Well Adjusted

Since I had Sony at work with me so I could go straight to PT, I had Dr Angela check her since she has been doing alot. well the good news is her butt was in good shape and not out of alignment, however her font was a bit of a mess. Head and neck were out as well as he Elbow and even her sternum. we also took blood to check her thyroid level its been 6 mo since her last blood work.
As a result of getting straightened out she was really good at PT did her exercises really well and her treadmill was great too. Melanie let her go by herself since she is real good about it and played with water levels to make her work a bit harder. after I got home she was no more stiff than she has been which is still way better than before surgery.

it will be 10days before our next appt with Melanie since next Tuesday Sony has Appt with Ortho Dr . so guess I will need to get that pool up !!!

Judy and Sony

wacky weather

The weather here in the NE has been very odd. last Monday we barely got out of single digit temp, today its in the 60's. so off the the rail trail Sony and I went !!!
Even with the unseasonably warm weather the snow had not completely melted and there was quite a bit of ice. so we changed direction and went the other way and it was better. we did about 30 min and she is having a nice little nap right now. even tho she gets up a wee bit stiff its no where near how bad she was before surgery. when it took her quite a while to walk it off.
We visit Melanie again Tuesday night and then we are off to PA and see David next weekend. I can't wait till she can be off leash !!!!

Judy and Sony

Merry Christmas!!!

Sony and I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. also want to thank everyone for all their support as Sony works on coming back. We can't wait !!!!!

Love you All

Judy and Sony

a few pics of her at PT

"um Hello,, there is no water !!"

The Ball isn't her favorite part but she is getting good at it

nothing will keep Sony from her PT not even 12" snow

here in the NE we got about a foot of snow with more expected tom. But even still we made our way to PT today. So Long as Melanie could make it we were going. Sony did all her exercises very good. She is getting better on the ball. Melanie showed me a different way to do one of them so she doesn't cheat and she balances on the leg. the door to the Tank is clear glass and closed, when we were ready for Sony to start she tried to get in and walked into the door :) what a fruitcake. then she started barking like it was our fault. she did very well , she started to favor her leg near the end when she started to get tired. but no pain no gain. but we didn't make her go too much more. she was not very stiff when I got home. we go back tuesday night.


Judy and Sony

time to relax

since Sony had a few days of some pretty hard workouts I let her take it easy for a few days. she had some brief walks and mostly exercises. but this AM I took her out the front door for her potty since my back yard was more icy, she yanked the leash right out of my hand to chase the cat that sleeps on the bench. she didn't get to far :) thank goodness for a recall !! she is no worse for wear. She'll have a relaxing day as I have to work today. but it prob will be some time before the cat comes back !!!

Judy and the cat hunter

The BIG swim

Once every 4 weeks my office goes to a training facility and sees dogs there from 10AM to 8PM. in the same building they have a big swimming pool for rehab and fitness. I took Sony with me and she got to swim in the big pool!! she did about 15-20 min with breaks in between. she was in heaven. she was stiff later when she got out of her crate, but not for very long and a bit of a walk made her feel better. she goes back to see Melanie on Sat.







Sorry the picture is a bit blurry Cell phone isn't good at taking pics of moving targets :)

Judy and Sony

finaly some warmth

temps today are unseasonable warm and I had the day off from work, so took Sony back to the rail trail for a walk. this time I remembered my pedometer and we did 2.1 miles with a rest after the first mile. she had a blast picking up sticks are tugging on her leash. when we got back I gave some K9 Super Fuel. http://k9power.com/k9_super_fuel.php in some water she loves it. I'll let her rest for a while before I do her exercises and another walk. prob not so far. :)

OK so maybe its more like a log :)





Judy and Sony

loving the treadmill

Sony just loves the treadmill, she is getting better about doing the exercises with Melanie before now that she knows what comes next :) she did alot, 30 min 1.5 miles at a brisk walk. when I got her home she was a bit stiff out of the van but walked out of it in just a few steps. she is out of her crate most of the time now so she can walk around the house but at night and when no one is home she is crated. Tuesday she gets to swim in the big Pool!!!

