I'm ok!

I just came back from seeing Dr. Jan at her house again - she was nice enough to re-examine me to see if my back pain was gone. Well, she said I feel much better! She checked my spine and my knees again. She pushed on exactly the same spot along my lower back that last time brought me to my knees but not today. So she says I am good to go back to my usual routine but that mom should ease me into the agility stuff. Fine by us! We have a whole week to go until our class starts again so we have plenty of time to go slow. The real test will be when I try a spread jump for the first time. We won't do that until next week at least and maybe not even then. Luckily at class we can do as little or as much as we think I can.

Now all I need is for mom to stop worrying! She has been a mess! And even now that she got the good news about me, she is still having trouble letting go of the worry and believing that I am ok. She hasn't been able to keep her mind on doing fun stuff with me - no trick-training, no training challenges, no blog posts. She has been either at work or at home obsessing and worrying about me. I am hoping that she feels better about things soon and that we can get back to having some fun!!

Gotta zoom (apparently I am finally legally allowed to)!

Ricky

Training Challenge #9 (hard to really call this a training challenge but we're going to instead of just not posting one this week)

Many of you have already been faced with this training challenge or are also facing it right now the same as us. The challenge - no training! And dealing with baby gates and stairs! LOL! We live in a split level house - it's upstairs to the bedrooms and downstairs to the lower level, the garage and the backyard. I usually go up and down these stairs 500 million times a day. Since I am not allowed to do stairs for 14 days (10 more to go - we started counting over when I got the Deramaxx), mom carries me up and down and up and down while moving the baby gates from top to bottom and back.

The no training part of the challenge is really difficult for us! We miss it so much! I jumped my last jump a week ago. (I feel for all of you who have been in rehab for so long - like Miley). We try to work on tricks, etc. but it's hard to keep me from boinging (reminds me of Oreo when he was going through his 3+ months of rest and rehab). Mom started to teach me some crate games - we don't have the official Susan Garrett DVD but we watched this video to get an idea of how to start:

We are also still working on recalls to heel on the flat but just in the house and over a very small distance. I am driving toward mom better now - of course because I am dying to do something!!

One thing is for sure - this week's training challenge definitely meets the criteria of "out of our comfort zone"!

Gotta zoom (I wish)!

Ricky

What my vet said

I got to see my real vet (Dr. Jan) this afternoon at her house! Dr. Jan hasn't been my vet for about a year because she had neck surgery and is recovering but couldn't practice. She is not really back to work yet but she is so nice and said she would examine me at her house for free! You all probably don't remember but I like her a lot!

Any way, she watched me walk and checked my neck, my spine, my feet, my knees and my hips. From what she could feel she thinks I have some inflammation in my back - in my spine sort of just above my hips (maybe around L-3 and it's mostly on the right side of my spine). That is the only place that she thought I was kind of ouchy. She does say that my right anterior cruciate is a little weaker than my left but she doesn't think there is a problem there. That's good news! She thinks the twitchy-ness of that right leg could be the pain in the nerve radiating down my leg.

So just like Diana suggested, I am officially on two weeks of rest. No jumping and no stairs. I can still go on walks and even run just a little bit. I am going to take deramaxx for a week too for the inflammation. Then after two weeks we gradually get back to my normal stuff - adding low jumps and progressing to the spread jumps eventually. If I am still not better by then, we have to do x-rays, etc. Of course we are so hoping that rest and the anti-inflammatory will do the trick!

Gotta zoom (well, not really)!

Ricky

tRicky T-Day!

I know we usually do our tRicky T-Day on Thursdays but mom said she would be too busy to help me this Thursday so we had better do it today! We put together a little video showing you my limited progress with retrieving the dumbbell. I am going to get it and bringing it about half-way back but seem to be like those people who can't walk and chew gum at the same time! I can't hold it and walk at the same time! LOL! Forget about holding it and sitting. Mom has tried to get me to do that and I can't! Any advice?

My leg is the same we think. I am not allowed to jump or do stairs (mom has been carrying me up and down most of the time but it's pretty difficult in a tri-level house - stairs to go to bed and the computer room, stairs to the kitchen, stairs to go outside). I am still going on walks and doing some very minimal playing (no jumping). Diana suggested heat 3 times a day so we are doing that. We contacted my vet but haven't seen her for an exam yet. We're hoping for that soon - she said she would have to see me to get a better idea if it is knee, hip, back, or leg. One thing mom realized is that for a long time now when she brushes me, I twitch that right leg and pull it up closer to my body. She thought I was being a weirdo and never dreamed that I could be injured. Until I stopped jumping the other day, that is the only sign I ever gave her of anything being wrong and she didn't really see it. It hasn't been too bad to rest the past two days because it has been raining here. It will be harder when the weather gets nicer again.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Training Challenge #8

We got home from cousin Wilson's house around lunchtime and after lunch we did my training challenge for this week. Nothing too strenuous or demanding today but something that mom does not do enough of - she and I walked my neighborhood walk with dad! I bet you can't believe this is a challenge but it is! I behave totally differently when I do stuff with mom and dad together. Dad's presence gets me really excited so it's harder for me to control myself. We hadn't even tried to walk all together for months and months. I am happy to say I did a good job today! One time I spun once (but did not bark) when a car went by and other than that, I sat and watched each car and then looked to mom for a treat just like I do when it is only me and mom. We all felt good about the challenge and are planning to try it again soon.

