Complicated Injuries
When I look at the pics from our most recent flyball tournament it seems so obvious that Dylan was having issues. When we were there I knew there was a problem but I wasn’t sure exactly which limb was bothering him. The images make it clear. See how his left rear leg isn’t extended fully in the image above? I see the same in many of the pics of him from that day. It was a tough tournament for me and Dylan was such a good sport and ran hard despite the injury. There are still days that I fear that the Santa Clara tournament may have been his last and final flyball tournament. Only time will really tell.
We saw our holistic vet this week. I trust her opinion and was anxious to see what she had to say. Dylan went in to see her right before the tournament and shortly after the trauma. She didn’t think there was going to be a significant problem at that time. The injuries we are dealing with now didn’t show up on the thermal imaging we took then. They also didn’t show up in the same views when we did them on Friday. However, when she put the thermal camera underneath him to take views of the underside of his rear it was obvious there’s a lot going on under there.
She looked over his x rays and found some unrelated issues. She believes there may be a ligament spur in his left shoulder. She said it would be easier to know for sure if I had done digital x rays. I wasn’t expecting film but we will redo some x rays of that shoulder in a few months in digital format. She said it’s not a rush because the injury is the primary issue at this time.
She also thinks there is probably just a touch of arthritis in the Left Elbow. This elbow was really inflamed in the thermal imaging. She wasn’t sure if it was hot because of the arthritis or because he is compensating for the injury in his rear. Time will tell and if the inflammation doesn’t go away when he gets better than we will look into some other options to treat the arthritis. I’m not sure what this will mean as far as Flyball is concerned. Rigth now, I am just worrying about getting him better. That left elbow takes the brunt of the pressure when he turns on the box because he uses it to pivot. It’s not surprising to see him starting to get arthritis. I expect doing more box turns will cause the elbow to get worse. I gotta stop speculating though and focus on the injury until it heals.
She said there are some bones in his pelvis that are fusing. I guess it’s totally normal when dogs and people age and not something to be overly concered about. It mostly means he will have less flexibility in his back than he did before.
When it comes to the rear end, my boy seems to be pretty messed up. Some inflammation showed up in the right leg and the right hamstring. We think that’s from the compensation on the right side.
He had some adjustments in the left leg that will hopefully help him feel better. There was lots of inflammation on the understide of that left leg. His gracilis muscle though was cold. The vet said she thought it had definitely been strained but maybe it is cold because it is healing from the treatment that he had been receiving. The cold laser therapy in that area probably helped. He had inflammation pretty much everywhere else all the way from his groin down to his hock.
When she examined him she rattled off one muscle after another that was stiff and strained. That leg really took a beating. Whe he ran into Paul and the fence he hit Paul with that left side. I am fairly certain he hyper extended that back leg during the process.
It sounds like there is a lot more complicated issues going on in that back rear leg. Prior to going up there I had seen some tremoring in his leg when it was sore. I could touch the leg and cause the tremoring to happen when he was more tired or sore. During the acupuncture, his leg started tremoring. The vet said it was his sciatic nerve acting up. She put a few more needs in and the tremoring stopped. That scares me a bit - it seems sciatic nerve issues in people cause so many problems. I am sure the same happens in dogs.
The vets keep reminding me that he is getting older. I don’t really want to admit it but his 6th birthday is coming soon. I never thought of 6 as old but most of the aging dogs I have known were a bit smaller than him. He’s a good medium to large dog and I know they have shorter lifespans but 6? It seems so young to be considered “aging”. I guess he is technically middle aged though and middle aged people don’t bounce back as quickly as young adults do. The same is true of dogs and at six I can’t expect him to heal as quickly as he did at two.
More PT this week and hopefully we will start seeing some more improvements. For the most part he is walking better but there are still days where he is very obviously hurting!! I just hope for his sake that he heals up sooner rather than later!
The Marley Look Alike?
Can you tell which one is Marley? I can but she’s my dog of course! The one on the left is Lucy. A rescue dog from CAWS. Lucy needs a foster and a permanent home. Yes, I want to foster her so badly but I am smart enough to know she wouldn’t get the care she needs here. Between two jobs, two dogs, Physical Therapy for Dylan, and spending time with Paul I don’t have time for a foster dog right now. Maybe in a month or two when Dylan is better but not now.
Lucy is a nice girl. I just can’t beleive how much these two look like sisters. Marley has bigger ears and more spots and ticking but they are similar in size and shape and even have many similar markings. Lucy is a bit younger and needs to lose a few lbs but she’s a nice mellow dog and really would be a great little house or family dog for people.
