now bad footing

the last 2 trials I ran Sony at had lovely footing, however that was not the case this past weekend. although its always nice to have trials close to home ( 1 hr) the footing was very slippery. loose sand/ shredded rubber over hard packed clay. my girls slipped all weekend and even I went down at 1 point. Sony really tried her heart out and did fairly well. Sat she ran Pairs at 22" with Rivet, I ran Rivet and Nick ran Sony. other than Nick still learning how to handle discrimination's he did great and Sony ran well. I then ran her in PGP at 16 and she popped out of the poles. of course other than that she ran perfect. Nick ran her in PII std and PI snooker and Gamblers. boy is she gonna teach him a thing or 2 :) Last Class of the weekend was Masters Jumpers at 22" she dropped 2 bars 1 was the first one and she dropped the triple. but I think I pushed into her and caused it. other than that she tried real hard and jumped better. so those 3 jumper legs are Gonna have to wait until 2010. but I fell confident I will get them.

I knew Sony would need to be adjusted I even caught her pacing at one point over the weekend. so Dr A checked her after work yesterday and she was not as bad as I thought but she did a number on her mid back and had a rib out. those are very ouchy. and some on her neck nothing horrible but those ribs can pinch. poor Rivet did a number on her self as well. we have time off till Feb from trialing, we have a few seminars and more training and more getting fit for her.


Judy and Sony

awesome weekend!!

I decided to run Sony solely in Perf 16" for the tournaments, simply for the reason that Nationals will be on the east coast and Since Sony will be 8 yrs old then, I don't think she can compete against the young dogs coming up. I do think she can be competitive in the 16" perf class so that's where she is going to stay :)

that said I went to PA for tournament only trial. what a fun fun weekend we had. Sony had a great time at 16" and really did well her speed has really picked up and she looked and jumped very comfortable, she had 1 bar maybe 2 all weekend . she Qualified in PSJ and PVP 1 refusal in GP kept us from Q'ing and winning that, (still had fastest time ) but she really was just awesome to run. a few minor bobbles here and there with the big fat E in relay I think we could have won the PVP. darn ;)

we continue to work and train in a mix of 16 and 22" we are headed to a trial local and she is running with Nick. then some seminars in Jan and the next trial will be in Feb where we will run in a mix between me and Nick. still shooting for her LAA Bronze we need 3 more jumper legs.

she continues to work and get strong. I plan on scheduling some time with Melanie for the UWTM over the winter to keep her going esp when the nasty weather hits.


Judy and Sony
just needs 2 PGP to be completely Q'd for 2010:)

Love the dirt

this past weekend I ran Sony at the Y agility trial in CT was nice to fairly close to home , they had nice packed dirt that Sony just loves! I drove up sat AM but stayed in a Hotel Sat night. Sony was entered in Perf GP 16" and Masters Gamb 22" on Sat. she had an almost perfect run in Perf GP, she popped the poles 'HUH' was very odd for her. she ran the rest perfect and fast. masters Gamb went quite late and although she seemed a bit stiff it was nothing like when she was at Fair hill. she walked out of it pretty quick. I did a few warm up jumps and she seemed OK. fortunately my plan didn't have alot of jumps. 2 contacts 2 tunnels and 2 WP. she did the opening well but now she really could not Weave. she was skipping all through all 12 could not get them. a few people said later how crappy they were but this is Sony, she can weave through anything and has. so I am a little concerned. she did get the Gamble but with out the WP not enough opening points. bummer. I went over her later and remembering that David said her abductor was sore I tried to work on it and she didn't like it. I gave her and NSAID that night and some herbs.
The next day I took one look at Masters Std and decided that since she wasn't comfortable in the WP and the course was very jerky and tight I scratched her. and give jumpers a try. she seemed just fine at the warm up jump and did great through most of the course, but I got lost, and caused a refusal and a bar. she had another bar, I think the very next one but not sure. she left all the spreads up and felt very good running.

I am glad she has 3 weeks to rest, before the next trial and that one she is at 16" I am giving her the NSAID for a few days to help with any inflammation and the herbs for a week maybe 2. I will discuss that more with Dr Angela tom. so rest for now.

