Week Seven Post Op

April 28 Rock and Roll!

Buddy and therapist, Mary, practice balance and stretching with the exercise ball. His range of motion has improved quite a bit, but he still does not trust his hind legs for weight bearing. Rocking the ball gets his front legs off the ground and forces him to stand on his back legs. He went into the swimming pool again and demonstrated that he is missing that particular "water dog" Lab gene. Once in, however, he moved his legs and even swam a bit on his own toward the temptation of a treat.

At home, he is more and more active, spending lots of time outside and running and playing with Princess. He still chooses to come up the ramp into the house and needs it for in and out of the car. He is standing on command now, and stretching his legs by himself. The little ten-year old neighbor commented, "Buddy seems happier now." I agree!

He seems to have reached a bit of a plateau in his progress at the end of the 7th week post op. We will take a therapy break next week and have a visit with the vet surgeon on March 8th for a full professional progress report and assessment.

April 25, 2006

Jumpin’ Jack Flash! We dangled a new yummy Dent-a-Bone over his head and he actually hopped a bit on his hind legs with his front legs leaving the floor for a few seconds trying to reach it. He is trying to stretch upward for treats and you can see he wants to get up on those hind legs.

We are doing figure eights on the walks and varying the gait to let him practice adjusting his speed instead of the old full-out head forward way he used to walk. He can slow down to a snail pace now, then work up to a trot. However, when he gets excited he does bunny hop/gallop to gain speed.

He is going through morning stretches now and fully extending his hind legs. He is also using his left back leg to scratch his left ear. It appears his right ear does not itch. He does like to socialize on our walks and he has both canine and human friends along the way. Many have taken an interest in his progress. The kids seem most concerned about his hair growing back.

He has resumed the “Hole to China” Project. Although I am not fond of his digging, he does have to put weight on the backside to use his front paws so it is somewhat therapeutic! He and Princess both like to create mud wallows for lounging. Easier in Oregon than in the drought-stricken Midwest where we were living.

April 24, 2006

In the posting last week, you will see a photo of Buddy and his physical therapist Mary in the pool at Cascade Park. He is going weekly for hydrotherapy and is making good progress. Last week he was swimming and using all four legs. He likes to be supported in his midsection and then moves his legs freely. He still seems a bit doubtful of his ability when left on his own.

We are still seeing weakness in the left hind leg, a strange sitting posture, and a reluctance to put weight on the hind legs. It is clear Buddy has learned to depend on his front end and he is able to accomplish a great deal with those two legs. Some of what he is doing or not doing today is a result of habit and we are working to overcome those behaviors.

Our homework for the week includes continuing to work on stretching, especially arching his neck upward and also twisting his head back toward the rear. He is doing more leg stretching on his own and seems to enjoy the feeling. Balance is a top priority now as we teach him to maintain a sitting position with one front paw off the ground. We are teaching SHAKE for lifting the right foreleg and GIMMEE FIVE for the left. He is cooperative as he loves all the attention lavished on him. This is an exercise visitors can help with.

His shaved butt now has fuzz all over although the patch where the epidural was administered is still slow to grow. His energy and enthusiasm cannot be measured. He is so joyful and happy to be out in the nice spring weather, running with abandon and ears flying. Each day he is more self-confident and making choices on his own instead of following Princess. Most interesting is her apparent realization that he no longer needs her protection and hovering. She will come and flop on her bed in the house while he is still outside playing.

Later this year, Princess will embark on training to become a certified IACP Therapy Dog. Such training is intended for human therapy, but it occurs to me that Princess would be excellent with dogs who are recovering from surgery or suffering disabilities. She is very gentle and intuitive and has played a major role in Buddy’s recovery.