Progress..and Nerves!

I've posted about it pretty much everywhere else, but this weekend is Lexi's first trial since her injury/diagnosis.  I know that she is ready.  She's in great shape, is definitely light years stronger than she was months ago, and is completely healthy.  We haven't seen her limp since the very first occurrence back in July (knock on wood, of course)!

Also, this past weekend we took both dogs up to the building for extra practice.  At the end of the sequence was a straight line of jumps and I sent Lexi on ahead of me.  As she came over the last jump, she attempted to turn into me as she landed (since I was behind), she slipped and totally splayed out.  I held my breath...and she jumped up, barking at me!  Whew.  So needless to say, I'm quite worried about my little girl.  It's not like you can run her cautiously.  It's not in her vocabulary.

"Collection is for chumps!"

Since her return, she has also been a lot naughtier.  I felt like we were finally connecting when it comes to timing (mostly my fault!), and now I feel like I'm starting over.  She's also blowing me off a bit more than usual, I think because she is so amped up to be out there.  Her behavior off the course (or while waiting) has also deteriorated, so I foresee a lot more impulse control work (it never ends) in the future.  For example, I put her in a stay while we walked the courses in class last night.  She has a great stay, but honestly has a tough time while we're walking courses (who knows why).  But last night, she whined the WHOLE time she was staying.  That's unusual for her.  She also stood up once at the start line (which she does at home occasionally, but has never done in class).  I'm a bit worried about this and hope I can keep working it enough that it doesn't become habit.  Oh, and she also blew two dogwalks!  (That's like a bigfoot sighting, it happens so rarely!)  I was pushing for speed, and trying to alternate between asking her to hold and quick releasing, so maybe it was too much.

It doesn't help that it has been raining for the past week or two, and I've been working late so the dogs have gotten almost no training (and not as much exercise as I'd like).  They are a little over the top these days!

(I'll try to post the other half of this tonight or tomorrow...Bentley deserves his own post, too!)

Nerds Love Calendars

Last night Lexi went to see our local vet/chiropractor for the second time since her injury.  She was really pleased with her progress and said her strength is much, much better!  She said that she feels that we should continue with the rehab schedule we're on for another month, and then we can re-evaluate. 

We are starting class next week, and I'm quite nervous.  I know Lexi is ready (she is bouncing and playing and working in the yard like usual), but you just never know.  The hardest thing about this injury is going to be me learning to accept that it could pop up at any minute, but it's not the end of the world.

Thought I'd share the calendar that I build every month to keep up with Lexi's exercises and her progress (during the month I write notes all over it!)

Still here!

Just wanted to pop in to say we're still here!  Things have been crazy.  I just officially started full time at work, and I'm already in charge of a project next week that will have me there crazy hours.  The next few months are our busiest time, so I know it's going to be crazy until Christmas is over.

That means I don't have much time for anything other than our one night a week class with Bentley, and Lexi's exercises every day.  We've still been doing 5-15 minutes of agility in the yard with Lexi during the week when we can, and she's been great.  Happy to be out there and no issues at all!

I'm a little nervous, but I'm hoping to put her back in class next month.

Chiro Info

Today was Lexi's first regularly scheduled chiro appointment.  For the next month she'll be going once a week so we can keep track of how she's doing.

It was great because the vet chiro. agreed with everything that TOPS had told us.  The vet said that Lexi did need adjusting, especially her TMJ.  She did mention, however, that she felt that Lexi's issue was possibly more of an issue with the cartilage (maybe her meniscus) rather than the tendons and ligaments in her knee.

She told us that she felt that structurally Lexi was around 90% of where she should be, but that muscularly she is around 60% of where she (as a canine athlete) should be.  I figure that's a result of all of her crate rest (over a month total a month or so ago) and her limited exercise until a couple weeks ago.  The vet reinforced the importance of not hurrying her back to full agility, but that we should take it slowly to be sure she is back fully healthy.  If not, we could see issues pop up especially as we get her to full jump height or ask her for something stressful like the a-frame.