Judy and the wet but happy Sony

rain rain go away

we have had 3 days of rain and it finaly took a toll on my basement. so I will have to wait to put up Sony's pool until we dry out. I am off monday from work so hopfully I can do it then.
On a good note I stopped by the office and Sony had another session of Acupuncture. its been a few weeks and although she has been doing great she had a few zingers. but after just a few minutes it settled and she was fine. we also changed her herbs, same formula just a few extra warming type herbs. we though with the cold she could use it. she gets to see Melanie again tom.

Judy and Sony

busy,busy

so the last week has been pretty busy. I was judging over the weekend and putting in a lot of hrs at work. plus another trip to PA last wed. I had David from Advanced Canine give her a massage and he was pretty impressed that her leg was almost completely healed. the best part of that visit was he said she could play TUG!!! now I have a very happy dog. David said she is about 2 weeks ahead of where she should be so that made me very happy. I am not trying to push her but I am trying to do everything I can for her and it seems to be working. Thursday I was at the office doing inventory and since we don't do appts on Thursday I brought her with me and let her walk around the office all day. Friday we did all her exercises and then I had to leave for VA to judge.
Last night she had her second session with Melanie. Now that she knows why she is there she is not too interested in the stretching and work Melanie was doing on her, she just wanted to get in the tank! she was great she did about 20 min at a fast walk and although a bit stiff last night seemed fine this AM. we go back on Sat and I should have her pool up by the weekend.

Judy and Very happy Sony

These are a few of my favorite things.........

What do you get when you cross water and one of Sony's most favorite people ?? one VERY happy Border Collie!!!! Sony started PT last night with her best Friend Melanie Behrens, and she could barely contain herself, we went over what I have been doing at home as well as more excercises I can do now. she checked her Range of motion and said it was very good. then measured her hind legs and there was quite a bit of difference, but there was a diffrence before the injury.so no real surprise there. However it will be interesting to see how she improves as she continues with her PT.

then the real fun began and Sony couldn't wait. she ran over to the underwater treadmill and stood inside waiting for the door to close and the water to fill. what a whackjob. her movement in the water was good but she was stepping a little shorter with the Left hind, again no surprise, just another thing to watch as she goes through PT. she worked about 10-12 min and actually got better as she went. stepping a bit better. after she got out she was so excited she was trying to run around like a loon but we kept her from completly blowing a gasket. all and all an excellent trip and we scheduled a bunch more over the next few weeks, I am going to get her over there as much as poss. my pool still hsn't arrived yet I will have to try and find out what happened to it.

here is Sony in her glory :)

a beautiful day in the neighborhood

it was such a beautiful day I decided to drive over to the rail trail for Sony's walk. can you say happy dog!!! she could barely contain herself but settled and we had a great walk. we walked for almost 30 min, she would have liked to keep going but didn't want to over do it. it was nice not to have to worry about cars whizzing by. Tom I am off to a trial and she can walk at the site. I am trying to walk her in as many different places to keep it more interesting. at home on the road she hates it when I turn around and head home.
Sony has an appt for underwater treadmill Tuesday at 8PM, her pool hasn't arrived yet. hopefully this week.

Judy and Sony

6 week recheck

I can't believe its been 6 weeks since Sony's surgery. it went by pretty quick. although if you ask her seems like forever :) I took her last night after work, and we met the other surgeon Dr Berzon. the techs took her in the back for x rays and then her came out and talked with me then we went to look at the Xray. gotta love Digital !!! He said he thought she was doing great, was trucking around on her leg just fine and it felt nice and tight to him. the x ray looked great too. almost completely healed and he gave her the green light to start PT. more walking, and water therapy! won't she be happy! we go back for another check in 6 weeks to see how she is doing. needles to say I am thrilled on the report and Can't wait to get started on the underwater treadmill and her pool!