Judy and Sony

Fun in the mudd!!!

as I had mentioned earlier Sony was on a CH team last weekend at Fair Hill. she did well despite the fact that it rained all weekend. fri was OK but Sat was a mess. My teamates and I decided not to scratch but to at least start running and then see how the dogs did. since they were seasoned dogs and knew about running in muck . The original schedule had Sony with 3 team classes on sat and Perf GP we ran Team Snooker Jumpers and Gamblers . Sony did pretty well considering her state of fitness and all the muck. Team jumpers she had 2 bars and 1 refusal(cuz I got lost and could not find #8 :)) she had the double down and the last jump. but managed a score :) Team Gamblers I opted to do as few jumps as I could. she did well and managed to keep all her Gamble points. Before I ran Team Snooker I had David work on her, he said she was a little tight but not surprising with the weather. I did keep her coat on as much as poss and we even ran the van for the heat a few times during the day. she was having an AWESOME run in snooker but I caused a refusal at #3. my teamates were doing a bit better than me and we were in qualifying range after the first 3 classes. however because of the weather the decision was made to cancel Team Std on Sunday and Run Team Relay on Sat. then all 3 tourn were done. so I went back to the van to get Sony out and she was real stiff and sore. David had already gone for the day so I told me teamies I was not comfortable running her. they were fine with it and decided to run the other 2 dogs anyway. all I had to do was go out there no dog and trigger the timer with my hand and hand off the baton. I believe my two teamies ran clean but my 200 faults for not running relay put out of Qualifying range. I felt bad but knew I made the right decision for Sony. I also scratched her from Perf GP even tho it was 16".

That eve she got out of the van at the hotel much better, and hardly seemed sore. unfortunately since she was covered in mud she and Rivet had to sleep in soft crates. I felt bad but at least it was warm . Sunday started out pretty chilly and miserable but not much rain. many people left and that made for a very early finish. we stayed to help pack the trailers, by then the sun made an appearence so I took the girls for a walk along the cross country course. and after we took a picture of the dogs on one of the jumps.

Sony has a trial next weekend some classes at 22 some at 16" can't remember. then a few weeks off until the Tourn only trial in PA. until then..

Judy and the finaly clean Sony :)

Forgot

forgot a link to the flyball tourny in IN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47qzk70gUmo

Sony is on the last team "Pirates for Hire" she is the 3rd dog. just 1 quick race :)

Happy Anniversary

its been exactly 1 year since Sony's surgery. its been a long road but she is back and doing well. still not as fit as she could be but we are getting there!

she has been very busy the last few weekends we played flyball in IN for 3 days then last weekend we were at the Keystone trial. this coming weekend we will be at Fair Hill in MD for 3 days.

the weekend of flyball was a ton of fun. Sony and Rivet shared a spot so neither had to race full time. well Sony surprised me and did very well and did not get too tired until the last race on the last day. one of her greatest assets is she can rest in a crate even with all the noise. I found her more than once upside down having a snooze :) she hasn't really played in almost 2 years but she never forgot. not only did she never fault. her box turn never deteriorated. it was so much fun to run her again. the exercise was even good for her.

knowing that we were busy a few weekends in a row I had planned to give Sony an easy weekend at Keystone. and concentrate on Rivet . so Sony was entered in Perf Speed at 16" on Sat. she was having a great run but I miss cued and she ran around a jump, in trying to fix it quickly I sent her to an off course jump which she gladly shot off to :).
Sunday I entered her in Masters Std at 22" since she was going to be on a team at FHI next weekend at 22" she dropped the first bar which I never heard but saw the judge put his hand up, so figured she at least didn't crash it :) she ran the rest of the course flawlessly with no other faults. I could not be happier. I was told by a friend who was watching she looked pretty good at 22" from what I saw I too thought she looked OK. makes me feel pretty good going into next weeks team. the first jump has been an issue for her but I will try and work on it before the weekend.

