having heaps of fun on a hot morning

So, it's still hot in Melbourne. But that doesn't mean Penny can't have fun, as long as we go out early.
The shadows are long and the grass is burnt brown, but there are still patches of green to investigate. I wonder why this nice-smelling spot is green?

We hurry along to the swimming spot and Penny fetches her Whirl Wheels. The river's brown, but here's hoping it's not polluted. (The Yarra is always brown; that's why some people call it the upside-down river.)

But wait! Someone's coming. Penny is aware of the newcomers before her human notices.

So now she's not going to swim. She will sit at the top of the embankment and guard her toys.

But that doesn't mean the others can't have fun.

 We went for a walk and Penny raced around on the grass chasing her toys - who'd have thought, all those years ago when she had her cruciate repaired, that one day she'd be running free once again?

Then we headed back for a last swim. A lovely morning that her human would have spent lazing in bed if she didn't have a dog to get her out on a hot summer's morning.

Thank Dog for dogs!

Penny might be limping

Once again, we're wondering whether Penny is limping.

Because of the hot weather, we have taken shorter walks lately, which could be a good chance for Penny to rest a sore limb.

When I went out with her yesterday, I think I finally established that she is nodding her head as she steps on her left front leg, which would mean the pain is in the right front leg, according to this site.

Usually a dog will come down heavier on his healthy limb and avoid putting substantial weight on the limb that is bothering him. You can identify this by observing your dog's head when he walks. The comfortable limb will be placed on the ground and his head will go down at the same time. His head will tend to come up when the uncomfortable limb is on the ground.

She'll go to one of our favourite swimming spots, today, because in the water she can exercise without stressing a sore limb.  

When she comes home, we'll examine her nails and see if they are longer on one leg, because on this site I read:

Pets with rear leg pain often cary those legs father forward than normal and their hip on the affected side a bit higher. Pets with front led pain are often reluctant to move. When pets favor a leg over time, the toenails on that limb tend to be longer than on the others. That may be enough to identify the limb that is causing its abnormal walk.

Penny is still keen to go for walks and hurries in and out to the backyard when we go outside. She's been chasing toys in the park eagerly for the last few months, a practice we cut back after her surgery for a cruciate tear four years ago. (We throw the toy only a short distance, and along the ground, so that she runs straight with no swerving or sudden stops.)

She's been taking daily doses of Glyde joint supplement for eight years, so here's hoping the limp is only a temporary problem. A friend suggested that sometimes it's a good idea to give a dog a course of pain relief for a week and see if her behaviour changes. If the limp doesn't go away, we'll go to the vet and discuss options.

our new Safe Stix

At last the Safe Stix is available here! After I received an email newsletter from our favorite shop, Murphys in Hawthorn, saying they'd imported it, I called over there to get one.

I was excited, but Penny wasn't. She was more interested in the view of our rainy street.

Until we played tug with it,

 


and Penny gave it a good shaking.

 

 Now I've put it away, having piqued her interest. Next time we go out we'll try it as a throwing toy (though we have to be super careful with that, seeing she's had her cruciate repaired); and, best of all, as a floating toy.

wheelchair for dogs

I received an email today from Dr. James St. Clair, whose booklet about home therapy after cruciate surgery was a wonderful resource when Penny had her cruciate repair.

He included a link to this YouTube clip showing a wheelchair for dogs with crippled hind legs. I was amazed to see the dog running around, climbing down stairs, and even lying down while still in the apparatus.

day sixteen after extracapsular cruciate repair

Day sixteen and Penny seems to be feeling well. These mornings we go out to the backyard, because I got s-o-o tired of standing out in the street waiting for her to wee or poo. The final straw was the day my neighbor stopped her car to talk to me and Penny tried to jump up to say hello and while I was holding her down, the youngsters across the road passed by with their four dogs, and then in the middle of it all an off-lead dog raced by. Penny was going ballistic and I grabbed her up in my arms and carried her inside and put her in her crate.

I guess it was then that inspiration struck and I realised I could put a ramp down on the side steps at the back if I took away one of the planks from our front ramp and added it to the remaining spare plank that was lying around the garden.

This was one of the few occasions where I felt like leaving it to someone else to follow up on the loose dog that had raced past. I'm pleased to say I didn't do that. I took Penny's lead and went up and down the street to look for the dog. But I didn't find it and I haven't heard anything about a lost dog.

The move to our own backyard is very pleasant and now Penny relieves herself regularly in the mornings (number one and number two, to put it delicately, lol).

We visited the vet yesterday and he said Penny is going well with her recovery, bearing weight on the operated leg. Today I even reduced the Metacam dose to see whether she continues to use the leg, and I think she is okay. I'd like to get her off it as soon as possible, but the vet says the pain relief it brings will enable her to use her leg more confidently and thus heal more fully.

It's tempting to allow her to do more, but, thanks to the internet, I have plenty of anecdotal evidence about how important it is to take things slowly.