Judy and Sony

fun day

Well I am finally over my cold and feeling much better. so I drove to the Springfield cluster and took Sony (and Rivet) with me. let me say how nice it was to walk her inside where it was warm!!! we got to see lots of friends some knew about her surgery and some didn't but everyone was happy to see her getting around so well. we visited our friend Mary and Sony got a massage which of course she just loved. we walked around some more watched some runs and then I let her rest in the van while I went back in to shop. I took her for a walk at the school on my way home and then did her exercises before I left to go shopping. I really thought she would be sore when I got home but she wasn't. she always seems to get out of her crate a tiny bit stiff the first few steps but then is just fine. so all and all a very good day considering how busy she was. I also ordered her pool last night and it should be here this week and maybe next week I can put it up. we almost have the area ready for it.


Judy and Sony

still cold

its still been very cold and windy. and I am just getting over my cold. I was in PA again yesterday and walked Sony there in the fields. first walk was about 20 min second almost 15. she walked just fine but today she seemed a bit stiff getting out of her crate, I figured it was because of yesterday. I left her crated most of the day so she could rest. I walked her about 3PM for 15 min and she seemed just fine. back to her self. I am going to drive up to the big Springfield show tomorrow and maybe get her another massage.

Nick's cousins were here today and so Sony got some extra attention :) :)


Judy and a very happy Sony

Brrrrrrrr its cold!!!

It was very cold today and I a fighting a cold so poor Sony only got 1 15 min walk. and to make matters worse I left her home while I went to go teach for a few hrs. but she got a nice bone and dinner and seems to have forgiven me.

the good news is she has actually trotted a few ties on our walk. she lags behind to sniff and usually when she catches up she just lifts her leg, but the last few days she put it down and was using it. not allot of weight but some and if she trots slow its even more. I am hoping the weather gets a little better so we can walk more.

Judy and Sony

weekend

This weekend I took the girls to PA for a Seminar, and on Sunday Sony got to see one of her PT's, David Acciani from Advanced Canine in NJ ,http://www.dogpt.com/ , he comes to the training building to do massages. Sony has seen him MAny times over the past year and just loves him. He is familiar with what has been going on with her all year. he said she looks great and said she could even walk up to 20 min 2x a day. He gave me some good exercises to do to help her leg and keep other leg from getting tight and sore. He explained some things about the healing process and told me there is a very good chance she could be back in the ring in April. he thought the pool I was planning to put in the basement is a great idea. all in all she was in pretty good shape and was making appropriate progress. we'll see hime again on 12/3 when I go down for a lesson with the young girls.

Judy and Sony

good morning :)

if you remember Sony was using the leg outside but not inside the house , I believe because of the slippery wood floors, well last night and this morning she has been putting it down and walking on it in the house. not bad considering yesterday was the first time for the 10 min walk .

Judy and Sony

treatment #3 and more walking!

Sony had acupuncture treatment #3 last night and although she laid there like a good girl, it took all her self control to do it. she did eventually calm down and relax the last few minutes :)
Her wish came true and today we walked for 10 min this AM, she was so happy when we passed our usual driveway I turn around at and kept going. she did just fine. I plan on doing 10 minutes for the first walk then 5 min the second walk for a few days and so long as she seems ok I will do 2 10 minute walks. I had a few people ask me what supplements she is on, this is her list:

she eats a raw diet of chicken or turkey mixed with veggies about 6 oz, usually 8-10 but I cut it back.

she is hypo thyroid so she takes a pill (Soloxine .02) for that 2x a day
trixsyn. to help the joint fluid 1/2 tsp 2 x a day
some chinese herbs I get from work that aid in healing.
and .7cc of adequan 1x a week for 4 weeks then we start spreading it out and eventually will be 1 x a month this will help the cartilage in her knee.
I have deramax and medicam to use as needed when she seems sore. currently she is not on anything daily

Judy and Sony

more walking and road trip!

