Short leash walks only for toileting. Use sling support if needed.

No stairs, running, jumping, or off-leash activity.

Begin the following gentle rehab exercises 3×/day:

1. Passive ROM ×5 each movement

2. Tripod Balance: lift each front leg, 3 × 10 sec

Support your dog’s leg under the knee and hock. Gently bend the hip by moving the knee toward the spine, like a pedaling motion on a bike. Most dogs’ knees can reach about level with their spine.

Next, bend the knee by moving the heel toward the pelvis. When the knee is fully bent, the heel bone should touch the bottom of the pelvis. Only go as far as your dog is comfortable.

If your dog resists, relax the leg and don’t force the movement.

Support your dog’s leg under the knee and hock. Gently straighten the knee as much as you can. A dog’s knee will never be completely straight like a human’s—it will always have a small bend.

Then move the whole leg backward to stretch the hip. Of all the hip movements, extension is the one most likely to get stiff after a knee injury. The hip muscles often tighten to protect the knee after an ACL tear, and they may still be tight even after surgery.

You can also give your dog a “belly rub” in this position—this often makes them naturally stretch their hip into extension.

After surgery, your dog will often try to avoid putting weight on the operated leg. Your job is to help them use it more. Lifting one leg at a time makes your dog put more weight on the other three legs. Always do this on a surface that isn’t slippery.

Lift each front leg one at a time, holding it for 10 seconds. The surgical leg should always stay on the ground. Hold your dog’s leg just above the paw so they don’t put weight on your hand—we want the weight to go into their back legs, not into you.

Repeat 3 times for each front leg, switching legs each time. Next week, you’ll move on to lifting the non-surgical back leg.

Short leash walks only for toileting. Use sling support if needed.

No stairs, running, jumping, or off-leash activity.

Begin the following gentle rehab exercises 3×/day:

1. Passive ROM ×5 each movement

2. Tripod Balance: lift non-surgical hind leg, 3 × 10 sec

3. Hip Sway, 3 x 30 seconds

The hip sway is another weight-shifting exercise, like the tripod stand. Have your dog stand with all four feet on a surface that isn’t slippery.

Gently push their hips side to side. When you push toward the surgical leg, they’ll naturally put more weight on it to stay balanced. Then push the other way to take weight off the surgical leg.

Don’t push hard enough to knock them off balance, and they should keep the surgical leg on the ground at all times.

Do the hip sway for 30 seconds, and repeat 3 times.

Begin controlled leash walks: 5 minutes, 3×/day.

No stairs, running, jumping, or off-leash activity.

Introduce light weight-bearing challenges 3x/day

1. Passive ROM: x 10 of bicycle riding motion

2. Tunnel Squats x 10 repetitions

3. Tunnel Back Ups x 3

You can start taking your dog for short walks now!

Keep the walks controlled: no chasing, jumping, trotting, or running. Use a short leash and walk slowly. No Flexi leashes yet. Watch to be sure your dog is using the surgical leg. If you go too fast, they may pick it up and walk on 3 legs. Walking slowly makes it harder to do that, so they’ll use the leg more.

Start with 5-minute walks (time them), 3 times a day. Each week, increase the walk by 5 minutes.

Making a tunnel helps your dog learn to sit square again. You can create one between a couch and a wall, between a coffee table and a couch, or by placing blockers along a wall. The tunnel should be just wide enough for your dog to walk through comfortably.

With the surgical leg next to the wall, walk your dog forward through the tunnel, then ask them to sit. The wall stops the surgical leg from sticking out and encourages proper use of the leg.

This strengthens the quadriceps and works the hip, knee, and hock through full bending.

Have your dog do 3–4 squats as they move forward through the tunnel, and repeat the tunnel 3 times for a total of about 10 squats each session.

Backing up is a great way to work your dog’s hamstrings and gluteal muscles in the back legs.

Not all dogs are good at it, if your dog can back up in a straight line, you don’t need a tunnel, but most dogs need some help.

After your dog has walked forward through the tunnel and done their squats, hold a treat close to their chest and slowly walk toward them. Most dogs will look at the treat and naturally step backward.

You can also guide them by placing a leash or tensor bandage loosely around their hips.

Another option is to “close” the front of the tunnel by moving the board or blocker closer to the wall- this makes many dogs back up on their own.

Repeat the tunnel back-up 3 times, right after doing the tunnel squats.

Increase controlled leashed walks to 10 minutes, 3×/day. Include curb walking

No stairs, running, jumping, or off-leash activity.

Progress light weight-bearing challenges 3x/day

1. Tunnel Squats and Back Ups x 3

2. Big Circles x 3 each direction

Curb walking helps your dog learn to place their feet correctly. When a dog injures their ACL, their sense of where the leg is in space (called proprioception) often gets weaker. Part of rehab after ACL surgery is to rebuild this skill.