I did alot of thinking on my 3+ hr drive home. I was asked about the Kinetic dog tourn trial if I was doing Perf or CH. as I had not decided, I was asked about poss doing a Perf team . I accepted the offer and will be teaming with Katie Conn and Twix who recently got back from worlds. no pressure right :) :)

so I decided that even tho Sony is doing well I am going to get her Qualified in all the Perf tourn. just what she needs. (2 PGP 2 PPSJ and 1 PVP) then concentrate on getting her Q'd in CH. then I can see what she is ready for come next years nationals. I believe if she has even qualifiers I can choose. so will have to make sure I keep track.

Judy and Sony

more grids

Sony has become the queen of how not to do a grid :) she doesn't want to extend, she will add steps and if I make it to tight she just goes around or throws herself. smart little dog. I spent the last week working on different set ups to get her to use her rear with out cheating :) 1 thing I did was go back to Linda M one jump work that helps her a bunch. some susan salo stuff, 1 in particular helps but only at low heights. so I took that one shortened it to 3 jumps instead of 5 and played with the distance and height. I also play with where I set her up, far back or close. just did a bunch of them and she was real good. she has a trial this weekend and I put her back to 16 she has another trial in 2 weeks but 3 days of flyball next weekend. fortunately she is not a full time dog and rivet is her back up so I can pick and choose depending on how she is.

Judy and sony

22"

well Sony did her first run at 22" and didn't do bad. she ran GP and had 1 bar which she barely touched. popped the WP after I talked to her , which she should be used to me doing but apparently she doesn't like anymore :) she also ran around the tire which was 2nd to last but came off a turn and I don't know if I pushed her off which I saw a few dogs do or she refused it cuz she was a bit tired. the course was nice but had alot of jumps at the end of it and I think she was a bit tired. so decided to put her in 16" this weekend . will keep working her and see about her next trial in 2 weeks if I do 22 or 16.

Judy and Sony

more zingers

Sony still is not that good in the grids however working her on courses she has been very good jumping well, even the spreads. so after Talking with Mary Ellen we think it may just be a confidence thing in the grids. she also had another acupuncture treatment yesterday since she had such a zinger last week, she had the same think another zinger. so we might do it more often until it settles down. she has a massage today with David in PA and we leave on Friday for the trial. wish us luck at the trial her first back in 22" !

Judy and Sony

no pain no gain

I have been trying to get Sony up to 22" and its been a bit of a challenge, she isn't consistent in jumping almost stutters and adds strides something she is not known for doing. I set up a grid and at lower jump heights she did good but if I raised it she either added strides or a few times ran around a jump. Since I felt she is fairly fit enough I took her today to CSC and worked her and Rivet. I did a few short sequences using all the equipment not just jumps. nothing more than 7-8 things. jumps were 20 and 22. she started out by adding in strides and actually pulling herself over the jumps with her front almost like she was being lazy. she had a few bars down and I was slightly hesitant on marking them but decided she still needed to pay attention. well she actually started putting forth some effort and jumping better and even left out strides I thought she would add. a week ago she refused the tire, today she sailed through it. so I have decided that I am going to continue to work her at 20-22 as I think she needs to develop the muscles to jump the bigger jumps, I am going to keep her classes at trials limited but will bump her up to 22" CH . we will see how she handles it.

more trialing and 22"

Sony has been in 2 more trials at 16" , down at TAG in VA. and ACE, but Nick ran her at ACE.
at TAG she was great, winning round 1 of PSJ and should have won Rnd 2 but she stuck a foot on the long jump. no bars and she looked and felt even better that at riverside in July. she was equally as Good in PNS however when she nailed a difficult WP entry I praised her and she came out barking at me. Apparently telling me to shut up and let her do her job :) . I left that show feeling very good about her comeback.

the following weekend I let Nick run her at the ACE starters/adv/JH trial she had 3 classes one day and 2 the next. she did just fine. Nick ran her in STd Gamblers and JH on Sat and Snooker and Std on Sunday. he did just fantastic with her. running clean in JH & both std Classes something he is thrilled about and although he got the gamble with her, he ran out of time. snooker was not bad, she is not an easy snooker dog and she will teach him alot !!

