Q: I have a 2-year old female, chocolate Labrador Retriever, who is one of three that my husband and I own and train. We were training her for hunt tests when she hyperextended her back leg and tore the cruciate ligament. She had surgery in April and was on the mend when in August she tore the cruciate ligament on the other back leg. She also had surgery on that leg. She spent a lot of time in the crate because of the two surgeries.

Since the surgeries, she has developed a habit that she never had before. Whenever there are a lot of things are going on in the house, or somebody yells, or the smoke detector goes off, or at night when we go to bed, she will scoot herself under our bed. The bed is a old antique bed so it sits high off the floor, but this has become sort of a safe haven for her. Is there anything I can do to keep out from under the bed? Or should we just let her be? Is there anything we should be doing for her? We also acquired the dog who was a puppy about the same time she had her first surgery. Could this have caused the new habit? I'd appreciate any ideas or suggestions.

A: I used to have a mini American Eskimo who liked to sleep under my bed. She also took the toys away from the big dogs and put them there so the big dogs couldn't get them! My 65-pound Lab/GSD often put his head under the bed to sleep. I think he wanted the light out of his eyes and quiet.

However, my Belgian Tervuren puppy scared the fool out of me when she got too big to fit under the bed anymore and got stuck. I'd sure check the clearance down there between the bottom of the bed and the top of your dog to make sure that isn't going to happen. Also check for anything hanging down that could cut her or grab her collar.

My hubby promised me that when we get our next small dog he will build a simple frame to go under the bed and block the dog's access to that area. Imagine if the bed were to fall with the dog down there? The beds I grew up with had slats supporting the box springs, and fell a lot, which is probably why I'm so haunted by that worry.

So if there is any doubt in your mind about her safety when she gets under the bed, I'd suggest physically blocking access to that area. Then provide her with another comfy hidey-hole for times she wants to rest. Dogs sleep about 14 hours a day, and this poor girl has been through a lot.

It's very possible that getting away from the puppy is part of the reason she does this, and she is entitled. She needs to be able to rest without worry that some silly goofball of a pup is going to step on one of her sore knees! I'm so pleased that you got the surgeries for her, and are giving her a good life.

The only other thing I can suggest is that you make decisions very carefully about putting her back in the field, which I'm sure you're already doing. If you see her retreating more when she has been exercising a lot, that could be a sign that she's overdoing it. I'll bet she is a sweetheart -- Labs are great dogs.