ness

Hmm the second specialist talks to chiro vet. The first specialist talks to physio and vet friend - hence why we started at specialist one. Honestly at this point we are trying to work out what is causing her the greatest bother - if its the shoulder then the option is ultrasound/MRI/further rehab, if the answer is the patella then its surgery. Unfortunately for me we were out in the yard today and she came up not weight bearing on her left hind again so starting to think the answer is the patella . I have emailed the second specialist with a list of questions. I really worry how we will both cope with another 4 months of pretty strict rest though. .

I think I have just volunteered a dog for an expo demo in a few weeks time. Hmmm problem is the young girl still can't go full out so therefore I am trying to work out what to do about a routine. We could manage a HTM routine that would be ok but Freestyle normally works a lot better for expos as its usually much flashier. I was messing around tonight with moves for a new routine - not sure I like it yet and not sure it fit together. . Wishing I could just do the normal routine but I am trying to be good and least I can try out some different things with no pressure (and hopefully a little less of the opinionated mad midget BC :laugh:)

Grrrr this is starting to drive me up the wall - chirovet has said she needs 3 good legs so pending the specialist his advice would be surgery at this stage. Vet friend had a good feel over the patella today and said yeah its there but she doesn't think its significant enough to warrant surgery or is enough of an explanation as to why she is coming up 3 legged lame and then not putting weight on it for hours at a time.

Nawwwww poor PAX = hopefully the time will fly by and he will be home before you know it.

Yeah I can imagine - the quarantine time would suck. Is he still coping ok? How many more sleeps till his release?

Already commented elsewhere but great work Pax. You should be thrilled with how he worked . Lovely performance and pretty impressive to travel to the other side of the world and jump off a plane only a few days earlier and work that nicely.

Physio is not totally inclined to think surgery on the patella might fix the remaining shoulder issue. I actually emailed another specialist re her shoulder mid way through last year before taking her to see this other specialist . I knew of the other specialist as she use to bring dogs to the local dog park over many years. The physio has close dealings with the first specialist I took Kenz to and the one that did the xrays and ultrasound but I just didn't get a brilliant feeling out of her. She wasn't definite in any sort of diagnosis and seemed to be unprepared to answer questions. I also didn't get a brilliant feeling about the clinic. Its also a general emergency clinic and the reception staff seemed to have no idea and things seemed mega disorganised. The one who has done the PRP treatment on her shoulder has been good. Emails don't go unanswered - the longest I had to wait on a response was actually this past week and when he did finally respond he was apologetic for not having responded earlier. At any rate I have emailed the specialist and asked more questions he will respond and I'll go from there. I basically asked if the shoulder might continue to persist until the patella is sorted out. Physio just thinks it might be worth doing further diagnostics to make sure there is nothing more going on in the spine or hips. Kenz only ever had xrays of the front half of her the first time around. I am not sure it necessarily needs the input of a third specialist and it might just be the case of getting specialist number 2 to do more diagnostic workup before we decide about surgery. Need a money tree I think. We went out for a walk this morning - 35 min romp in the park off-lead hmmm you wouldn't pick a hind end problem looking at her moving this morning. Her gait was effortless without a hint of what lays underneath. I still wonder if I can somehow get the muscle back if it might become less of a problem just not sure how long that may take.

Am totally at my wits end now - has been suggested that another trip to a third specialist might be in order . I just don't know where to go anymore.

I haven't had anything to do with John Field but the name does ring a bell - I think possibly Matthew Condon mentioned his name in a conversation to me at some point. Any way I have only had good experiences with them and wish Jessie the best of luck.

Yep MRB is right - I have used them. As far as specialists are concerned John Punke has been dealing with Kenz's shoulder and luxating patella issue and he is absolutely brilliant. He genuinely cares about the progress of his patients and I am never made to feel bad for asking a question. All the staff there seem great. If you have any other questions feel free to PM or post them in this thread and I'll endeavour to get back to you.

The insanity set in when she was crate rested for a month in the middle of last year. Its just been a decline from there :laugh:.

Hmmm I am already not sane but thats not recent :laugh:.

Yep we have a physio who is looking after her to . Emailed her and she said just drop it back a notch for a fortnight . We have been doing figure 8s around traffic cones already prior to this week.

Been more then a week here MG - its been months .

So the week has deteriorated - her shoulder is now bothering her and she has been mega sore all through her hind end without doing much if anything. . I am suppose to cut back her exercise for a fortnight and see how we get on. She is driving me insane - leash walks do nothing to take the edge off her. Her body can't cope with anything more then 20 min and then she comes home and is feral . She isn't a foodie dog so puzzle toys with treats and that sort of thing she fast loses interest. Stuff kongs are to be thrown and retrieved and played with.

Here is one of the websites - http://tiggerpoz.com/

Its its only a slight cruciate tear then it might repair if you strictly rest the dog. They can actually heal partial cruciate tears if you rest them for long enough. Plenty of dogs who have gone the conservative management path for cruciate injuries and recovered. There are email lists and webpages dedicated to this. As far as joint supplements go I like joint guard for a reasonably priced supplement. If you hunt around online you can pick up a 400gm tub for around $65 plus postage.

:laugh: goodonya.

I thought they had a fenced paddock at Hill Top??? but agree it was a lovely place I called up there to say hi to them and drop some gear off and got a quick tour .

Erny about being a frustrating person - starting to think the specialists and vets see me coming and run a million miles - way to many questions.

This place looks pretty awesome. http://www.takeabrea...ep-Creek-Na.htm ETA. This is the place I was actually looking for. Friends stayed there for the Nationals and its lovely. http://www.discover7.com.au/adelaide-hills/accommodation/bed-and-breakfast/dog-of-a-holiday-in-the-hills/

Well done everybody and thanks for the update kallistar :)

hmmm well I can only do hill work at the beach when she has had 20-30 min of swimming/walking through the water first. I think this morning we did it at the 30 min and 40 min mark just before we were leaving LOL. Although Kenz is ok she will trot to a hand target if I insist on it so we just do that and I reward with her toy :laugh:.

Yep I noticed that the last few times we have tried. This morning I did some work with her on hills at the beach. Her reward was the opportunity to go back and have another round of water fetch. That seemed to perk her up somewhat. The problem I have with using to much "luring"/"rewarding" is that will kick her into overdrive and then that probably defeats the purpose as she would walk over hot coals regardless of level of pain.

So how did you all go - I heard on the grapevine from Tassie about her guys - what about the rest of you?