While on your walk, have your dog slowly step up and down from a curb to practice.

Do about 30 seconds of curb walking every few minutes during your walk. If there aren’t any curbs nearby, you can use a small ditch or culvert instead.

Big circles help your dog shift weight onto the surgical leg. Do this slowly and in control, using a short leash. Make sure your dog puts the operated leg down with each step, if you go too fast, they may skip using it.

Walk around a cone, chair, or any object in a wide circle, keeping your dog on the outside.

Walk in both directions, circling 3 times each way.

Increase controlled leashed and curb walks to 15 minutes, 3×/day.

No stairs, running, jumping, or off-leash activity.

Continue progressive strengthening and proprioception, 3×/day

1. Target Back Ups and Squats x 3

2. Big Circles x 3 each direction

Target back ups also work on proprioception. This back up exercise will replace the tunnel back up. If your dog can back up in a straight line, you no longer need to use the tunnel. Another option is to remove the tunnel but continue to have them back up along the wall to keep a straight line.

Place a target on the floor and get your dog to back up. The goal is to have both hind feet standing on the target. The target can be anything - a pillow, towel, small mat, cushion, etc. It should be low to the ground and easy to hit to start.

As you progress this exercise you can get your dog to back up onto smaller and higher targets.

Repeat 3 times and only treat your dog when the feet are on the target!

Increase controlled leashed and curb walks to 20 minutes, 3×/day.

Short periods (5-10 minutes) of off-leash time allowed in a controlled, fenced area at the end of walks.

No running, rough play, or off-leash in public/unfenced areas yet.

Stairs may be permitted pending surgical clearance.

Reduce rehab sessions to 1–2×/day.

1. Target Back Ups and Squats x 5, higher or smaller target

2. Small Circles/Figure 8's x 5 each direction

Small circles and figure 8’s replace big circles. The idea is the same, but now your dog is on the inside of the circle, making it tighter. This encourages more weight shifting and pivoting. Walk in both directions, circling 5 times each way.

For figure 8’s, guide your dog around two cones or chairs in a figure-8 pattern.

Repeat 5 times in each direction.

Increase controlled leashed and curb walks to 25 minutes, 3×/day.

Short periods (5-10 minutes) of off-leash time allowed in a controlled, fenced area at the end of walks.

No running, rough play, or off-leash in public/unfenced areas yet.

Stairs remain supervised and controlled.

More complex balance and strength activities 1-2x /day

1. Unsteady Squats x 5

2. Figure 8's x 5 each direction, tighter, faster, through legs

All exercises can be made harder if your dog is finding them too easy. You can increase the challenge by going faster, making the space smaller, or using an unstable surface. For example, Stetson’s figure 8’s are now done quickly through the legs—connect them and try 30 seconds of nonstop weaving.

Once your dog has mastered the tunnel squat and plank squat, you can move on to the unsteady squat. This is much harder and not all dogs can do it—especially if they have knee stiffness from arthritis. Skip this exercise if your dog can’t sit square on the floor.

Use something in your home to create an unstable surface, like a bed, couch, cushion, air mattress, or trampoline. The smaller and less stable the surface, the harder it will be.

In our example, we didn’t use Bella because her knee is a bit stiffer than Stetson’s and she was too big for our balance disc—she’ll practice on a couch cushion instead.

Increase controlled leashed and curb walks to 30 minutes, 3×/day.

Short periods (5-10 minutes) of off-leash time allowed in a controlled, fenced area at the end of walks.

No running, rough play, or off-leash in public/unfenced areas yet.

Stairs formally introduced as an exercise.

More complex balance and strength activities 1-2x /day

1. Unsteady Squats x 5, change surfaces regularly

2. Stairs x 1 minute

Now that your dog can use stairs, they can be a great strengthening exercise. Climbing up works the back legs, while going down works the front legs.

Start with the easiest stairs in your home—carpeted stairs are best because they give better grip. Have your dog go up slowly, using one back leg at a time. If they “bunny hop” (using both back legs together), that’s cheating! The slower they go, the harder it is to cheat and the better the workout.

If they’re using their legs properly, toss a treat to the top of the stairs, let them climb to get it, and then call them back down. If they’re bunny hopping, walk up with them to slow them down and make them use the surgical leg. If you don’t have stairs at home, you might find some outside on your walking route.

Do stair climbing for 1 minute.

Unlimited controlled leashed and curb walks

Short periods (10-20 minutes) of off-leash time allowed in a controlled, fenced area at the end of walks.

No running, rough play, or off-leash in public/unfenced areas yet.