we then left for Vacation and Poor Sony had to spend the week with Melanie. who took her to work and let her work on the UWTM and let her swim in her doggie pool at home. the poor dog !!!! Tuesday I had her to the office for an adjustment which she barely needed and some acupuncture as she was over due. about halfway through she started to wince and held her RH up in the air. this is actually a good thing it means her energy flow was blocked and the needles released it. its such an amazing thing to see. she has been feeling real good and is back down to her normal weight of 34.5 #. so I started working her more at 22 she is not thrilled about extension and not 100% comfortable over the spreads but I think its more confidence and actually using her muscles than pain. she also got to play some flyball last Sunday for a bit. its been 18mo since she last saw a box. a few minutes of warm up and she ran the entire lane with a perfect box turn like she has been doing it all along. she certainly isn't as fast as she used to be (YET!) but she was her usual consistent self..

so the fall is looking good for her. I plan on entering 2 classes a day and at 22" CH. so we can start getting qualified for 2010 nationals. she is also going to the Flyball Classic in INDY and will share a spot with Rivet. I think the more she does the better she will be. she is about 1/2 way to where I would like her but its going to be difficult over the winter to get her to 100% strength. I will keep updating about her trials, the next one is K9Logix in a few weeks, then Contact the following weekend, then INDY then Keystone and Fair hill.

Sorry

I know its been more than a month since my last post. I lost Internet and between work and taking my judges test (which I passed :)) and getting dogs trained I just never had the time.



But I am back online and am posting Sony's first run back since Surgery!!!



She was just great I thought she would blow a gasket she was so darn happy. I ran her in Perf at 16" I just felt that she wasn't strong and fit enough to do 22" we train it a little but still working on getting her fit and strong. I have had her swimming A LOT! and she loves it, hmm shocker there huh :) she qualified in Performance speed but I E'd her in Perf Nat Std. ask me if I cared . I was just so happy to run her again and she was thrilled to be back out there. she survived the weekend with no soreness or stiffness.



in July I signed her up for a 3 day seminar with Mary Ellen, all about sends and Recalls using APHS. something I felt she and I needed to do so I can start running her under the new system she was fine and although the first day was simple using just one jump after 2 1/2 days she was tired. I pulled her out of Expen to walk her at lunch on the 3rd day and she had jello for legs :) they were just tired. I had already signed Rivet up to work on Sunday so I ran Lotus in Sony's place Sunday afternoon.



I haven't really trained Sony on equipment much just a little to keep her happy. my main focus is getting her strong. so I can run her in CH in the fall. we still go see Melanie but only about once a month for a workout and so Melanie can keep tabs on her progress. I have been giving her her muscle supplement daily now instead of only after hard workouts. After the trial I started leaving her outside during the day so she can move around more. it has made a huge difference in her muscles according to Becky who has been massaging her. she seems much less tight. we are off to a trial in VA this weekend and again she is only entered in 1 class a day unless she makes round 2 of PSJ I will run her in that. the following weekend she is entered in the ACE trial that is only for starters and ADV Nick is going to run her there in 2 classes a day. PI at 16" plus JH. but that is only 10 obstacles. I am also working on a video of her whole ordeal of surgery and recovery. hoping to have that done in the next few weeks.



we are off on vacation Monday after ACE so Sony will be spending the week with Melanie so she can get a few workouts while I am gone Gee the poor dog :)



enjoy the video!!



Judy and Sony

Weaveapalooza!!!

I had Sony with me at Skills camp and she did a little bit on sat AM and was real good, however Sat afternoon I tried to work her and she was a little not quite right at 22. but not horrible. I figured maybe her back was out. that night I went over her and sure enough she Said OUCH when I went over her back although I was pretty sure it was ribs and not spine. she seemed not too bad on Sunday so when we did the weave pole session I worked Lotus in the beginning but as things got over her head I was allowed to bring in the ringer for WEAVEAPALOOZZA!!!!!! we set the jumps at 16 and set her loose!!! she had a great time and ran perfect courses, nailing every set of poles. she still never showed any sign of lameness or stiffness, but still showed the soreness in her mid back. Monday I took her to see Dr Couret and I was right she had 2 ribs out. but the rest of her was good so the weave pole extravaganza didn't have much effect on her :) still not sure about CH or Perf for the trial but I will work her this weekend and then decide.