Her timeline pretty much coincides with what we had in mind.  She felt that 20 minute walks right now are acceptable, building up as she grows stronger.  She also said that 5 minutes or so of agility per day was okay, and a good way to keep her working without her over-exerting herself.  She recommended about 6 weeks of gradual increase before getting her back to a full agility schedule.  This is exactly what we were planning--so that's great news that we have the right plan in mind.

Oh, she did add another supplement to Lexi's arsenal.  So Lexi now gets the following:

• 1 T coconut oil
• 1 fish oil capsule (1000mg)
• 1/2 t Phyto Flex which contains MSM, glucosamine and perna mussel
• 1/8 t Canine Musculoskeletal Support
• 2 capsules per day of Ligaplex-2

She definitely is way healthier than I am!

Diagnosis: The Long Version

Here are Lexi's notes from our appointment at TOPS.  I am only going to post (somewhat) briefly about our experience because I honestly probably won't explain it right, and you can read the summary on the above documents.

Dr. Jurek was great.  She took her time with Lexi because Lexi was quite nervous.  Dr. Jurek just sat on the floor and talked quietly to her.  She went through each and every of Lexi's muscles and joints to determine if anything seemed out of place, misaligned, odd, or off balance.

The first thing she noted was that she did feel Lexi's luxating patellas, but that it was very minor.  She diagnosed them as a Grade 1, and nothing to really worry about other than doing our best to keep her in shape and strengthen the muscles around her knees.  She did feel that it was odd that we saw the limp the way we did, and she felt that it may have been the patellas manifesting in an odd way, or it could have been something else.  She felt no soreness or pain indicators during the exam.

The other thing of importance that she noted is Lexi's misaligned jaw.  We have always known that she has an underbite, and I guess we knew her jaw was misaligned (thanks to my husband, the dentist!) but never thought much of it.   Dr. Jurek explained that she believes Lexi has slight TMD (temperomandibular disorder) because of this.  That means that the disparity in development in both sides of her TMJ (jaw joints) caused issues with her bite and threw off her musculoskeletal balance.  

On the chiropractic exam she did confirm that one side of Lexi's jaw and neck were aligned differently, in an effort to make up for the imbalance in her mouth.  This can affect the entire body as the neck and spine attempt to make up for the imbalance.

Dr. Jurek also did a gait analysis which I thought was very interesting. I  had never really thought about Lexi's gait before (or knew the different kinds) but we learned that Lexi often paces.  Pacing means that the dog's 2 legs on the same side are moving in the same direction.  This is not what you want, as it does not improve the dog's balance or coordination.

We then moved to the therapy room to learn some exercises and tricks to "resolve impaired segmental spinal mobility so that Lexi's body is more balanced; improve strength in the quadriceps to minimize patella laxity; prevent further injury for continued competition in agility as well as maintaining good overall musculoskeletal health in general".

Our routine includes the following:

1.  Cookie Stretches (5 stretches, 7 days per week).  The dog stretches up, down, left and right (in various places and ways) and holds for about 3 seconds each.

2.  Alternate Snoopies (5 times per week).  Dog balances their weight on opposite legs (meaning we hold one front and one back--on opposite sides--and Lexi balances on 2 feet).   This strengthens the paraspinal muscles and stabilizes the thorax.  It also assists in strengthening hip and shoulder stabilizers.

3.  Cavaletti Poles (5 times per week).  This teaches the dog to become aware of where their feet are in space, to teach them to pick their feet up higher and for paraspinal muscle strengthening.  And in Lexi's case, it will encourage her to trot vs. pace.

4.  Side Stepping (5 times per week).  Gently nudge the dog so that your dog is encourage to step sideways.  

5.  Crawling (3-4 days per week).  This encourages shoulder, elbow, carpus, hip, stifle and hock flexion as well as strengthens forelimb and hind limb muscles.  

6.  Ball Work (2-3 days per week).  Stand, sit, and down on the donut ball and the peanut ball along with transitions between the two.  A slight bend in the knee when standing is preferred.

I'm sure I'll be posting a lot more about Lexi's rehab in the days to come.

Lexi's Diagnosis: A Preview

You know me, I plan on doing a lengthy write up of our experience at TOPS.  It will likely take awhile, so I'm sharing a preview here...

