When I lean towards the former I think he should be able to do some things that after surgery he will absolutely not be able to do for months and months. I do not want him to lose too much muscle prior to the surgery so i allow him some activity.
I have spoken to umpteen people, rehab vets, owners who have put their dogs through the surgery, educated others and pretty much anyone that will listen. It really does seem that the TPLO surgery is in our future how near to the present is another thing but it sure seems likely we will have to surgically repair his leg.
So I have kept him from the stairs until evening time when he likes to be in the same room as us to watch TV and I have restricted his time outside to mainly bodily functions and a little supervised searching. He has been crated at some point each day and his meals have been partly dispensed via treat ball.
The result
He is a donkey on the edge.
His behaviors are like when he was a pup, he is mouthier, more crazy in the house, his mischief level is HIGHER, he is pushier, etc.
When outside he is on the prowl all the time and ready to guard. He whines so much outside that the mockingbirds can be heard mimicking his whine.
Basically it is no fun and Bugsy says, "someone come free me!"
I say, give me some guidance and support to do the right thing for my boy. I know that many dogs don't have the freedom he has on his restricted regime but he isn't a normal dog. We spent a long time getting to a place where he was happy to play by our rules and that included him have a significant amount of freedom within our constraints. As we are increasing the constraints and reducing his freedom he unsurprisingly is becoming less compliant.
And this is the beginning.........................
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