Lucy will probably be spending some nights here on the days that I have more time. I wish I could have her around a bit more often. She’s just a sweet and easy going dog!!
This pic reminded me of one I have of Marley from when she was younger.
If anyone is looking for a good little house dog, let me know. Lucy sure is sweet and needs someone to take great care of her.
Physical Therapy Update
This little boy had his second PT visit yesterday. It should have been his third visit but I didn’t know they wanted me to definitely bring him in twice this week. No one really told me what the plan was and I thought the vet was going to tell me when I talked to her Monday but I never talked to her. This pic was taken in the private waiting room at the vets office. They have loose dogs hanging out in the office (I find it a bit strange!) and so we have to rush Dylan into a private room so that there aren’t any dog/dog issues.
I think we went too long between visits. I was thinking I was seeing improvement until Wednesday. Wednesday night we went for a walk (long slow walks on leash are all that Dylan is allowed right now). Early into our walk, his leg seemed weak and wobbily. It was more wobbily than it had been the past few days. When we got back, I used the rice back to heat up his leg a bit. If I even just touched his leg, it started trembling. I’ve noticed more and more that he is doing things differently than normal. His usual big stretch with paws on the floor and back legs on the couch is limited to stretching the right side. He doesn’t extend the left rear leg when he is stretching. Sometimes I will notice him laying with the left leg tucked way up under him and the right leg pushed forward a bit like normal. Things are not equal on both sides for sure!
Dylan seems to be doing well with PT though. He did 10 minutes on the underwater treadmill yesterday and the PT tech commented that he could keep going and going and going. I told her that’s a flyball dog thing for sure. They have to have great endurance for all the racing they do at tournaments!!!
He relaxed (sort of) in the estim tank for 15 minutes. He really thinks he is supposed to swim in there and its pretty cute. I got all wet again but I held his front legs while they massaged his back legs. He kept trying to kick those front legs to swim.. Silly Boy!!
They had him do some work on the cavaletti poles which are similar to the PVC ladder we built for him last weekend. We have been working on the ladder every night to help him recover. They rehab place has a new laser that we tried out on all his joints. The laser therapy is supposed to stimulate blood flow.
We took in his Xrays from Tuesday. The vet we saw last week was out of the office so another vet looked them over. She agreed that there is no sign of athritis. YAY! We were happy to hear that. She said the knee isn’t a big issue and the swelling should go down as he gets treatment for the muscles in his leg.
While we were doing PT the vet we saw last week stopped by the office. She came in to chat with me for a minute and looked over his xrays real quick. She said there is an osteoarthritic point on his right shoulder. Last week it was the left this week its the right? I could see the rounding of the bone that she pointed out but I am not really sure what all that means. She seemed to be just running in and out of the office so I didn’t want to take up too much of her time. We will be seeing our regular holistic veterinarian in a few weeks. I am sure she can explain all that to me and tell me what the risks are and how that will affect him at Flyball.
We are still contemplating Adequan. It’s looking to be a bit more expensive than the supplement that we are currently using but I am wondering if it would be good for Marley especially. My holistic vets office says they use it sometimes but mostly for horses. I can’t wait to get in to see the vet so we can talk more about all of this. I trust her and so much of this goes over my head that I need to rely on a professional that I know and trust.
Doggy Reunions!!
I have been so busy that I haven’t been posting much. I wanted to get a post up about my reunion with Sadie so that I would have a chance to look back on it. This blog is more for myself than anything. It’s kind of my journal of life events since I am too lazy to actually create one. Or maybe a scrapbook/journal combo.
I got to see Sadie a couple of weekends ago. She’s amazing and I have missed her a lot. Such a wonderful girl and she ended up in a wonderful home. Her new guardians have tried to connect with me for a while but I am always too busy or we just miss each other. They go to a lot of the same events as us but are always there at a different time than I am. I happened to be in their neighborhood a few weeks ago so I gave them a heads up that I would be close by. When I finished with our stuff, I called and they said I could come by.
I always wonder about foster dogs and their memory. Do they remember me or living in my household? I hope that the training that I give them transfers over to the new owners pretty easily. Clicker training is great that way. Sadie has been training since she went to her new home in December. She will be an agility dog one of these days. I know she will mature into a great working dog for the first time Agility owner. She’s easy to work with and focuses well.
