Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Marge says, no more lounging around in the back yard! My leg feels fine and I want to run.

The support you all have sent Marge and me the past week has been unbelievable. Giving me hints, sharing experiences, wishing us well and telling me not to worry.. it has all helped a lot! I just wanted to let each and every one of you know how appreciative I am.

I wanted to also take this post to ask you for your blog address, if you'd like to share it and don't think I have it. There are a few people who leave comments here that I cannot find a blog link for. I'd like to reciprocate and get to know you as you have gotten to know me, so please, do not hesitate! I will have more time to visit blogs as the school year winds down, so I'm always ready to make new friends.

Marge went on a nice walk today out in the field with my sister and me. It was about 45 minutes of mostly slow strolling. A park ranger was out with his horse, so that's what ultimately kept me out there longer than I intended to be. As usual, I can't help but catch a glimpse of those lovely creatures any chance I get. Marge was very interested in the horse as he walked by us, and her leg seems to have held up just fine after the exercise.

Ants in Her Pants

I think Marge is starting to feel better. We walked for twenty minutes this afternoon in the field at a brisk pace, and she's dying for more. Our rally practice in my living room was halted for a second while she attempted to chase the cat and then run zoomies. I called her back to me, but this looks like a good sign.

I still feel like she is leaning some of the weight on to the other leg, but she's doing it less frequently and less severely. She's starting to get back to her usual antics, like jumping on the front door as she hears me coming in - a bad habit, but at least I know she's feeling better - and coming over to pester me to do something with her.

Here is a short clip of her walking out in the field this afternoon. She's not fully extending on the trot, but she's also restricted by a 6' leash. I reviewed a video from last Wednesday (presumably the day after she got hurt) when she was on her 20' line and she WAS fully extending on both legs. I'm not sure what you can discern from it, but I figured I'd post it anyway.

She's still getting the Rimadyl; the vet said to give it until I run out, so that's what I'll do. I iced the inside of her thigh a couple of times for about five minutes each time; I don't know if that's enough to help anything, but I don't think either of us has patience for much more time than that.

On Monday, during Marge's massage, my instructor said she'd like to do a lesson with me next week. I'm not sure what to do. Like I said, she doesn't think this whole thing is really an issue, and also said Marge wouldn't really need another massage so soon. I'm thinking of splitting the time half and half. Assuming we're going to the trial, there is one thing I'd really like to do between now and next Friday, and that is work contacts. Everything else is solid at this point. So, if Marge is fine on Monday (which, at this rate, it looks like she will be) I'm thinking about doing 15 minutes of agility (just for the contacts -- maybe skip the A-Frame) and 15 minutes of massage (maybe just for the legs). How does that sound? Is it too soon to get active again?

Rubdown

Marge got her very first massage from Marisa today.

Before she started, I asked her to watch as I gaited Marge around the room to see if she saw anything. She could just barely tell that it was the right hind that was off. When I stood Marge in place, she could tell that she wasn't putting all of the weight on to that leg.

She's actually not doing it that badly in this picture, but you can *just* see how the left hind is planted to the ground slightly more than the right. Sometimes it is more extreme, other times, she looks normal.

Any way, massage commenced. It was about a half hour long - didn't want to over do it for the first time. Marge was actually pretty good about it - she didn't want to lay down (which is supposed to be the best way to do it), but got her neck, triceps, back and hind legs done. Marisa said Marge was tight in her neck and back, and that it was possible that a pull in those places (especially the back) could trickle down into the leg, causing the problem. Then, she got to the rear hind leg, though - and almost immediately said that Marge's hip flexor was somewhat inflamed.

After reading some (which I know I shouldn't do - the internet can make you panic), I understand this to be a group of muscles. I suppose she was just simplifying for me, which something I need - I know next to nothing about this stuff! The vet didn't feel it as clearly because she didn't manipulate the muscle like a massage therapist would, she explained. In any event, she wasn't overly concerned - she said Marge would definitely be up and running by the trial. She told me to keep giving the Rimadyl and maybe occasionally hold ice to it.