Sony started walking 2x a day for 5 min each on wed , she really likes her walks and really powers off her leg, still anything more than that she pulls it up. she hasn't had any pain meds in a few days and seems to be ok. in the spring I was power walking her a few times a week for a few miles. so now when I put her harness on she wants to go go go!! doesn't want to turnaround and go back to the house :)
we also took a road trip to PA yesterday, I had Lesson with the 2 young dogs and took Sony to see some more friends. I did her second walk down there for a change of scenery. she really enjoyed it but was hard to keep her walking. so many sniffs! still she had a good time. unfortunately she is feeling a bit too good so she has been spending more time in her crate so she stays quiet. she of course thinks this just stinks ! her weight has stayed pretty good(harness still fits:) ) her appetite is good and she has no problem eating all her supplements.


Judy and Sony

treatment #2 and update

I had Sony to the Office today for her second Acupuncture treatment. she seemed to enjoy it more than the first, I don' think they tingled as much, and she even took a short nap. Angela said her knee felt very good too her.

We have been walking for 5 minutes once a day and she has been doing great, I weaned her off the daily pain meds and can use it as needed if she gets sore. tomorrow she starts walking 2x a day for 5 min each. she really loves the walks. I wish they could be longer but not yet :)

Judy and Sony

Best walk yet!

just finished taking Sony for her 5 minute walk, WHOO HOOO! was the best one so far. she did the entire 5 minutes, completly baring weight on the leg the entire time. we are now hanging out getting ready to watch the Relay and then GP finals in AZ.

Judy and Sony

walking

Sony has been doing her 5 min walks for a few days and seems to be doing well. I was using her gencon lead but she really was fighting it more than walking so I went to her harness and she seems to be doing OK, when she is outside she really uses the leg, inside she hesitates I believe because of the slippery floors inside. I think the leg feels better because she is trying to do more so she ends up spending more time in a crate staying quiet . 1 more month and we can hopefully start the underwater treadmill.

Just and Sony

Recheck with Dr Lesham

Sony had her Recheck today for suture removal with Dr Lesham, he was the primary vet that performed her surgery. He was very happy with how she looked and said I can start walking her for 5 min 1x a day for a week and then 2x for 5 min for another week, then so long as she is doing OK I should work her up to about 2 15 min walks by thanksgiving. The slower she walks the more she uses the leg, however anyone that knows Sony knows she can't do ANYTHING slow:) so I have a Gencon head collar to help keep her walking at a slow pace. I took her for her first walk today and she did just fine.



Her next recheck is the Tuesday before thanksgiving, Nov 25th. for X rays to see how she is healing. That Appt is with Dr Berzon. he is the other Surgeon that was involved with her surgery.

Judy and Sony

closer look

here is a closer look at the needles in her knee, she has some on the inside as well thats you can't see There are some at other points in her body that will help as wellas some in her back and a point in the opposite elbow, (RF) there is even apoint on the top of her head to help her relax. the needles stay in for about 10 minutes for her particular treatment, sometimes its only 5 minutes and can be upt to 30. depending on the dog and the treatment.

Acupuncture treament

Here is Sony getting her 1st Acupuncture treatment, she did real well ,they were pretty tingly but that means that they are working and she needed it. this is # 1 in a weekly series of 4 then we spread them out to every other week for a while and then 1x monthly.

for more info on Acupuncture visit http://animalhealthpractice.com/acupuncture.htm

a good weekend

Its the end of a good weekend for Sony, yesterday we just relaxed at home and she chewed on some bones. today I went to meet some Friends for agility training and took Sony along to see them too she was very happy to see everyone . they all say she looks great.

She will use the leg with almost full weight at a at walk, anything more she will hike it up and hop :). she has been on a lower dose of deramax and I think she is a little more sore but not unbearable. seems a little tougher for her to relieve herself. she is doing very well with her exercises and enjoying the massages I give her, I think she just likes the attention :) tom will be a boring day cuz I have to work, but I am hoping to be home early.




Judy and Sony

Visitor !!!!