When I rang the doorbell I could hear her barking. I waited patiently why her mommy made her sit and wait patiently for the door to open. She stuck her head out and looked at me. All of a sudden that memory kicked in. She always was attached to Paul and myself but I never expected such a response at a reunion. She clobbered me to death and I tried to wait until she calmed down to reward her but it made me so happy that I just couldn’t help it. There was no doubt that this jumping, screaming, and squealing dog still loved and remembered me! She ran out to the car and then ran back to me and then clobbered me again. This whole process was repeated a few times and then still in the house she would run around and then come back to clobber me! I cried when I left because I was so happy that she is so happy and in such a good place. They really love her and I am glad that she’s settled into her new home so well.
She’s doing great and looks as though she has grown up a bit. She was still a puppy when I placed her but is now getting to look more like an adult. She’s at a great weight with a great coat which is a sign that they are taking good care of her. She’s getting along well with her kitty housemates too.
Anyway, it’s actually the first time I have been reunited with a foster dog after an extended period of time. I stay in contact with new guardians for a while and get emails and pics here and there but I’ve never had the opportunity to go back and see the dogs again. I’m so glad I was able to stop by and I am sure that Sadie and I will cross paths again. I’m hoping that there will also be an upcoming reunion with an old foster Hudson. I placed him about two years ago now. He is doing great and has transformed from the dog whom could not be trained (per a crappy prong collar trainer) to a dog who is well behaved and runs and plays off leash!!
Anyway, it was so great to see Miss Sadie. Her new mommy gave me this pic to share with Paul but I thought I would also share it with all of you!
Good News and some Hope for full Recovery!
I took this today in the lobby at our regular vets office. I call them my regular vet because they are my first choice for regular vet type things. Well dog exams don’t happen too often at my house because we are constantly in for injuries. I feel like we use the afterhours vet more often than our “Regular” Vet but since I spend more time with the dogs after regular business hours that makes a lot of sense. I like this vet though because they seem caring and thorough and are affordable at the same time.
We went in today for x rays. The vet we saw last week had recommend views of his shoulders and hips for sure. Then the elbows and knees if we could. I went in fairly certain that I wanted to do his shoulders, hips, and at bare minimum the Left Knee since he had the injury on that left side.
The vet and I chatted and she got me a quote for doing all of the x rays. It was within the range of what I was able to spend today so I opted to go for more xrays can’t hurt but fewer xrays could! Unfortunately they did have to sedate him a bit since they thought the shoulder views would be too difficult for them to get with him awake. He is a bit of a stink and I had expected that getting him to hold still for an xray would be difficult anyway. Luckily Paul is home sleeping today and agreed to let Dylan hang with him for the day while he was coming out of the anesthesia.
SO now for good news. All the xrays were clean for Arthritis. No signs in his hips, shoulders, knees, or elbows of any arthritis at all. I am not sure why they could feel the shoulder grinding but that shoulder was inflamed on the thermal imaging we did in April so I think there is probably just some soft tissue injuries up there as well. Soft tissue can be healed but arthritis can’t so I am happy to be able to confirm there is no Arthritis.
There is a question about one of his knees though. A fatty pad on the front of the left knee is sticking out or swollen. That’s still a part of the soft tissue issues though and should be taken care of with the PT we are doing.
We built him a new PVC Ladder and have been working on it daily. We are also icing the Left shoulder immediately following exercise and heating his back left left every night. I have been keeping him on leash when we are out but keeping him from running all together is impossible. He gets excited just to go into the yard and does a little run around a couple times a day. Still overall, I think he is being limited to long slow exercise to allow his muscles time to heal! Hopefully we will start seeing significant improvements sometime soon. I am just happy that there is no arthritis to worry about!!
Renewed as a Therapy Dog!
Marley and I are approaching our two year mark as a Pet Partner team. The Delta Society and Therapy Animals of Utah require us to go through the evaluation process every two years.
I am happy to say that we passed! I couldn’t have done it without my angel Miss Marley. She was so good despite being a bit uncomfortable for part of the test. She got pretty tense during the vet type exam. This has been an issue we have been dealing with since the injuries and surgeries last summer. She still was a good girl and the woman explained after the test that she actually was a vet tech and had been in the vets office earlier that day.. She probably smelled like the office and Marley knew it. It was funny how it happened too because the inital part of the test is a very similar process and she didn’t mind it at all.
Anyway, so proud of my girl and happy that we can continue visiting. We will have a short break while we are waiting for the paperwork to get processed!!! We have until the end of the month and hope to get a few visits in before we expire!!
Bad News from the Vet
I took Dylan in today for a vet exam and for his first Physical Therapy Visit. The Vet we saw was absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately, she didn’t have great news for us.
