TAH Who is walking their dog?

I specifically asked my doctor if/when I could walk the dogs (9 month old boxer - 45 lbs and 11 year old jack russell terrier 30 lbs) when he was giving my discharge info. He said use common sense - didn't really help me! I did start taking the puppy out 5 days post op but only for a quick release. My poor jack russell is missing his daily 3 mile hikes at the park - that is on the no list for 6 weeks.

The puppy can be difficult and is not well trained. I only walk her when my boyfriend is not home. The older dog has had to wait most days. If she were not a puppy, I would not even attempt to walk her. I prefer not having to clean up accidents (since we should not bend post op).

I use my binder when I walk and that really helps me out too.

Along the same "dog" lines, I have discovered that I'm pretty good at picking up clumps of dog hair with my toes. A talent I never knew I had until now......

I have a pure bred pit. She is 9 months old and weighs about 40 pounds. She is obviously still a puppy and she has random bursts of extreme super doggy moments as I like to call it. Miss anarchy will walk perfectly like a well behavrmed dog then BAM out of nowhere my shoulder feels like it shoyld be at the otger end of thestreet and she's doin mid air sommer saults. I will be 2 weeks post op this thrusday and lets just say that my hubby will be doing the walking for awhile. I guess it all depends on how u feel, how well the dog will react. If u are unsure I would ask my doctor and maybe walk her around inside on the leash or in the backyard even at first just to see how she is goin to react.

Oh thank you everyone for posting! I thought I was being a total whimp about not walking my dog.

I tried to walk him (pug - 25#) once at 2 weeks post op and he was so excited to be walking again that he did every bad behavior in the book! He stopped an sniffed every *******' clump of grass, mailbox, tree - you get the picture... I was so tired of just waiting on him - because just the few times that I tried to pull the leash I was reminded of my surgery. We went exactly 3 houses! Yes - THREE houses... and I was hoping to go at least 10 and back. Now I'm afraid to try it again. Week 3 of recover has been worse than week 2! I think the stitches are disolving or something.

My doctor said I was not to pick up anything for 10 weeks more than 5# so I'm sure that pulling on a dogs leash is out of the question. I think I will try that treadmill and see if I can get that stinker to walk on it for at least a few minutes!

(Would love to put a gentle leader on him, but he doesn't have a snout!)

Oh, this thread is a hoot!

When I read the subject line, my first reaction was, "NO! You should not be walking your dog!" Then I remembered that not every dog is like mine. Mine weighs over 180 lbs. When he was a puppy and I was walking him on a leash in the yard, I looked left for a second. The next thing I knew, I was being dragged on my stomach by a bouncy puppy chasing a butterfly.

Bugati i'm jealous! What do you have? A newfie? A Great Pyr? I'm already plotting my next dog when my girl goes. As much as I love the pit bull breed I want a non restricted breed next time around. I'm leaning towards either a Bernese Mt. dog, Tibetan Mastiff, Newfie or German Rottie.

In all seriousness though weight and size don't always matter. One of my 60 lb. pit's best friends at the dog park is a neopolitan Mastiff named Cosmo. he outweighs her at least by a 100 lbs. He's a very big boy lol. they play tug of war and her stubborness outlasts his size.

I want to walk her but its not in the cards. I spent an overnight at home with the dogs and when i got back to my mom's i spent the next two days sleeping. Literally. I woke up for maybe 2 hour stretches to eat and bath and then it was back to sleep. Guess the Doc was right about a flight of stairs being to much for me. I didn't clean, didn't cook, I didn't even make my bed (hubby tears sheets off when he sleeps alone in bed) I had hubby do everything. I opened the backdoor to let the mutts out a couple of times. Did i mention I LOOOOOVE my fenced in back yard? I think in total I did four trips up and down the 20 steps for bathroom, bed, whatever.

You got it, skylady1990: he's a Newfie. If he seriously wants to try to catch that butterfly, deer, bunny, or squirrel, there is no way little ol' me is going to be able to stop him with a silly little thing like a leash.

Now I've got a house full of fur that I can't vacuum up and walls covered in drool that I can't wipe off (for those without the pleasure, it involves a lot of bending and elbow grease). I should be able to work on the drool soon. The vacuuming has to be delegated for quite a while.

The good news about grown up Newfies is that they are good company, good listeners, and low energy.

I would love to take my dogs for a walk! I have a beagle and a pit bull. Both are not even 2 years old yet. They do well when they wear their leashes and it is probably because the leash is attached to a prong collar. Even though, I still wouldn't take either one for a walk. I have seen too many stray dogs in my neighborhood to think that I can handle a mishap with me holding my dog on a leash. Fortunately my girlfriend goes on walks with me, and at that time she will take one of the dogs with us. We really get lucky when our 14 year old neighbor walks with us allowing us to take both dogs. She always walks the beagle. It's better that way! I feel super horrible when I leave out of the house to go on my walk, but I know it is for my best. Happy healing!

I'm 6 wks post op TAH and have no desire to take the ,leash. I couldn't handle the sudden jerking. Lucky for me, my husband loves our dog too and walks him. This will pass. Give lots of love and treats !