Anxiety

I'm anxious--not the dogs!

The past few weeks at work have been crazy.  We are preparing for the holiday season (yes, already) and that means things move at light speed.  It's what makes my job interesting, but it also makes it tiring and stressful.

On the bright side of things, I am interviewing today for my job (I'm a contractor, so I hope to get hired on by the company so I can make more money and get benefits!)  But, that also means more stress.  It's odd to think about interviewing with people that I already work with!

And then, of course, we leave tomorrow morning for Chicago for Lexi's appointment.  I've been looking forward to this day, but I'm also nervous.  If I had to guess, I would say that the vet likely won't recommend surgery.  We've gone what...10 weeks with no symptoms?  I can't imagine a vet recommending surgery on a dog that is asymptomatic.  But, I really don't know what to expect.  There's even a chance that they give us a completely different diagnosis (Jonathan reminded me last night that we took Lexi to 4 vets--2 said that her luxating patellas were so minor that they'd never be an issue, 1 said he couldn't even get them to luxate, and then the last said they were causing the problem but she couldn't tell to what degree).

I'm also a bit worried about leaving Bentley home.  We decided it would be easier to just take one dog, and now that my mom lives in town, it was easier to drop him off with her.  I know he'll do fine, but we almost always take the dogs with us when we go out of town.  Honestly, I think he'll really enjoy it.  He can be a couch potato (there are no barking dogs at their house!) and relax.

I've been taking Lexi out to do a few minutes of agility in the evenings.  Nothing hard, and no jump bars to see how she'd do.  I don't want to re-injure her, but I did want to test her out and see if we noticed any limping.  I want to be sure to present all the facts to the vet. 

You tell me how you think she did.... *smiles*

Updated Thinking

At our trial the other weekend we were able to speak to a few people about Lexi's issue.  We've also had time to hear stories and thoughts from our family, friends, trainers, etc...about Lexi's condition.

I have truly appreciated all the support, anecdotes and information that people have shared.  I've also been a little overwhelmed.  Every story, every incident, and every dog is different.  I'm a black or white kind of girl and I wish it were that easy.  But hearing everyone's stories only makes me realize how unique each and every situation is.

I've heard encouraging stories about dogs doing serious rehab, building muscles by doing balance ball work, underwater treadmill, rear-end strength exercises, etc...and never needing surgery.

I've heard encouraging stories of successful surgeries where dogs were back to their usual selves (including agility) in six months to a year's time.

I've even heard stories of dogs that have retired and become "just companions" (I put that in quotes because I know what an important job that really is!) and are perfectly happy.

But I just don't know where we fall.

I've also worried myself sick over what will be best for Lexi.  She is very sensitive, and I don't want her to ever associate agility, fetching, running, or being enthusiastic with pain.  I don't ever want her to have to hesitate to do something that she wants to do.  I've, unfortunately, seen a dog or two who have run injured (in pain, or compensating for injury) and have learned to deal with injury but aren't enthusiastic anymore.  They are usually slow, and unmotivated.  There is nothing wrong with slow dogs--but that's not Lexi.  I want her to always be able to be herself and don't want any selfish decision of mine to change her.

When we came home from the trial, both days, SHE WAS MAD AT US.  I couldn't believe it.  She wouldn't fetch her ball, wubba, or any other toy.  She would run after it, but not bring it back.  Do you know how many times she has done that?  Like zero.  I was worried for a minute that she was hurt, but she would chase Bentley all around like a nut, but actively avoided us for a bit (reminds me of the one time that Jonathan yelled at her and she refused to hang out with him upstairs...just watched him from downstairs).  I know it sounds silly, but I don't think I could leave her home while we trial for the rest of her life.  It was too sad--she loves being there with us so much.  And running.

And then I watch her run around the house (see below) and I think...this is way worse than what we ask of her in agility!  (Don't watch these if you get motion sick...I couldn't keep up!)

The News

I’ve been waiting to make this post for a couple reasons.