I am taking a break from agility for awhile and resting my right back leg. Mom got some conflicting advice over the weekend that upset her but now we have a plan (thanks to Diana who is so good at analyzing video and seeing what is happening) and we're going to rest and see if I get better. Mom is not going to panic or anything. The only thing I seem to be having any trouble doing is pushing off my hind legs to jump - I am acting completely normal where everything else is concerned - so if it is a tight muscle in my thigh then not jumping and using some heat and resting should help. Paws/fingers crossed. I guess it is lucky we have the three-week break from class and if I need to miss the trial on this Sunday, I will. We will wait and see how I am this week. Thank you for everyone's concerned comments from yesterday! We truly appreciate you all!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

tRicky T-Day!

Yesterday was my 3rd Gotcha Day - the third anniversary of the day I came home to live with my mom and dad! Hard to believe it's already been three years!

Today's tRicky T-Day trick is cop cop backwards. I have been able to do it forwards for awhile but couldn't get the hang of going backwards until recently. It is really difficult to move only your back feet when you are used to using all four feet! Last Saturday, this was one of the tricks I couldn't do at all and what made mom realize that I must've been hurt with the disastrous dogwalk last Thursday. It has been a week now and in the video, I seem to not put my full weight on my left front leg. What we aren't sure about is if I tend to be like that any way (is it normal for me?). All this careful scrutinizing of my every move is confusing! Any way, kikopup just made a great video on how to teach cop cop - we didn't use her method but it looks awesome!

Here's my video:

I have been doing most of my regular activities - walks, running after squirrels in the backyard, etc. and have not limped at all but there is still the issue of me putting all my weight on that left leg. Yesterday we went to open agility practice and just did the chute - which I easily sailed through each and every time, of course! We are probably pulling out of the trial on Saturday just to be safe. My new class with Jenn starts Monday and we really want to be able to go and participate in that (the good part of class is it is less rigorous than a trial and if mom doesn't want to, she doesn't have to have me do the aframe, for instance). Maybe this weekend we can try a couple jumps and see if it bothers me - believe me - I have been doing plenty of "boinging" (like my friend Oreo does) on my own! You would think jumping would not be an issue!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Spring Walk in the Park

We're having yet another gorgeous day here! High temperatures are 20 degrees above normal for this time of year. The warm weather has really brought out the flowers and flowering trees and greened up the grass. Dad even had to mow yesterday!

I'm still not feeling 100%, I think. Mom and I went to my favorite park for a walk today and I did ok - I mean no limping - but towards the end of the walk I got tired. Maybe it was the heat? Mom still keeps looking at me and wondering if I am putting all of my weight on my left leg. But I am running and playing like normal for the most part. Oh, I almost forgot - Dawn had asked me if we are still working on my emergency whistle recall - yes, we are but probably not as often as we should. Mom surprised me with it twice today and I went immediately to her. Actually the huge rate of reinforcement has strengthened my everyday recall too!

Beautiful magnolia:

Dutchman's Breeches:
This yellow flower is all over the park at this time of year. You might think it's dandelion but
it's really a wildflower called lesser celandine:
Taking a break (actually not yet - I am posing - when we take a break I lie down under the bench on the cool ground):

Still undecided about my trial on Saturday - guess time will tell.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Update - definitely not worse

Sorry for not updating everyone yesterday but there isn't much to report. I had a good time at grandma and grandpa's for Easter even though I didn't get to run with Wilson. It was a beautiful day and I sat outside with everyone for a lot of the time and walked around the big yard on leash. We did an Easter egg hunt for the kids and Wilson and I got to share some hard-boiled egg - YUM!

This morning mom and I tried some tricks - I did "feet" (jump up on mom with my front feet), cop cop (stand on mom's feet and walk), elephant, turn right, left, bow, crawl.....mom didn't notice any problems with the tricks I couldn't do a few days ago. I am still not begging to tug though. So we're going to try to have a normal day - I can run if I want to and go up and down stairs on my own - and we'll wait and see if I show any signs of being hurt. No agility yet - mom is afraid to try - and we're still not sure about the trial on Saturday.

Thank you to everyone for all your supportive comments! We weren't even going to blog about all this, but we needed your input! So thank you so much!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

I'm limping!

Something happened to me maybe when I went outside after lunch. There is a lot of ice and hard frozen snow and I may have slipped. Mom noticed me limping - not putting weight on my right front foot/leg. Mom called my vet and she said I need crate rest and for mom to give me a low-dose aspirin and take me out to potty on a leash and then see if I am better tomorrow morning. Mom is really upset , I can tell. Right now I am being very quiet.........unusual for me.

So no agility practice tomorrow morning and maybe no trial either? Guess we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully this is nothing serious!

Gotta rest,

Ricky