I went through the same thing with my Bichon - He ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and was supposed to be crated for a couple months until it healed.
I just wasn't very good at doing that. I didn't let him outside, but let him loose in the house and kept an eye on him. He didn't jump up on things because he couldn't. I lifted him up and down. I kept him on the davenport beside me a lot of the time. He slept with me. I did carry him up and down the stairs (outside) and let him walk on a leash to go to the bathroom outside.
We did the best we could - and we were fortunate in that he healed very well in spite of my not being very good about following directions.
My Bichon was 3 years old and had never been crated or tied up in his whole life.
I will have to admit that he behaved well during this time and stayed pretty quiet almost all the time. It's as though he knew he was supposed to do that. And - also, he really didn't feel like being real active during that time.
He had a very sore knee for a long time.
Good luck!!!
Carol Jean |