Awww ... Shelter dogs need you.

Every animal needs a home. Look at the change in these adopted sweeties. http://www.buzzfeed.com/chelseamarshall/adopt-yo-dog#.piN5EWmk9

ice cream w. dogs

 This blog has not been updated all summer. Wish i could say that Bella, Pinto and I were busy having way too much fun to worry about writing about it. But the truth is Summer was like Winter for this hooman - only warmer.

So, explores were few & walks were pretty much limited to around the neighborhood.

But, we were able to celebrate Pinto's Gotcha Day with a nice long hike in the park, a trip to Petsmart for a new toy and a stop for ice cream.

We stopped at a place close to home called Scooters. They serve a generous doggy bowl of ice cream topped w/ a milk bone. Very exciting..... for awhile anyway....

 

Pinto noticed I had something different......

And......

Bella, never the one to be wasteful, ate all of her doggy bowl. And then....

And again

*sigh*

Again an injury.

After rehabbing and strengthening Bella's left leg, she injured her right paw sometime in the fall. After nursing her paw back to health, we were ready.

In February we started agility again. What a happy pup she was to do that. This dog loves her jump.

This month she started limping on her right side & yes, another ACL injury. Partially torn? Strained? Who knows. The good thing is it was not a complete tear as evidenced  by the fact that she put her foot on the ground. However she wasn't really using the leg very well as evidenced by a large loss of muscle in her right leg. And one middle of the night she walked into the back yard very peacefully and slowly. She came back with an exaggerated limp. So, she has done deeper damage.

Therefore, her re-entry into the agility world is now over. I so wish I had asked someone to videotape one or two of her runs. She was jumping 12", 8" lower than her original height. But that is not the point. When I say that she loves her jump, I mean this dog LOVES her jump. Not only was she happy to be back at jump class, but her whole demeanor at home changed too. The sport of agility seemed to give her meaning. Bella had her wag back.

And as a side note, if you live in northeast Ohio and are thinking of giving agility a go with your dog, I suggest checking out Rob Rachow's class at canine affair training center. He has great passion for the sport & endorses positive training methods. I highly recommend him.

We have decided to rest Bella for 6 weeks before deciding whether to have the surgery done. We have read and heard good things about the supplement cosequin and have started her on that. I have also been taking her to the vet every other day for laser therapy treatment. This is supposed to help increase the blood flow to the injured area & decrease inflammation. Because she is also taking 

anti-inflammatories I don't know if the treatment is helping or not. And of course she falls asleep while receiving reiki almost every night. Maybe she would be worse without all of this? 

We desire to keep Bella comfortable through all of this. I know it's a common injury, but this is my dog. & it's a big deal to me. What I most desire is to help Bella keep her wag. Her mopiness was not my imagination. And the spark in her eye, wag in her tail and strut in her step after getting back into the ring, is proof that she needs something that is all hers.  

We have tried Rally. She is very good at it. But it bores her. Too slow. We have done CFF musical freestyle. She just thought that was weird. 

So, if anyone reads this and has any suggestions as to how to keep an energetic dog happy while convalescing, I would love to hear them. 

Waiting her turn - Mar. 2013