1. I have been feeling so many emotions that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to write them all down.  Also, if history has taught me anything, it’s that I should try to take time to digest all the information that I have rather than immediately expressing my emotions (and trust me, I have a lot of them!)
2.  I guess part of me was hoping that it would just go away.  Writing this post makes it all real.  And I wish it weren’t.

I’m making this sound incredibly bleak, and it isn’t that bad.  So instead of starting this post with the negatives, I’ll start with the positives.

• Lexi is healthy.  She does not have cancer.  She does not have any other disease that will shorten her life.
•  Lexi is happy.  My girl is happy being with us every day; whether she’s playing fetch or sitting on our laps, she is happy.
•  I have had the opportunity to learn so much from her, that I know no matter where life takes us, she has so much more to teach me.
•  I love Lexi no matter what, and she loves me.

Now for the ONE negative.

• The vet walked back into the room to speak to me and her first words were “How much do you like doing agility with this dog?”  I broke into tears. 

I know, I know, that doesn’t sound so bad—she’s just hurt.  But it was really upsetting for me to hear for a variety of reasons.  But I guess I should get to emotions later.  Here are the facts.

Lexi has a luxating patella on both knees.  We already knew that!  But, this vet seemed to think it was the cause of the problems.  She took x-rays, and stated that her leg looks perfect (no bowing to compensate, no abnormalities, etc…) “except for when it doesn’t” as she said.  Basically, when it pops out, it’s all wrong.  But when it’s in, no problems.

Unfortunately for Lexi, her patellas luxate both ways.  Apparently it’s very abnormal for the patella to be able to be luxated both medially and laterally (in and out) and that makes surgery a lot more complicated.  I guess when they do surgery they build up one side to make it so that the patellar tendon does not want to move one way, and therefore just stays in place.  So the surgery is complicated, and is more of an “art” as described by the vet (ack! Scary!)

And now to the emotion part of the post.  We don’t know how serious it is.  The vet suspects that the other vets that saw her weren’t able to luxate it as much because Lexi was so tense.  She sedated her for a second evaluation, and still told me it felt like a Grade I.  Grade I’s typically aren’t corrected by surgery because they manifest infrequently.  (Side note:  Vet wrote “Grade II/IV” on the take home sheet, which I find confusing). 

But Lexi is an agility dog.  She may never be able to do agility again.  I know it’s selfish of me, but it absolutely broke my heart.  A week removed from the news I can talk about it without crying (ridiculous, I know), because I know that Lexi loves agility because she loves me.  She is a happy dog without agility.  But I’m sad.  And I feel like a bad person for feeling upset about her not being able to compete ever again.

The vet sent us home armed with some knowledge and a great deal of sadness.  But our homework is to observe her.  Let her be herself (craziness and all!) How often does it luxate?  What causes it?  We were to take detailed notes of any incidents.  The frequency of the incidents would help us to make a decision regarding treatment (surgery?)  But I couldn’t help but think that I don’t know what I want to do.

Jonathan and I decided that if Lexi wasn’t able to be herself—crazy, fun-loving, nothing-at-a-walk Lexi, then we would get the surgery.  I just couldn’t bear to keep her quiet and crated for her whole life.  But what if the issue only crops up when doing agility?  Am I so selfish as to put my dog under the knife, a painful surgery, through several months of rest and serious rehabilitation just for a hobby of mine?  The answer is I don’t think I would be able to.  But it breaks my heart.  And again, I feel awful about it.

So what have we observed over the past week?  She’s done a lot.  And I mean a lot.  She still does nothing at a walk.  We’ve been playing fetch with her (that includes some turns, some somersaults), letting her chase the cat and zoom around the house (which includes stopping and turning on a dime, leaping off of furniture, jumping on the cat) and do whatever she wants.  We even went hiking this weekend!  (Don’t worry—I carried her most of the time, and got a lot of grief for it from strangers.  But there were a lot of steps!)  We saw NOTHING.  Until today.  I was taking Bentley out in the front yard and Lexi ran out (naughty girl).  She went into the yard to find a place to go to the bathroom.  She was not sprinting, but she was running.  And I noticed that she was sort of skipping, and there was a definite hitch in her step.  She went to the bathroom and I called her back in.  She ran (faster than when she ran out) and the limp was gone.  She just finished tearing around the house with the cat.  I can’t figure it out.

