their elder so they just continue to do so. Many older dogs don’t hesitate to give warnings when a youngster jostles inappropriately. You should support the right to offer these warnings, provided they’re not excessive.

Is some cases, younger dog might treat an aging dog differently. This can come in the form of bodily rudeness and even outright attacks. It is very important that you be on the lookout for this possibility. The early elimination of this behavior makes it less likely to continue. Making it clear to the rest of your crew that your seniors safety is very important to you sets a precedent. Be consistent with this stance.

It may become necessary to create a new sleeping area for your aging senior. Stairs can present a problem, especially if your dog is large. You cannot simply pick up a large dog and tote them upstairs where they are used to sleeping! If a sling is a possibility, it’s worth a try. If your senior is used to sleeping where you sleep and you sleep upstairs, then it will help him to continue this practice if possible. But do not cause more stress getting your dog up stairs than he would feel sleeping elsewhere.

There are many ways to help keep your special dog as stress-free as possible sleeping in a new location. D.A.P. Comfort Zone is an option, either a plug-in if you have a small space or sprayed on bedding if the room is an open setting. If other family members sleep on the main floor, it would be best for the senior to sleep as close as possible to them, provided he feels comforted by them. A special routine at bedtime can also set the tone for calm. Investing in an inexpensive baby monitoring system can enable you to be available to attend to him should he need something in the middle of the night. It is very comforting to a dog to know that his needs are met by you, no matter where in the house you may be. It encourages calm.

All of these ideas can help you to take the best care of your mobility impaired pup that you can. Using common sense and fairness can also help you. Safety first is always the best motto!