ness

huski - do you take them to work or do those Mal's run the show :laugh:.

Kenz was pretty out of it on the tramadol for the first 11 days or so. I had her tied to the desk on a dog bed next to my computer. She was crated when I wasn't able to watch her. I asked about a pen/room confinement and the specialist was more keen that she be crated when left. Marg Kenz was only 4 at time of surgery and highly active. She enjoyed her outings in the car though and certainly made a point of whenever I went out she could come as well.

Yes thats what i did with my very active BC who was needing to be rested post-op for MPL surgery. We would go out in the car and on nice days I would find a nice quiet park and would stop the car and have morning or afternoon tea. She would also come in the car when I went to the shops but she was small enough to be lifted in and out and was confined so she couldn't do any damage to herself while in the car.

The updated situation isn't great - the right forelimb lameness looks to be associated with a medial shoulder instability (MSI) and while she does still obviously have MPLs in both hind legs given everything else that is going on in her body the view seemed to be that there was probably nothing much to be gained through putting her through two further MPL surgeries and the associated rehab. They also aren't fully convinced we totally know what is going on yet either. So basically its pain management as necessary and taking things a day at a time. He didn't feel she was in a great deal of pain for the moment though which I guess is something. Has anybody had any experience with MSI I can't decide whether its worth following up on a confirmed diagnosis of the front end (if we can get one).

minimax - the place I get my chicken frames gives you a discount if you purchase 3 at a time. Bit hard when my kids get full frames each and so I asked one day if I could get 4 for the same discount rate and the guy tried to charge me the non-discounted rate. Yes I could get more at a time but then I kept forgetting to get them out of the freezer :laugh:.

Well with much trepidation she has an appointment with the chiro vet tomorrow. Been agonizing over it because I really don't want to know what his opinion is on how bad things have got but fingers crossed its not all bad news.

Hmmm the funniest story was when Ness was much younger and Dad had stopped at the supermarket to pick her up some chicken drumsticks. The women behind him in the queue apparently asked what he intended on doing with them presuming he was intending on cooking them for humans to eat. I think she was a little taken a back when he said he wasn't doing anything with them as they were to be consumed raw by the dog :D. I agree my girls only get human quality produce and possibly eat better then me on most occasions as I am a little lazy on the cooking front :laugh:.

:laugh: westiemum - hmmm except when you decide to feed a meal of sardines (or tuna) then its just the same as opening a can . Always a good standby for when I am being lazy.

Clyde - you could also check out Rose-Hip Vital Canine. I had my young dog on Glyde (numerous ortho-related issues) and didn't think Glyde was doing a particularly good job. She had previously been on Joint Guard. Within weeks of starting her on the RHVC she was back racing up stairs which is something she hadn't done in many many months. But as I just said in the RHVC thread i do think its a bit of trial and error and not every product works for every dog.

Bummer ari.g . How long has your boy been on it and what was his problem? Its like anything though unfortunately not all products work for ever dog (or human). What else have you tried?

Well I took my oldie Ness out on the weekend and at the age of 12 years 10 months she raced around her track 3 and in doing so completed her TD title. Neither the judge or the steward could believe she was that old. Pretty good going considering I was really considering not tracking her at all this season because she had started to slow down and want to sleep more and was also starting to limp just on normal walks. Go Ness and definitely pleased to have come across the RHVC .

:laugh: she was not thrilled at having her photo taken thats for sure.

A photo of miss Ness taken yesterday back at the oval after having finished her track .

Matthew is awesome :laugh:.

:laugh: Jumabaar. I would also love to be able to have access to the rehab guy Robby - his expertise and ability is out of this world. I am sure a certain BC of mine would be in better shape if we had access to somebody like him but we make do and follow his suggestions and things are kind of improving.

Here you go Esky -

LOL haven't got here yet Tassie. My brag is that Ness at the "tender" age of 12 years 10 months completed her Track 3 today and thus finished her TD title and is now officially retired. Very much the case of great dog shame about the handler as I seemed to do everything in my power to have her fail and she still passed despite me . That included standing over the first article for about 30 seconds before I recognised she had found an article and then me pulling her off the final t-shirt less then 3m from the end. She has been my first dog who has dabbled in almost every dog sport over the years and has a nice string of letters after her name. Has been thoroughly spoiled rotten tonight and had the obligatory drive through maccas mcbites on the way home from the trial. A very long day but very well worth it and so pleased with my girl.

Congratulations again Kirra and Tassie and Tassie Kirra isn't old at 11.5 she is only a spring chicken - Ness didn't start tracking until she was that age :laugh: and when she started she started at warp speed .

Peanut/balance disc work can also help and things like squats using props and without props are all good for building hind end muscle and core strength,

I think from memory I paid $260+ postage for 6 sets of 2x2s (although it might have been inclusive of postage as it was a few years ago). They are very heavy and certainly very good quality. They are currently of no use to me and presently have them loaned out to a friend.

I agree with BC4ME I think most routines where the dog is showing obviously enjoyment and is a willing, eager and enthusiastic participant have a "WOW" factor about them. Just my observation but I think people can tend to get a little hung up with a defined choreography rather than a dog enjoying themselves. This may be less of a problem at the higher levels of competition but I certainly have seen it in newbie routines. They become so rigid about the dog performing a routine the WOW factor disappears. How many times have people seen an obedience dog go through a round and while it may be accurate it looks like its going through the motions. I think DWD can get a little like this at times when people remain to focused on rigid structure and not going with the flow.

She has had collapse episodes while I have been out but no they have been triggered eg kids playing in the street, blue tongue lizard in the garden, kids over the back fence. I am lucky she isn't normally left much so mostly comes in the car but I am fully aware that will have to change. We have done the names of soft toys. Her life has definitely improved now she seems to have less issues with the stairs - presuming the UWTM helped because thats the only thing we have done differently. She is back to being able to come up and down as she pleases which has removed some frustration she was experiencing.

Kenz's problem JulesP is more that also if left to her own devices she will still get obsessive over things and therefore end up having repeated collapse episodes. A fine balance with her. She still also gets obsessed about finding things which could be thrown and even if I don't throw them she has now developed a game of throwing them at me and then racing off. If it was one or the other it might be easier to manage. I haven't found she has adapted to a slower life yet - despite repeated restrictions/crating/enforced rest for the last 3 years. All I find is that she gets aggressive towards Ness and starts hassling and venting what seems to be frustration and taking it out on everything. She will come racing at me and throw herself at me, grab clothing to try and tug, steal things, obsessive over the neighbours cat, fence run at home etc etc. A much bigger picture to consider when a dog won't adapt. Kenz use to settle nicely at home but with such a prolonged stint of inactivity she just hasn't mellowed. If I decide to completely rule out the surgery pathway then she may go back to doing some underwater treadmill regularly. That seemed to help the most out of things we have tried recently but its certainly not a cheap exercise.

She is presently laying at my feet with her head in front of the heater frying her brain cells :laugh:.

Its just a really hard call to make - especially when she does still have some good days/weeks. Its a thought that is in my mind but I am just not sure its at that point yet. I am still running a million different scenarios through my head and trying to work through it as best I can.