So, we don’t really have any answers or a solution.  We have an appointment at TOPS Rehabilitation facility for September.  I am really looking forward to what they have to say, and am just trying to take everything one day at a time.

How Much Do We Love Our Dogs?

I came home to find that my husband had taken our bed apart (a tough job--it's a big, heavy, wooden sleigh bed) so that Lexi can sleep on the bed with us and we don't have to worry about her jumping down.  He said putting her in a crate at night was "too sad"!

But no, we don't love our dogs... :)

Attitude on Injury

We've been watching a lot of the Olympics recently, and I find myself comparing it some to our agility journey (of course we're on a much smaller scale!)  Today I was watching running and heard them mention the defending Olympic gold medal winner, Lashawn Merritt.

In his qualifying heat this year he pulled his hamstring and couldn't complete the race.  The defending Olympic champion had to pull out of all of his races for these Olympics.

I couldn't help but think about Lexi and her injury.  I know, she's not an Olympian, but I've been feeling sorry for her and for myself thinking "we were going to Regionals" and "she was doing so well" and "we've been working so hard".  I've been feeling frustrated, guilty and impatient, to name a few things.

But this man, Merritt, has been working his entire life, all 26 of his years, for this Olympic moment.  And now he is injured and can't compete.  Lexi has hurt herself and may have to wait a few months before she is ready to run again.  But that's nothing!  There are Regionals next year.  But Merritt will have to wait another 4 years to the Olympics to come around again--and at that point he will be older than the majority of competitors and will have to work against what is considered an aging body for a competitive runner.

And Merritt, had this to say, "It's very disappointing.  I'll regroup.  It's not the end of the world.  The Olympics will come around again.  Next year is a world championship.  It's just a matter of getting healthy"*.

And he's right.  I'm disappointed.  But the opportunity will come around again.  Right now, it's just a matter of getting Lexi healthy.

*source

Lexi's on Lock Down

Previous set up...

Well, Lexi thought she had it bad before...
We have been keeping her in the x-pen when we're home.  But today she took off and ran across the yard (totally my fault) and immediately started limping.  It was slight, but it was a hitch for sure.  I'm so frustrated with myself.

So, sadly for her, she's on pretty much total lock down now until our next vet appointment (not for 10 days!)  We replaced the x-pen with her crate, and unless she's being held or we're taking her out, she'll be in the crate.  Unfortunately, Lexi has one speed--up up and away!  When we go to pick her up she ALWAYS jumps up to help.  It's cute and helpful when she's not hurt, when she's hurt it's hard to get her to stop.  So she's always jumping a little bit.  Also, she tends to jump and spin some in her x-pen.  Naughty girl.

She is very unhappy with us, though she has been enjoying a variety of frozen items in her Kong (banana, green beans, peanut butter, yogurt, kibble, treats, you name it).  Doesn't taste as good as freedom, though.

It's Scheduled

Well, I couldn't take it anymore.  I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with a vet at the same place where we took Lexi before.  I guess technically she's an ortho vet (not sure?) but her specialty is rehabilitation, so I think it will be helpful.  She was also recommended by a couple agility people around here, so I think that's a good start.

I would love to start Lexi on a rehab program, but I'm frustrated because we don't even have a diagnosis!  Sure, "muscle injury" but I don't even know what muscle.

I'm sure my boss is just loving all my "sorry I'm going to be out/late/leave early because of a vet appointment" excuses. 

Also, really loving the whole mashed-up-healthy-things in Kongs idea.  Yesterday both dogs enjoyed some mashed up banana and kibble in a Kong.

Went out to do some agility with Bentley and took Lexi in the yard.  She worked uber-boring things like stays, heeling, and more stays.  Speaking of which--any tips on getting her to NOT bark when she's working?  For instance, she barks when released, she barks when asked to do something (like get into the heel position).

Bentley got to run twice before our neighbors let their dogs out.  Poor guy.  Thinking of entering him in a couple events at the end of the month.  But, we have a long way to go so we'll have to play it by ear.

