Hi Hayley!
Glad to hear Benji‘s doing well, (Humphrey’s still struggling, we go to physio once a month although I don‘t imagine there‘ll be much improvement now but he‘s mobile, albeit by way of a hop, skip and jump!
so we‘re grateful for that )
I do think the whole episode has probably had an effect on both of them, they (and we!) went through a very traumatic few months and, as you say, it was incredibly stressful (still is sometimes). Its knocked his confidence and he‘s a lot more wary of strange dog.
I had to resort to handing out treats a lot more than before the op, both to get him to do his exercises and also in the form of nose games etc to keep him occupied while he was immobile and consequently he‘s become very demanding, both for food and for attention! I‘ve had to reduce his food as he‘s not so active and he‘s always hungry. I give him vegetables to fill him up, he gets raw carrots as treats and loves most fruits and I add cooked vegetables to his meals (he‘s fed raw but you could mix into tinned or kibble). I also have some dried vegetables on hand which can be mixed with hot water and left to stand for about 15 minutes.
I think cockers are fairly greedy dogs anyway and as they get older it possibly gets worse, however I do think the trauma that our poor lads suffered has most certainly made it worse!.
Cuddles to Benji from me and tail wags from Humphrey
Jayne