Meet Pippa the Labradoddle

Pippa's owners contacted us as Pippa has just been diagnosed with an orthopaedic condition requiring surgery. Pippa was a high-energy dog and her owners were worried about how to manage Pippa with their young family after the surgery.

Assessment

During her assessment, Pippa was very excitable and at times struggled to contain her excitement and arousal. Having a busy lifestyle with young children meant lots of opportunities of play. With her surgery coming up, Pippa would need a lot of rest and recovery, which if she had no support or adjustment, would be very frustrating.

Treatment

To get Pippa ready we started some crate training. This was to allow Pippa to enjoy confindment and allow calm rest and recovery. We also indroduced frustartion and self-control tasks to help her process her impluses and desires for objects and play. She could still enjoy her family life but with more calm interactions.

Ongoing

Pippa had her surgery a few months after starting her behavioural work. Pippa succeed with her recovery having a calm and uneventful recovery. She was able to rest in her crate during the day and have lots of calm interactions with her family duirng the evenings. She was not stressed by her confindment and even now, while fully recovered she will rest better during the day, making improved calm decisions. With a young family, her owners really placed in the work and we are really proud of the great family unit they now are!