Musings from a sad sheltie

Jokingly, we've always said that Lexi's outlook is that she wakes up and every day is the best day of her life. It's partially true!  She's happy and enthusiastic from the minute she wakes up.

And now, I say she says every day is the worst day of her life!  She's pathetic.  She's bored, she's whiny, she barks constantly...it's terrible.  I feel awful for her, but she's also being a bit of a brat.

Before she would bark once before going outside, before getting her leash on, after being released (from a sit etc...) and now it's an onslaught of barking.  She doesn't get fed if she's barking and the other night we waited 20 minutes for her to stop barking/crying for 30 seconds!

She's still getting daily walks, but no running or playing or being on the furniture.  Because she's so excitable I can't really even work on tricks with her because she throws herself around so fast that I'm afraid she'd inadvertently hurt herself.

So, she's really miserable is the moral of the story.

She's gotten really sweet, though, when we get in the x-pen with her.  I sit with her in the x-pen several times a day and she crawls into my lap.  It's adorable! 

To catch everyone up on how she's doing, she seems fine.  Diana was nice enough to share her experience with rehab vets, and I decided that would be a good way to go.  I searched high and low and got a recommendation from two people.  And both people recommended a woman who works for the man that we took Lexi to see last week!

So, we decided that we are going to give her a month off from exercise, and then take her back in (our appointment is the first week in September).  Our appointment is with the main vet there, so hopefully he can give us some more information, and then tell us if he thinks rehab is the way to go with her.

Lexi's Injury: In Detail

Caution: This is a long, detailed post about Lexi's injury.  It's likely quite boring to everyone (including me).  I plan to use it as a reference in case it's needed in the weeks/months to come.

Does she look pathetic, or what?!

The whole story…

I want to write everything down so that in the follow up appointments (crossing my fingers that there aren’t any!) that I have a good record of exactly what happened.

Two weeks ago in class I made a poorly timed rear cross and Lexi slipped while turning to her right.  Her left rear leg went out from under her and she immediately lifted it up—non weight bearing.  I picked her up and put her in the car.  Went back to check on her a few minutes later and she set had set her foot down.  When we opened the crate she walked out—no more limping. 

We put her on crate rest for two days.  No walks, no jumping, no running.  She seemed fine (incredibly bored) so we started taking her for short walks to see how she’d do and she had no trouble.  Walks were increased, though we kept her from running, chasing or any agility for the entire week. 

The following week we took her to class and decided to see how she would do.  She was tugging like crazy (pushing off her back legs like she always does) so we decided to jump her at 12” just to keep an eye on things.  The first sequence she did great.  She was running at her usual speed, turning like normal, etc…The sequence included the dogwalk as well.  The second sequence was much more difficult.   Again, I placed a last minute rear cross (this time turning to the left) and she immediately slipped and came up lame on the same leg holding it up in the same way.  We put her right in the car (where she set the leg down) and we left.  45 minutes later we got home and she walked around outside with no more limp.

The following morning we went to see the orthopedic vet.  After the physical exam the vet found nothing.  A very slight movement in the left patella (slightly luxating) but was not able to manually displace it.  Several months ago our veterinary chiropractor remarked the same thing—that she was able to move the patella just slightly, but not much.  We then took her to a vet familiar with agility who confirmed the same sentiment—slight movement but not even a grade I.

Lexi showed no discomfort on the physical exam though she did show slight hesitation when he tried to move her patella on both knees. The vet commented that this is likely uncomfortable for all dogs, so not necessarily an important indicator.  There was also no inflammation or heat coming from anywhere.  The vet mentioned that her hocks were very stable.

He then attempted to get her to run (to try to recreate the limp to examine exactly at the time of injury) but she was too worried about the environment to run.  I was a bit surprised that she wouldn’t run for him, but he had her in the small exercise area out back with other dogs and she was more interested in sniffing the ground.  The vet student did mention that she jogged a bit and limped slightly—but the resident we spoke to did not confirm this.  He only said that they brought her back and both he and the orthopedic specialist re-examined her and found nothing.  Again, neither were able to luxate her patella at this time.

