I know it's SUPPOSED to be Wordless Wednesday, but I haven't blogged for awhile and it's just been a blur of work, assignments, life. And, in the midst of that, I realized that Spike wasn't quite himself. He's been sleeping more than normal and has been quite grumpy with Murphy. In fact, he's been SO grumpy, he CLEARLY gave me the message that the intact male Sheltie I tried to bring home to foster was NOT coming in the house. So, at the advice of a friend, I followed my gut and decided to take him off to the vet.
I took him to someone new... Dr. Orchard who is a holistic vet and dog chiropracter and had her check him over. And, I was shocked about what she found; his jaw was out, his shoulders were both out, his left wrist, a couple ribs and his pelvis were all out. This is apparently not uncommon for a dog who participates in sports. Fortunately, by the end of the appointment, he had responded well to treatment and I scheduled a follow up for the next week. As of that appointment, his shoulder and wrist were still sore but he was feeling well enough to wait for two weeks.
In the meantime, he's on somewhat restricted activity but can still do certain things. Agility, with low jumps ok. Weaves and contacts not. Flyball, straight over the jumps ok. Box work not. So, I've been hanging out with him, letting him take it a bit easier, but doing some massage, a bit of running around the yard and play with Sophie and Murphy. He's gone to a couple agility classes and seemed to be fine. But, last night and this morning, he was clearly limping. I think my heart stopped when I saw that, at least for a second. I can't have two dogs with joint issues. I just can't.
Thank goodness we have an appointment this Saturday and in fact, this vet is so good, I am taking Sophie too. And, I am stepping up the work with Spike... more massage, peanut ball work to work on his core strength and stretches. That's really all I can do, and hope that I haven't messed the poor boy up beyond repair. I hope that he recovers quickly and we can get back to normal. I hate to think about how life will change if Spike is injured beyond my ability to help him recover enough to run the sports he loves. I just keep on trying and hoping and I guess that's all I can do!
5 comments:
Oh Spike! I hope this is just a temporary setback and he is soon able to fully participate in the things he loves. Acupuncture did amazing things for my Belle when her joints were all messed up - it might be a complementary approach if the chiropractics/massage can only take him so far.
And.....what's this about a male sheltie who needs a safe haven......???? Hmmmmm?????????
Sorry to hear this about Spike...it certainly sounds like you are doing all you can.
Hope he will feel better soon.
Sending positive thoughts,
~K
I *think* it's temporary. Pain is ok, at this point... and I think he's healing up. I may have pushed a bit at agility on Monday and done this inadvertently. And, we're sitting flyball out until further notice. Or, he flew off the back steps and jarred it (most likely, since he was running away from Murphy two mornings ago).
Acupuncture is on the list of things I will do, if this isn't working well enough. He also has an appt to have a rehab assessment done with Theresa, a gal here who is amazing at treatment plans for things like this.
Yes, we have two 6 mnth old CKC registered, tri colour shelties in rescue right now. I was going to take one until Spike picked a fight with him. Boo to Spike, he's a nice dog! In any case, my friend ended up with both to foster and they are nice boys! We just had their dad in foster care too, but Indie has been adopted already. It's kind of a long story how they came to be, but they are here and going to find awesome homes! We COULD ship them to BC, if you knew someone who might be inerested, (wink, wink!)
Yuh, I have the structural issues too. I am going to one of those fancy vets next week.
Slobbers,
Mango
Ha! Our agility equipment is frozen in place too. Makes the course kind of boring.
Mango Momma
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