I'm happy that she doesn't think this is anything severe, but I'm also worried about rushing back too soon. The trial is Friday, April 2nd; I guess I will just play things by ear.

(Just got my tentative schedule for the trial, too. Novice JWW runs at 9 AM, before Standard, which I am super happy about since the judge is more inconspicuous in Jumpers. Standard runs about 4 hours later, though. That's a lot of waiting around. Let's see if we even get there.)

The Great Unknown (A Leg Update)

I am completely exhausted, but I figured I should at least pop in here with a quick update.

We went to the vet this afternoon around 2. She examined Marge's rear hind leg and performed a whole bunch of range of motion tests. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anything definitively wrong. She said Marge wasn't "giving up" to her the exact location of the pain. She said she had great range of motion, great conformation, and great muscle tone.

In summary, she said it's probably more of a joint issue than a muscle pull. But, she said she highly doubts the presence of hip dysplasia - so I guess some higher power was watching out for us on that one. She said nothing is torn or anything like that. Her best guess was that Marge landed awkwardly while running around on the beach and injured the soft tissue around her hip. She did not think that radiographs would be conclusive at this point.

She is going to take Rimadyl, 37.5 mg (half a pill) twice a day. She will be on a restricted exercise regimen for at least a week or so (no running/jumping, but walks are OK). I'm going to talk to the vet again a week from Monday and let her know how she is. The trial is not completely ruled out - the vet seemed optimistic - but I'd rather be safe than sorry.. so if I have any doubt, we'll just skip it.

Marge is acting pretty much normal. She's visibly holding more weight on the opposite hind foot, and I do notice a slight gimp in her step. But, she's really not all that "off." She's still trying to run and jump like normal, and she makes the stairs as quickly as ever (I'm trying to limit it, though).

I guess it's not the worst outcome in the world, but I can't help but feel that it's not the best, either. I hate the uncertainty of it.

Once again, I've fallen pitifully behind on blogging. Give me a reprieve this weekend, and I'll be back up and running like usual soon. I have spent a lot of mental energy worrying about this whole thing. Thank you so much for your support.

Bum Leg

How horribly ironic that I just posted a couple of days ago about doing more stretching and conditioning with Marge so as to thwart injury.

The last couple of days, Marge looked stiff when she got up after sleeping a while. I wasn't completely sure, but she seemed to favor her right hind just a tiny bit for the first few steps. Yet, her gait looked fine, and the walk we went on yesterday went fine as well. I even took some video today out in the field and was going to post it, since I couldn't find anything wrong with the way she was moving.

Today, I thought I saw her shifting her weight from the right hind to the left hind. Again, I wasn't sure if I was turning something into nothing... as I told my friend Roxanne, who so graciously gave me her thoughts about the whole thing (she's got a dog with bad knees, Ginko), if you're looking for something to be wrong, you're bound to find something wrong. So, I stopped worrying about it for the evening and decided to see what tomorrow will bring.

Just now, however, things got a little worse. I was sitting, playing with Marge on the floor, and I guess somehow her back leg hit into my body, maybe at an awkward angle. Then, she really started limping, and held her foot in the air for a couple of seconds. Once again, the limp subsided, and her movement was normal or close to it, but now I knew for sure that I saw something. I sent her directly to lay down.

The only possible cause I can think of is her zoomy burst on the beach on Tuesday. She hasn't done agility or anything like that lately.

I guess it's time for the vet. I originally thought this may be a joint issue, since she worked out of it so quickly, but now I'm not so sure. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but I have a feeling a trip to the doctor is in our schedule.

I really hope what ever this is isn't severe. True to my nature as a worrier, some scary thoughts are brewing inside my head. Send your good thoughts our way, please.

Shoreside

My sister, Marge and I have gone on some picturesque walks this week. It's amazing that the days after such a strong storm could feature such perfect weather.

Our destination? The beach! We were so happy to see that our favorite stretch of beach was void of off leash dogs that could potentially cause a problem. The sand and balmy breeze beckoned to us, Marge included.

