--- title: What recovery looks like in the weeks after cruciate surgery description: A week-by-week guide to your dog's recovery after cruciate surgery, from rest and short lead walks to rebuilding strength. Your vet's notes come first. image: https://www.geekeri.studio/hubfs/geekify-demo/blog/blog-recovery-after-surgery.jpeg --- [Skip to content](https://www.geekeri.studio/geekeri-blog/recovery-after-cruciate-surgery#main-content) [![logo-geekeri](https://www.geekeri.studio/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-geekeri.png?width=100&height=100&name=logo-geekeri.png "logo-geekeri")](https://geekeri.com) - Home Get started Add a supporting line # What recovery looks like in the weeks after cruciate surgery [Dr Hannah Pryce](https://www.geekeri.studio/geekeri-blog/author/dr-hannah-pryce) October 14, 2026 Get started Learn more Your dog is home from cruciate surgery. The leg has a shaved patch and a line of stitches, and you are holding a sheet of instructions that seems to say "do almost nothing" for weeks. That is normal. The first stretch of recovery is deliberately dull, and getting it right protects the knee more than anything we add later. This is a general guide, written for owners of dogs we see after surgery. Your vet's notes always come first, because they know exactly what was done in theatre. If anything here disagrees with their advice, follow theirs and ask us to adjust the plan. ## Weeks one and two: rest and short lead walks Most dogs are kept to one small, non-slip area, with short lead walks outside for the toilet and nothing more. Put rugs over slippery floors. Use a ramp or carry your dog up steps and into the car. Keep the lead short even in the garden. The hard part is day five. Many dogs feel wonderful by then, and a dog who feels wonderful will try to run. Look at the wound every day, and call your vet if you see redness, swelling or discharge. ## Weeks three to six: a little further each time Once your vet is happy with the wound and the first check, walks usually grow in small steps, often five minutes at a time. This is when rehab normally begins. At the first session we watch your dog stand and walk, film their gait and see how much weight they put through the operated leg. Many dogs lean towards the good side. It makes sense to them, but left alone it tires the other knee. The underwater treadmill helps here, because the water takes weight off the joint while your dog practises walking evenly. ## Weeks seven to twelve: building strength By now the thigh muscle on the operated side is usually the thing you can see: it is smaller than the other one. This is the part of recovery we spend most time on. Sit-to-stand work, slow slopes, balance discs and controlled walking over low poles all ask the muscle to do a little more each week. Timing varies with the surgery and the dog. Many of our post-surgical patients are walking unaided by week eight, and some take longer, especially large dogs and dogs with arthritis in other joints. Off-lead running waits until your vet says so, which is often three months or more after the operation. ## What helps at home - Non-slip floors and a short lead. - A healthy weight. Every extra kilo goes through the knee. - The exercises in your home exercise programme, a few minutes at a time, on the days between visits. ## When to call your vet Call them if your dog stops putting weight on the leg, if the wound opens or swells, or if they seem in more pain than the day before. We would rather hear from you early. A short call often saves a long week. If your dog has just had surgery and you would like a plan to go with your vet's notes, an [Initial assessment](https://www.geekeri.studio/geekify/pricing) is where we start. We watch them move, film their gait and write down what happens next, then send the plan to your vet. [Post-surgical rehab](https://www.geekeri.studio/geekeri-blog/tag/post-surgical-rehab), [Dogs](https://www.geekeri.studio/geekeri-blog/tag/dogs) ## Read On Post-surgical rehab ![A spaniel rests after surgery with its owner's hand on its back.](https://www.geekeri.studio/hs-fs/hubfs/geekify-demo/blog/blog-recovery-after-surgery.jpeg?width=480&height=320&name=blog-recovery-after-surgery.jpeg) Post-surgical rehab Oct 14, 2026 ### [What recovery looks like in the weeks after cruciate surgery](https://www.geekeri.studio/geekeri-blog/recovery-after-cruciate-surgery) Your dog is home from cruciate surgery. The leg has a shaved patch and a line of stitches, and you are holding a sheet of instructions that seems to ... 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