Judy and sony the weavin FOOL

long week

well as usual its been a very long week, a death in the family ( DJ's Mom) has been very stressful on the whole family. so haven't been keeping up on Sony's happenings.

I went to the NE regional last week and Sony got to hang out see friends and saw David for a massage on sat. he said she is getting some muscle and feels pretty good. her right hind is still a little more restricting than the left on extension but not bad and she will do it.

I did spend some time wed working her although not as much as I would have liked. she did a little course and it included a tunnel!!! boy was she happy. since she isn't 100% comfortable on extension and getting a good take off for the first jump I left the first jump at 16" and did a small course she was brilliant and looked very comfortable. I am still in the air about doing 22" CH at the trial in July or 16" Perf. I need to work on her spread jumps and get her on the AF. I don't think the AF is going to be an issue but the spreads may be. so will have to work on that, I can move her to perf by the second closing date if I need to.

I am off to Camp next weekend for 3 days, even tho its with the 2 young dogs I am allowed to work her in place of Lotus on some sequences. I also got into the sends and recalls seminar with Mary Ellen at the end of July. its a seminar going over skills needed for the APHS , which although I have been using with the 2 young dogs and did the same seminar in Feb with them, Sony has been brought up on GD, so that's why I wanted to work her now that she is sound and up for the work. I am also going down to audit the Masters seminar so I hope to do a few of those sequences with her as well. I will post my decision about CH or Perf after Camp.


Judy and Sony

whats her Usdaa # ?

I took Sony to Melanie yesterday and she just about blew a gasket she was so happy, Melanie went through all her exercises and she was a star, she worked on the UWTM and had no issues at all. other than shaking her head and splashing water everywhere. :) afterwards we measured her legs and Melanie went over her every where, her legs are developing evenly and she seems to be loosing the fat and starting to get muscle in the appropriate places. there are ribs there!!!! her weight has stayed the same for the last few mo, at 35.5 # but she is finally loosing the extra she was wearing around her middle :) so after talking with Melanie telling her what I have been working on with her I have decided to Enter Sony in a Trial!!!!! It will be the Riverside trial in Mass July 10-11-12 but since its been so Long I had to go look up her USDAA # I used to know it by heart :) Just 1 class a day, Steeplechase on one day and Grand Prix on the other. I am going to enter her in CH and If I feel she is not completely ready to do 22" I can put her in Perf. however she has been doing real well, better than she was last year. walking and Swimming seem to be the best things for her and working on her Ball so I am going to continue that, and keep up with her massages. To give her a little help I did put her on a low dose of a muscle relaxer to just try and keep her loose while I build her up. that really seems to have helped after all the work yesterday she was not sore at all.
Next week will be very busy, Sony will have a massage on Tuesday and I am leaving late Tuesday night for PA The north East regional will be this weekend and I have to be there since its my Club. Sony will hopefully get some work in and I will schedule her a massage with David from Dog PT. won't she be Happy!!!!! So not sure when My next post will be.

Judy and Sony

more jumping!!!

its been quite a few days since Sony's last jumoing session, we were camping since fri which although she didn't get to swim the river was pretty cold, she did romp in the woods. The last 2 days work has kept me busy. I had DR Angela take a peek at her yesterday since her back was so bad 10 days ago. I am glad cuz she wasn't all that bad, front end doing well and back end was out but no more than her usual maintenance.

I was eager to get her out and work her today, we did some collection work which she is doing nicely but I really needed her to work on extension. and Powering off her hind end. I set up 2 Jumps about 18' apart and about 16-18" high I set her back from the first jump pretty far and set a toy far past the last jump. the first few times she added in stride and didn't use herself real well. but after she gained confidence and started jumping very confident and using herself. Not sure if it was just that she hadn't done that in a while or she needed to realize her leg was not going to hurt. I gave her a break and worked the other 2 dogs and when I brought her back out she picked up where we left off I ended with her jumping both jumps at 20" :) and she did good. and I saw now stiffness or lameness, she took a dunk in the baby pool and a nice walk to cool out.
have to work tom , she sees Melanie on Fri and I am hoping to get some more training in over the weekend

Judy and Sony

is it work or fun !!!