After a very thorough exam, she found a partial tear in his Gracilis Muscle in the left rear side. There is an associated strain of the Iliopsoas Muscle and the Quadriceps as well. I knew that left rear leg had something going on and suspected he may have hyper extended it when he hit Paul and the fence post on Easter. Guess I should have trusted my instinct and gotten him in a bit sooner but there hadn’t been any inflammation on the thermal imaging done by our Holistic Veterinarian shortly after the accident.
The vet ordered some laser therapy and then they put him on the underwater treadmill. He was so cute trying to swim and figure things out. They ended up taking some water out so he would stop trying to swim and start walking on the treadmill. The Physical Therapist said she felt some grinding in his left shoulder so the veterinarian got up where she could reach in and feel him.
She explained that he probably has some arthritis in his left shoulder. An X ray will show us how bad it is. She isn’t sure if its from the trauma or from the untreated injury or just from aging. I suspect its not from aging because he’s not even 6 years old yet and that seems young to get arthritis. Of course I have Marley who had arthritis at the ripe old age of two so I guess it can happen to any dog at any time.
We continued with the underwater treadmill and it was very interesting to watch him walk. Up until this point, I had only really watched his gait from above. I never got down on his level and had someone walk him around me. When he was in the treadmill the vet showed me the extension issues in his back left left. He’s not extending it like he should and I could definitely see a difference between his right and left. She said the underwater treadmill helps correct that problem and just a few minutes later we were able to watch and see him extending it more thoroughly while walking. It really was impressive to see how much he changed in such a short amount of time.
When we finished the underwater treadmill they put him in a tub of water that had electrical current running through it. He did great and sat with his life jacket on and floated in the water for about 15-20 minutes. Of course we were right there with him and holding onto him and giving him treats for being such a good boy!! I got soaked during the process!
We’ll be doing some ice on the left shoulder and heat in the rear over the next few days. I’ll chat with the vet Monday and then we will go from there. She says the muscle injuries should heal completely within about a month. If they don’t they can put him under anesthetic and treat him with shock wave therapy to knock out the injury. I hope it doesn’t come to that but we’ll do whatever we have to so that he heals up okay.
I feel horrible about the arthritis. I hope to get an x ray next week when we are in to see how bad it is. Severe arthritis would mean the end of his flyball career. I am not sure what the vet may recommend if it is just minor. I trust my holistic vet’s assessment though and will do what she suggests. It’s tough to think though that it may come down to determining which is more important- quality of life with flyball or duration of life without. This boy is a maniac about his flyball game and I can’t imagine life for him without it. Plus, what would I do without a flyball dog? Maybe I’ll have to find one to borrow for a while until I can get a puppy of my own.
Long Lasting Injuries
It’s been nearly two months since Dylan ran full speed into Paul and a big metal fence post. Unfortunately, we are still seeing issues that are likely the result of that trauma. He’s been favoring one side on the rear and the Right rear leg is really tight because he is over using it to compensate for not wanting to use his left. After heavy exercise, I can see him trying not to put his full weight on the left rear. So nowadays both sides are sore. In addition, his front right is sore and tight and had a big knot in the muscle. Likely still the result of pain on the left causing him to compensate and favor the right.
So I’ve made a decision. Our next step is some Physical Therapy. Untreated soft tissue injuries can turn into longer term problems. I hate to think this boy is not feeling his best. I want him to be able to participate in the things he wants to do (like Flyball and Splash Dogs and Course A’Lure). So Physical Therapy is my next step.
After several emails and phone calls to friends, veterinarians, Physical Therapists etc; I have found a place I feel pretty good about. We have a consultation and our first PT visit Thursday Morning. The one downfall of this place is that there is no way for me to get there without taking off work. Oh well, stockpiling PTO is overrated anyway.
I am anxious to get him in so I can start doing therapeutic exercises at home to help him. I have been alternating Ice and Heat and rubbing some Arnica Cream on the sore areas. Dylan is not so in love with the ice these days and isn’t the most cooperative. However, he is great with the heat and will lay wrapped up in a warm rice bag for as long as I want him too.
Dylan’s great day of accomplishments!
I don’t know if I have ever been more proud of my boy. He’s accomplished a lot of great things in his life and has learned so much but yesterday was just a fantastic day for him. What he seemed to accomplish didn’t look like much on the surface but I know how difficult it probably was for him!
Yesterday we tried out Splash Dogs. Well I should probably say that we worked toward trying out splash dogs.