Hill work introduced 1-2x/day

1. Stairs x 1 minute

2. Hills: straight up with zig zag down x 1 minute

3. Hills: sideways along hill x 1 minute

Hills are one of the best ways to strengthen your dog’s back legs. The ground is usually stable, it’s fun to be outside, and most areas have a hill you can use. If not, a ditch or culvert works too. Y

ou’ll do two hill exercises. First, walk your dog straight up the hill, then zig-zag down. Walking up builds hind-leg power, while weaving down works braking control and coordination.

Walk up and down the hill for 1 minute.

For the second hill exercise, walk your dog sideways along the hill about halfway up. This makes the right and left legs work differently to keep balance.

Walk in one direction for 1 minute, then turn around and walk in the other direction for 1 minute.

Gradually introduce trotting during walks

Still no full-speed running, jumping, or sport activity.

Continue structured play (ball toss, tug-of-war) with care 1-2x/day

1. Hills: straight up with zig zag down x 1 minute

2. Hills: sideways along hill x 1 minute

3. Ball Toss: hold and release x 5 tosses

4. Tug of War: Forward, backward, side to side x 1 minute

It’s time to start thinking about getting back to play, running, and sports! The first step is to add some trotting. Trotting is great because it’s balanced - your dog uses both sides of the body equally, so the surgical leg has to keep up with the other.

Start slowly, since trotting puts more force on the knee than walking. You can mix short trots into your daily walks using the “telephone pole” method - walk to the first pole, trot to the second, walk to the third, and so on.

Try different speeds: a fast walk for you may be a slow trot for your dog, and a slow run for you might be a fast trot for them. Watch to make sure they’re not bunny hopping or running instead.

Increase trotting a little each day.

If you can’t walk fast enough, use a long Flexi leash so your dog can trot ahead while you walk, or let them trot toward and away from you in a safe, enclosed area (with no squirrels to chase!).

Now it’s time for some fun!

If your dog loves playing with a ball, this exercise will be easy. If not, skip to the next activity.

Start with the “Hold and Release” method. Hold your dog still while you toss the ball a short distance. Wait until the ball stops rolling, then release your dog to fetch it. This gives them more control when speeding up and slowing down. If the ball is moving, it can bounce unpredictably, causing twists and pivots—which we’re not ready for yet.

Play Hold and Release with your dog’s favorite toy for 1–2 minutes, or about 5 tosses. To make it harder, toss the ball farther each day and add more throws or time.

If your dog gets overly excited with balls, you can work on acceleration and deceleration another way—have them run between two people standing about 10 feet apart. Call the dog back and forth, and increase the distance over time. You can also try it on uneven ground for an extra challenge.

Tug of war is a great game—if your dog enjoys it! Grab their favorite tug toy and play on flat ground with good footing. The goal is to pull toward you while your dog resists. This resistance is called “eccentric” exercise and works the muscles in a different way. Pull toward you for the resistance, then let your dog “win” so they walk backward, pulling you along.

Start with straight forward-and-back pulling. Then progress to side-to-side pulls and changes in direction. Next week, you can add hill work—have your dog face downhill so when they tug, they’re actually walking backward uphill. Playing on uneven surfaces, like grass or in the woods, is another good challenge.

Indoors, you can make it harder by playing on the bed, couch, or an air mattress. You can also let them “win” and have them tug backward through the whole house.

Gradually increase trotting during walks

Still no full-speed running, or sport activity.

Progress: ball toss and tug on more challenging terrain and add jumping up 1x/day

1. Ball Toss: hold and release, farther throws x 5 tosses

2. Tug of War: forward, backward, side to side x 1-2 minutes

3. Jumping up/on x 5

Jumping takes power—the back leg muscles have to work hard to lift your dog off the ground. The higher the jump, the more strength they need. Now’s the time in your rehab program to start power exercises.

Find something your dog is allowed to jump on. If you don’t normally let them on the couch or bed, don’t use those for practice. If it’s OK in your house, couches and beds make great targets.

Jumping up strengthens the back legs, while jumping down works the front legs. Start with a low target, and if your dog handles it easily, slowly increase the height.

Do 5 repetitions.

Gradually introduce normal activity, no restrictions indoors, but no full-speed sport yet.

Your dog’s knee will keep healing for several more months—it actually takes about a full year to completely heal. That doesn’t mean you have to limit their activity for that long, but it’s important to remember the joint is still changing during this time.

If your dog is mainly a pet and you just want them to walk and play like before, your rehab program can end this week. You won’t need a strict routine anymore, but keeping your dog strong will help prevent the other ACL from tearing. Staying fit and at a healthy weight is critical for joint health.

I recommend doing 10 minutes of strength training each day. Walking is great for overall fitness, but it doesn’t build strength. Choose your favorite exercises from the past 12 weeks and keep doing them. Before each meal, spend a few minutes doing 3 of these exercises. It’s quick, easy, and your dog will love the attention.