Sony has been doing more jumping work and just loving it. hard to call it work when she is having so much fun. trying to do 2 short sessions a day. simple jump exercises or short grids that work her hind end and back muscles.

yesterday she had a lovely massage and absolutely just loved it. she was showing some stiffness after the jump work but Becky was able to work that out and today I saw no stiffness. I wish I could get her done every week :)

If its not raining tom AM I will do a bit more before I go to work then again when I get home. Fri we go Camping where I am hoping to let her swim in the river ,won't that be fun !!!

Judy

tired pup pup

Yesterday Sony worked some jumping 2x and did fairly well, today she and I went for another 6 mi walk. the trail was very busy but Sony was very good she was on and off leash the entire time, I was able to let her swimm a few times in some streams she is now having a nice nap :)

Tomorrow she gets a massage, wed some more work, depends on the weather for thursday and fri we go camping where she will be able to swim!

How cute is she!!

Judy

Back to work!!

so after getting adjusted and a day of rest, I took Sony outside to do her jump grid this AM. What a difference!! instead of heaving and throwing herself and stutter stepping she was jumping nice and round and pushing off her hind end!! we did a short session this AM then another short session just a little while ago. got the jumps worked up to 16-16 and ended on 16-20. she had no difficulty and never touched anything. Next thing on the agenda is to start working her recall to heal, I did some before the feb injury mostly on the flat I had not put it to a jump. She has yet to do an Aframe, weaves and tunnels. I will wait a few more weeks before I let her do those, the AF and weaves requires alot of muscle control and well the tunnels are just to fast right now.
I am also draining her pool in the basement so I can set it up outside. it started leaking again and without the water I am hoping to fine the leak and fix it for good!!! meanwhile more walks and hopefully find some ponds to swim her in.

Judy and Sony the jumpin dog!!

feeling better and a day off

again Sony seemed fine today but I had Dr Couret look at her anyway since I was pretty darn sure her back was out, Boy was I right!! her back was out pretty good in 2 places and she really seemed to like it. it even gave off some heat after. the rest of her was in pretty good shape. so she will get today off and I will let her go back to work tom.

Judy and Sony

lots going on

Sony and I have a lot going on since last post. after another visit with Melanie She has started a little bit of jumping. and she is allowed to do the DW and Teeter. the jumping she has only done a few times, but seems to be doing well. it is just a low jump grid to help her use her hind end. I was in PA last weekend and she got to do a nice little hike in the feilds with Mary Ellen and her 3 dogs. what a blast that was !!!


yesterday she was not jumping very well and I could not figure out why, obviously something was bothering her but It was not her knee, she never limped , even after rest. I gave her some medicam with dinner. I later went to melanies Class and after I brought Sony out just to visit and finaly noticed some heat in her back. it would explain her funny jumping.
So today instead of jumping work I took her for a walk on the rail trail. I kept a close eye on her and she seemed ok, (remeber I gave her some medicam last night:)) so or walk ended up to be 6mi! not until the last mile or so did she appear to be tired. I did fine some water on the way for her to lay in a cool off. the trail was a bit more busy that it has been when we walk but Sony was an angel. I was able to keep her off leash and just made her lie down when people and bikes were passing. she is so good she could really care less about chaseing them. I noticed her gait not being totaly normal near the end as she got tired so tom I have to work half a day for Kelly so I will bring her to the office and Have Dr Couret adjust her for me so she can go back to jump work. Her fitness is getting better but she still lacks the muscle for jumping so we will keep up with the grids to help her. I might have to get her adjusted a bit more often as she comes back until she gets the musce to hold everything in place. we are home this weekend so I hope to continue with Sony's grids and do some more training with the yong girls.
Although I am not trialing as much as usual I am really enjoying working the girls. its like having 3 dogs to train !!!