Dylan was never a natural swimmer. When he was young I actually took him to the lake and clicker trained him to swim to me out in the water. It was a difficult thing for him to learn but he has learned to love swimming in the lake to retrieve his frisbee.
I new jumping into swimming pool was a whole different ball game and I figured he would need some work. I didn’t think he had it in him so I haven’t taken him before (I’ve been dying to take Marley but the vet said it was too dangerous for her). Anyway, when we went to Goblin Valley a few months ago, Dylan was jumping in and out of these pockets of water in the rock. I couldn’t beleive how much more confidence he has in the water now! So we opted to “practice” at splash dogs this go around.
We got a sneak preview of how he might do last week. They had a practice pool set up at Strut Your Mutt and we got to try it out the night before. He didn’t have a frisbee or a life jacket since I didn’t know they would be there but he reached in to get his ball. The life jacket gives him more confidence in the water.
Yesterday, we tried and tried to get him into the pool. He’d run up the ramp and down to where he could touch and then bark and bark and bark at his frisbee.
By afternoon, I was pretty sure I was going to have to get into the pool with him. I wasn’t fond of that plan but I didn’t see any other way to get him going any further. Each time we practiced he would get a little further and a little further and then stop. He would not leave the ramp. A couple times I pulled him off the ramp with his life jacket and he about had a panic attack. Some Treats were there and ready but he didn’t care and he didn’t dare go get the frisbee.
Finally, I pulled him off the side of the ramp. It sounds harsh but he was already mostly in the water and he knows how to swim and he has a life jacket on. He really just needed to know that all we was doing in that pool was the same as he was doing in the lake the past few years. He just has to kick his little legs to get over to the frisbee. This time, he swam and got the frisbee which was almost on the ramp anyway. A couple more times of repeating that and I knew he was going to pick it up!
Next round of practice, his old buddy from Flyball was around. He loves her so much and she stood on the other side of the pool and called him. I threw his frisbee out toward her. This time, he ran down the ramp and jumped off into the water! SUCCESS!! Finally!!! Each time we repeated he got more and more confident! YAY for Dylan!!
We decided it was time to graduate to the big pool with the dock on it. We took him up the exit ramp the next practice round and he was a bit confused. I helped him off the dock with a bit of force but this time no panic. He swam over, got the frisbee and life was grand. Each time we repeated, he swam all around the big pool and got his toy to bring back to me.
So we decided to take him up on the dock. He wasn’t ready. I threw the frisbee and he was too afraid to even look and it and bark at it. I think he was also getting tired. We went back down to the exit ramp and had a few good push offs so that we ended on a good note.
Dylan has been injured since the run in with the fence post. He was starting to show signs that he was sore so I called it good for the day. He was SO brave and overcame a huge fear of getting in the pool for sure. I only wish we could go back today and work some more but we will have to wait til next time. Hopefully he will remember the pool and we won’t have to start again from scratch. I know one day he will learn to do this. He just takes a bit more time than some other dogs to overcome his fears of things. He was freaking out when watching the other dogs jump in. He really wants to do it!!
In addition to his huge accomplishment in the pool, Dylan had another. We have been having a hard time at Course A Lure. He gets going soo fast that he jumps out of course. He needs to learn to control his speed around corners. I ran him twice before we left for the day. His leg was bugging and I didn’t want him running but I knew I wasn’t getting out of there without letting him get the lure!! Both times he ran straight into the catch box instead of going off course (although one time he plowed into a tunnel and tore up the course a bit!). He wasn’t the fastest by far but Sneek and Jake were there and they always outrun him. He did bring home a silver metal to hang on the wall though! And completing the course was all I cared about. If we are going to continue doing Course a’Lure he needs to start staying on course. He did great and I was waiting in the catch box with handfuls of hotdogs to reward him!!
Here some some pics from the Day!
Dylan trying to swim:
We had to hide during a big rain storm. I ended up just leaving for a bit and visiting my grandparents while we were drying off.
Our friend Sneek was also trying to learn how to swim:
Jake was a natural swimmer but not a natural jumper!
Zoe learned to jump!!! Look how happy her Mom is! It makes me smile seeing that Grin on Ann’s Face!
Lucy is a 13 year old cancer survivor. What a girl! She still plays flyball and runs pretty dang fast for a little dog (let alone a little 13 year old cancer survivor!)…
Chase Me is our flyball teammate. He is the third fastest Jack in U-Fli. He’s a fast little guy with lots of spirit. He’s running in the Jack Russell Races (by invitation only) at the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge!