I did ask the resident if he thought it would be helpful to take an x-ray.  He said that he was happy to do it, but did not think it was necessary at this time.  He said that x-rays are more often used to confirm a diagnosis, and in Lexi’s case—there was no diagnosis other than muscle injury/soreness.  He said that an issue with the patella would be difficult to see on an x-ray because she is at rest, and based on her physical examination there is nothing wrong with her while at rest—only exercise induced (and specific exercise at that).

I specifically asked about a CCL or ACL injury and he said definitely not—that all of that was stable and good.  That’s a big relief.  I also called him back to ask if they had checked for luxation of the superficial digital flexor tendon and he said that they had.  He said that she would have shown pain or heat on manipulation in that area and she did not.  He said that it was possible that it was tendonitis of some kind, but the prescription for that would be exactly what he recommended to us at this point.

His conclusion was to recommend a month of limited exercise (walking on leash only) because she is so active.  He hopes that with a re-introduction of exercise and sport that she will be fine, but admitted that we could be seeing them again in a month for the exact same symptoms.

I honestly am at a loss.  Some people have suggested a second opinion, but honestly these are some of the leading veterinarians in the field of orthopedics (this is at Ohio State’s facility).  I am not even sure what the next step would be. 

Part of me thinks it’s something other than muscle injury/soreness.  I feel like that would present differently—possibly limping every time she is exercised.  But I also know from Bentley’s injury that that isn’t the case.  He has (had?) a confirmed muscle injury, but we only saw him limp on 2 occasions.  I guess it’s possible that the muscle could only tweak when she turns a certain way (a rear cross would indicate maybe her head is turned looking at me while her body is turning the other way, and her leg slipped causing the twinge of pain).

Another part of me thinks that the luxating patella fits.  A luxating patella fits because it’s said that it is only painful as it luxates over the bony ridge.  Once it is displaced (or replaced) it is no longer painful.  Dogs often present by immediate limping, and a low grade luxation will just pop right back into place and the dogs are good to go again, which fits 100% with her limping symptoms.  But, the fact the 4 vets could not manually luxate the patella doesn’t fit.  Even the lowest grade definition of a luxating patella reads “the kneecap can be moved out of place manually but will fall back into its natural position once the manipulator lets go”.  That doesn’t fit at all since no one can manually displace her kneecap.  And only a grade II luxating patella could potentially require surgery, and that’s defined “kneecap does not move back to its normal position when the manipulator lets go” and that definitely doesn’t fit.

I wish I had insisted that we get Lexi moving, running and turning to try to recreate the injury/limp.  Now we are sitting on a month of crate rest with no definite diagnosis.

But, I feel like right now there is no other option we can take.  I don’t think a second opinion would help, and we’re already seeing the best vets around (and several of them, at that!)  We have a re-check scheduled for the first week in September.  I’m hoping that that will give us one week to get her back into exercising and we can see if there’s any residual limp or any issues.  If not, we’ll cancel the appointment.  If so, we’re back to square one which means x-rays, possibly MRI, and any other diagnostic test we can think of.

Sad, Disappointed and Frustrated

Lexi is hurt. I'm afraid it's something serious (remind me not to do internet research--I assume the worst).

I'm calling the orthopedic vet this morning, but it could be a while before we get an appointment.

Anyways, I'm borderline too upset to even talk about it.

We're Getting There! (Bentley's Recovery)

Bentley has now been on a restricted exercise regimen for 7 weeks.  The vet recommended 6, but we are trying to be very careful.  He has been able to be walked, and in the past week or so we've increased the length and intensity of his walks knowing that that was the first step to rehabbing him back to agility.

It's so hard to say if he is "ready"--though he certainly thinks he is!  But we haven't seen any signs of soreness or limping since the trial the first weekend in June, and his vet appointment where he showed some soreness was 3 weeks ago.  Since this weekend we've been jogging for 15-30 seconds at the end of his walks and gauging his body language.  He really is loving it and again, no signs of soreness or stiffness.

