It isn't that much different than before the surgery. Your life makes space and grows around their needs. We live a very dachshund-friendly life. No stairs and we discouraged jumping. He eats and drinks, and it only takes a minute to help him into his assistive cart for walks. He still tries to climb over rocks and curbs. We were scared at the outset of this entire journey because we wanted to make sure that we were doing the right things and that they were in the best interest of Louie. Our doctor told us that dogs don't get depressed as humans do if they were to lose some sort of mobility or function. Dogs are happy to be with their humans. and honestly, one day after his surgery, probably after a couple of months, Louie was his usual self again. I don't know what it was, maybe when we finally got into a routine, but we saw our Louie again. That was when we knew everything would be okay.