Wednesday afternoon Sony had a visitor, her PT came by to see how she was doing. Melanie Behrens will be helping me with Sony's rehab, and was nice enough to stop by.She gave me some exercises I can do with her once she starts her walking, and a few I can do now. Melanie is one of Sony's favorite people so trying to get her to stay calm was a bit of a challenge but she did settle and let Melanie work on her. Sony continues to do well and use her leg more. She is more comfortable using it outside than inside, prob because of the footing. I will remove the staples later today and tonight I will cut her pain meds down. her next Appt with the Orthopedic is on wed AM. hopefully she can start a walking program.

Judy and Sony

Visit with Dr A

I took Sony to work with me yesterday for Dr. Angela to have a look at her, between Surgery, a bunch of X rays and hobbling around on 3 legs for a few weeks I figured she might need an adjustment. well she was quite the pretzel :) I am sure she feels much better now.
Dr A also looked at her leg and was very happy with how it looked swelling and bruising are gone, incision has no redness even tho a few staples , ahem, are missing :). she said it would be fine for me to remove the rest on Fri. She also said I should bring her to work with me next Tuesday and she will start her acupuncture treatments.
every day She tries to use the leg a little more, and put more weight on it. we decided to leave her on the current dose of deramax until the weekend then cut it in half see how she does.

Judy and Sony

from Sunday 10/19

road trip :)

I took Sony to the Agile dogs trial today so Nicole could give her a massage, I parked away from the rings, and she was great. only had her out for her massage and to potty one other time. its not easy for her to be at a trial and not run, but she really was good about it.
She really enjoyed her massage and it was good she had it her RF was getting a knot but Nicole was able to work it out. she was also tight in the middle of her back, but with hopping around on 3 legs and having surgery and X rays its not surprising. I am going to take her to work with me Tuesday and if poss have her adjusted. I think she needs it.

Judy and Sony

update 10/19

yesterday we changed Sony's pain meds. from Tramadol , to deramax. Tramadol is a narcotic, Deramax is a NSAID. she is on the max dose of deramax, for a few days then I can lower the dose a bit. she still seemed fairly comfortable. in fact this AM she tried to use the leg, while she was standing or walking very slow. any faster she pulls it up. but that's a good sign. swelling and bruising keeps going down and no sign of infection, the incision still looks good. I actually counted and she has 16 Staples on the inside of her leg. I am going to take her up to the Agile dogs trial later so my Friend Nicole can give her a massage. she loves getting a massage.

Judy and Sony

update

well its been 3 days since the surgery an 2 days home. Sony is doing very well does not seem in alot of pain and today the swelling has come down a bit. so she is actually moving the leg a bit more, trying to put it down and trying to stretch it. she has been very good about being crated. but I let her out when I can be there with her. so as I write this she is laying under the coffee table, one of her favorite places, that and the closet in my bed room :)

she has been able to go potty pretty well, she uses the ramp DJ put out for her so she didn't have to do the 2 steps out the back porch. they are fairly steep.

the vet called yesterday to see how she was doing and was happy to hear she was doing well.
I am a little depressed because normally we would be at the Kinetic Dog trial in Fair Hill MD one of my favorite trials , but I couldn't bring Sony and could not bare to leave her so we decided to stay home. I wish everyone going the best of luck. I get some more pictures up later today.

Judy and Sony

Here is Sony the day she came home, she is not happy about being crated she would much rather be on the couch with me. but she is being very good about it, I have some bones for her and some treats. I am hoping she feels better tomorrow

Judy and Sony

Home!!!

Just got back from picking up Sony from the vet. she is doing very well. does not seem in too much pain but she is on some good meds for it. and we can use cold packs to help with sweilling. she was sleeping in my car so nicely I decided to take her with me when I went to pick something up from a friend. we then stopped for ice cream on the way back. I had a crate all ready in the living room. where she can see us.

