Hello,
Since blade has been poorly he has lost an awful lot of muscle (through not exercising as he has been on strict rest since Easter really!) he has lost nearly all his front muscle, shoulders and neck, how can I start to build this back up? obviously I don't want him to start to run around too much and injure himself through lack of muscle (he is so clumbsy still!) would swimming be better? and will there be any food that can play a part in the rebuild too? sorry for all the questions, but he is looking awful at the moment.

Over exersise of any kind when out of condition, wouldn't be a good idea. Start slowly and gently, and build up the exercise over time.

I have had a similar problem with one of mine recently. He sustained a partial tear of his left side cruciate ligaments on December 30th. He was rested for about 12 weeks and lost the muscle in that leg. Then, since mid March, I started walking him up to the top of our street, alternate days to start with. Over time he was able to do more and more, till only this morning he went out for his first normal off lead walk in the woods with the other dogs. So it has taken him nearly 5 months to get back to near normal exercise.

Don't be tempted to rush it. :)

Dawn R.

You could try swimming him :) Start off slowly then gradually build up, its done wonders for my girl. I started her off on two lengths once a week,  even though she begged for more, then 4, 6 etc. Now she's up to 17 mostly free swimming :) We do this twice a week now that she's strong enough. ( and believe me she was so skinny and no muscle at all to speak of) In between to start off with she had a maximum of 10 minutes lead walk, gradually built up to 30 minutes. HTH :)

Dee

My dog had muscle wastage due to surgery but wasn't up to that much exercise. I've been taking him to hydrotherapy for a couple of months now and it has really helped him. My centre is staffed by a veterinary nurse/certified hydrotherapist. She's great and has worked on his stamina slowly. He's never had any strain or setbacks from the swimming. Hope blade is better soon.