Last night we decided to take it to the next level.  He's been allowed to chase Lexi and Bimmer around the house for a few seconds here and there, and that combined with the running in the evenings, I wanted to get him in the yard to do some agility-like exercises.  I took all the bars out, and just did some easy handling to the tunnel.  He was in HEAVEN!  I was so pleased--he was a happy boy.  I know that he can be very stoic so I am watching him like a hawk.  He is still taking a Rimadyl in the evenings, but I massaged him when we came back in and again, he seemed fine.

I am so happy to see him out and running again. I really hope that this is the end of his muscle issue, but only time will tell.  We're going to keep going with the light running/swimming plan.   Tonight we're going to take him to class and let him run (no bars) in between classes to see how he holds up.  Hopefully our trainer can take a look at him and see what she thinks--I'm crossing my fingers!

Bentley Update--And Boredom

 There has been a lot of this going on these days....

Lian (over at Knights Shelties--check them out!) asked me how Bentley is doing, and I do owe a quick update.  We kept him on crate rest (with just a few walks here and there--no jumping or running) for 10-14 days.  Obviously no sign of pain or limping because we weren't letting him do anything. 

Then we started working on strengthening--increasing walks (still short, though), and some ball work.  We also worked some hind end awareness in small bursts.  He showed no signs of pain, stiffness, etc...After increasing his walks and strengthening, we decided to put him in an agility-like environment.  Jonathan set up a jump box (no bars) and asked him to run and make some turns.  Again, no signs of any issues (except maybe him being a bit over-enthusiastic!).

We have still been holding him out of strenuous activities like running, chasing, etc...much to his chagrin.

This past weekend we decided to put the bars up to 8" for him and try doing something where he picked up a little more speed.  We set up two jumps to a tunnel, and then two jumps out.  I watched my husband run him and felt that he was jumping funny.  I can't decide if it's all in my head (maybe he was just jumping low/hopping over the bar because it was SO low), or if something is wrong.  So, he's back to crate rest and no fun.  We still have an appointment with the orthopedic vet on Monday, so hopefully he can help us figure it out one way or another.

I really hope that it's all in my head and that he will be cleared (entirely plausible as I'm a bit of a worrier!).  I'm worried about him!

Of course, we've been hit with the nationwide heat wave, and so both dogs have basically been confined inside all week.  They are not pleased, and the amount of boredom barking has increased tremendously!  I'm hoping we can get Lexi back to the beach tomorrow to burn off some energy.

Bentley's Bored

As I mentioned in my last post, Bentley was limping last Saturday (just once) before our second run.  I've been concerned all along that there is something going on, so we took him to our vet to see what he thought. The vet did a snap test (for Lyme, etc...), and then took x-rays.  Nothing showed up.  The only thing the vet noticed was that Bentley resisted (just the slightest bit) when he extended his hips.  I asked the vet about iliopsoas, and he seemed to brush it off.  The vet said that we should just try to take it easy for a bit, but he felt it was just a little muscle soreness.

I got home, and started to worry.  What if it is more than that?  I have really been looking forward to showing at USDAA Regionals this year, and both our dogs have byes to the second round of Grand Prix.  I don't want to hurt him by asking him to run if it's something more serious.  I have a vet friend who told me that many general vets don't know much about iliopsoas, and I know a few people whose dogs have this issue.  I know it's a long and difficult rehab process, and I want to get started doing the right things if that is what it is.

Of course the only symptoms we have is his ONE incidence of limping, and his slight resistance to hip extension.  It honestly could be nothing.  But it could be something.  So, we got a recommendation from a friend for an orthopedic vet and will make an appointment for as soon as possible (though he has a long waiting period) and our trainer volunteered to take Bentley to see her vet/dog chiro. friend for a second opinion.  She is more familiar with agility-related injuries.  We can always cancel the appointment with the orthopedic vet if we want.

All that to say that Bentley has been very bored as he is on crate rest.  We put him in an ex-pen in the evenings and he is not a fan!

We gave him his early birthday present (his birthday is in July) to keep him busy.  Here both he and Lexi are working at the Nina Ottosson Magic toy for the first time.