She eagerly posed atop a piece of cement, ruins from the buildings that used to stand at the shore. When the tide is high, some of these ruins are completely immersed in water. This makes me think that the water didn't always come up as high as it does now. The storm surges over the weekend exposed even more ruins that had previously been buried under sand dunes and beach grass. There is a lot of history hidden at this beach.

We moved on to a totally desolate area. Marge announced her presence to any passers-by who might have come along after us. Can you read what she wrote?

She had a burst of zoomies a few minutes later, and shot a million-dollar smile in my direction as my sister snapped a photo. She was having a grand time. Seeing this blissful expression on her face is one of the best things in the world.

Before we left, I had Marge pose in the middle of the huge sand wall that stands at the back of our beach. It isn't typically this vertical, but the storm took a chunk out of it. From the looks of it, the water from the ocean came up really high. There is sand - and lots of it - on the dead-end street adjacent to the beach as well. Kind of scary - I don't know how well the area will fare the next time a big storm hits.

Today, we went on almost an identical walk, but the camera was dead. Two hour-long walks on back-to-back days is something that doesn't happen often around here. And, I'm happy to report that they both went really well. It's nice to see my special girl enjoying the spring weather as much as everyone else is. We humans had a good time, too.

Tuesday Training 30

It's really hard to believe, but our first AKC trial looms exactly two weeks from this Friday. I feel like I sent in my entry years ago; it almost felt like the day would never actually come. Even now, April seems so far away, when, in reality, it's right around the corner.

As I mentioned yesterday, yet another private lesson was cancelled. That's two weeks in a row without any "real" agility. I shouldn't worry too much, since we got rained out a few times before our NADAC trial last November, and it didn't present any problems at the trial. Maybe, just maybe, she'll be so excited to do agility at the trial that she'll pay perfect attention, and we'll Q as long as I don't screw up. Ya never know.

In the mean time, I am trying to get Marge physically ready for this trial and the trial season.

• I'm trying to amp up the number of walks. I'm shooting for at least three walks a day, an hour of walking total. I wish I could take her on one long walk, but, unfortunately, the longer Marge is out, the less enthusiastic she is about walking and the more she worries about the world around her. So, usually our walks are 20-30 minutes long. It's also important to mention that Marge is on her long leash for a fair number of these walks, so she gets more exercise than if she was simply walking next to me. If I can get out for a couple of long hikes between now and the trial, I'll be happy.
• I'm beginning to stretch Marge before practice and make sure she runs around a little bit to loosen up. I think I'm going to ask my trainer if there's anything in particular that I should be doing. I do simple stuff, since she isn't exactly 100% comfortable with being manipulated - having her hold a play bow, luring her to stretch her neck from side to side, helping her stretch out her back by holding her back legs (she LOVES this), turning her in circles. Maybe I'll post a video some time of the things that I do. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

The one thing that scares me about agility is the possibility of injury. Living with a fearful and HURT dog is something I don't want to have to experience. So, I hope that taking these measures will reduce the chance of that happening.

One other thing I need to get working on is getting Marge a new collar. I'm totally thrilled with the fact that AKC allows collars in the ring, so I want to get Marge a buckle collar with her name and my phone number on it to be her official trial collar. This site says they ship the order out within a couple of days, so if I order tonight, maybe I'll get it on time.

We've worked on the wicket a few times - Marisa insists that I will be able to feed Marge while she is being measured, and, since both of the judges at this trial are women, I'm really hoping that this won't be a huge issue. I am off from school the week before the trial, so, if possible, I'll schedule some time to go down to the hall to work on this.

The only thing left is the actual agility. Hopefully, the training building will be repaired enough by this weekend to allow for another lesson with Marisa. I want to run a standard course, since it feels like a really long time since we've worked on anything that wasn't like a drill. I also hope to drop in to class two weeks in a row, so that should get Marge back into the swing of waiting for her turn to run, being around other dogs, and all that lovely stuff. In a couple of weeks (after the trial, unfortunately), we'll be back outside at the agility field. I am so excited for that.

My plan is not to focus so much on any one event alone, but to see how things go as the season progresses. It remains to be seen how much I keep to that plan, but, trying is the first step, I think.