I was bad and took the E collar off her and only caught her once trying to lick the incision she stopped when I told her to and hasn't bothered it since. she is much happier now without it.

so for the rest of today and tomorrow she will go out side to potty a few times a day and then back in her crate. on Friday I can start some ROM exercises to help with the healing .


for the ROM. I can use some warmth before ROM and cold after. I have also been advised to do some massage on her to help with circulation.

so the worst part is over Now comes the hard part of recovery and rehab.

Judy and Sony (TPLO 10/14/08

Surgery is over

well I talked to the surgeon about 1PM today and he said the surgery went very well. he was pleased with it. she ended up having TPLO and when I spoke with the vet he said she was resting comfortably watching everything. I can pick her up tom AM around 10. he will send discharge instructions home with her and some pain meds. I can't wait to get her home,
DJ made a temp ramp for the 2 steps off the back porch, I will bring her new harness with me tom and put it on before I leave. I can now concentrate on her recovery and then her rehab.


Judy and Sony

leaving for the vet

its 5:30AM on tuesday and I am leaving in about 45 min to take Sony to the vet for surgery. we have to be there between 7:45 and 8:30. its almost an hr and a half drive. then go to work. hopefully I will be busy enough not to worry all day about her. I wish there was a way I could explain to her what was going to happen so she will understand whyshe has to go though all this. but I just have to try and stay calm so she doesn't get to scared.

I have to take some of her own food for her because of her allergies and her thyroid meds she needs 2x daily. she will be discharged with the big Lampshade thing but I think she will be good and I plan on taking it off when we get home tom,

I fitted the harness to her last night, its a great fit, and adjustable in so many places makes it a very custom .fit she wasn't sure what I was doing to her but I plan on picking her up with it tom, once it goes on she can wear it 24/7 until I don't think I need it for her any more. DJ is going to build a temp ramp off the back 2 steps so she only has to do the one step out the kitchen. I will bring the big crate in tom out of my car. it has a side door I think will be easier for her to get in and out of. I'll use the smaller one with a side door for the bedroom ,that one I have to get out of my van, but since I am not going to AZ I don't need it in the van.

I can't wait to get her back home

Judy and Sony

back from OH

Just got back from judging in OH, and as I figured Sony is still non weight bearing on her leg. but still a happy little camper. the harness came in the mail over the weekend, I will fit it to her tonight when I get home from work. I have to drop her off tom between 7:45 and 8:30 AM, I will pull out the bigger crates to get ready for her return wed . I am getting a little nervous she of course has no clue. but I am sure its bugging her not being able to use the leg. I am now home for the next 6 weeks until I go to PA for a seminar in Nov. she should be enough along in her recovery to travel.

Judy and Sony

another link

http://www.veterinaryspecialty.com/ACLTears.aspx

this link was sent by a friend


Judy and Sony

Thanks to my great friend in NJ I just Ordered a special harness to help get Sony around the first few weeks.

Thanks Betsi!!!!

http://www.hartmanharness.com


Judy and Sony

links for info

http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/tplo.htm this was a good site for info on TPLO

http://www.mvah.us/tibial_tuberosity_advancement_TTA_surgery.nxg this explained TTA pretty well.

If I find any more I will post

Judy and Sony

Sony's ACL tear

As many know Sony has been intermittenly off on her LH this past year. long story short, Sunday Oct 5th Sony Blew her ACL on that very leg.

We had our first Appt with the Orthopedic vet this AM and she is scheduled for Surgery next tuesday. because of her size and the bit of Arthritis she has already in the knee, ( from an injury 2 years ago) they are not sure if they will do TPLO or TTA. so there will be 2 vets doing the surgery, since the descision will be made after they take a look inside. Both technics require cutting the bone and moving it to stabalize the knee. TPLO uses a steele plate, TTA a titanium plate and wedge. i will find more info and post a link.

I decided I want to document her surgery, recovery and rehab and thought creating a blog would be a good way so anyone who would like to know how she is doing can have a look see :)

I will try my best to keep it updated. I am fairly new to this so forgive me. I will also try and post pictures and any other info I can find.

thanks for reading!

Judy and Sony