Judy and Sony

Sony Loves to swim

since I spent most of yesterday cleaning and lost track of time there was no time to walk sony before Nicks BB game so I too her downstairs for a swim.

She did 15 min but Next time she can def do more she was just dandy after, maybe 20 or 25 minutes.

Judy and Sony

long week

its been a long week at work, 50 hrs in 4 days. so poor Sony didn't get as much work as I had hoped for, she missed out on her swim at PAWS, the girl who swims her, her horse had foaled that AM so she stayed home ( filly and everyone doing well) wed it got dark by the time I got home so I just let her do laps in the front yard. but today I got to take her for a 2 mi walk it looked like it might rain so I didn't stay out too long. plus was a bit tired from work:) I did let her off leash so she prob did more than 2 mi :) I wanna try and get her to some real hiking this weekend of I can. other wise she is still doing just fine.

Judy and Sony

more fun!!

Sony has been having a great time, the weather has been good and she has been outside alot more. Fri she went to see Melanie and worked pretty hard.her balance is doing great she can jump on her ball and 'Stick" the landing. she is gradually getting some muscle and pretty evenly. of course she loved being in the tank, but seemed to get tired, she may not have recovered completely from the 4 mi walk!! so we cut it a little short and let her have a rest. I gave her Sat off from any work and today I decided to take her for a walk instead of the pool. only because I enjoy the walks :) we did 3 mi and I was able to let her off leash since it had been raining and the rail trail was pretty quiet. she had an absolute blast! I am getting ready for a crazy week at work, but I think I may be able to do something with her every day this week. will post end of the week.

Judy and Sony

a very busy but productive week

Sony and I have been very busy the last week or so. as usual work has kept me busy and now with Nick in Baseball its not going to get any quieter! but I found time to get in some work outs with Sony. she was at Melanie's last fri and did very well. Nick and I went to a trial over the weekend and I was able to take Sony for some really nice walks. Monday night I let her swim in her pool so that made her very happy !! yesterday she had off, today I took her for a 4 mi walk with Nick and Rivet. Sony is very tired but she help up good she will have tom off and back to Melanie on fri. earlier today I was at the center where I teach and was helping put together some contact equipment and Sony tested out the new DW plamks. she was very happy to actually do a peice of equipment!!! but I only let her do it 2x rather low. she was def wanting to do more.

Judy and Sony

fun weekend

I went to MASS for a USDAA trial and brought Sony in to see her friends (Sony has lots of people friends) she had a good time, I let her sit in my chair for a while and watch while I built courses, not sure if she liked watching and not playing but she seemed to like being out and about.
Sunday when the trial was over I gave her a toy and let her do her laps in the ring, she tried to get a few people to throw her toy but i wouldn't let them I wanted to avoid the sharp stops.
she had an absolute blast and was just fine when I got her home. so I am pleased to say that Sony has been sound for almost 1 solid month while being back to rehab. we are both very happy !!

Judy and Sony

walkie walk !

Sony showed no signs of stiffness or anything after her workout last night so I decided to take her for a walk on the local rail trail. since Nick was home from school, (getting over a cold) he came with me and took Rivet. Sony was thrilled to be out there. we went about halfway to our destination and I stopped to let her rest and see if she was sore. when she got up she was good so we continued on. we rested again before turning around and heading back. again she was fine so we walked all the way back no stops. I gave her some water mixed with her muscle supplement. which she drank right up. here is a pic of the girls having a rest before we headed Back

Judy Sony and Rivet

another good workout

Sony went to see Melanie again last night she has been doing very well no lameness except for one day last week, she was chewing a bone for 2 hrs laying under the coffee table, she got up pretty sore. she walked it off in a few steps, and has been fine since. I figured she might have been laying funny for 2 hrs and it might have fallen asleep or something.
yesterday was a busy day for her. she had a massage at the office by one of our clients then got adjusted . I was going to have her accup but decided that would be too much for one day with going to rehab.
her massage showed her to be a little tight but not too bad. her adjustments were minimal. at rehab she did a little more than last time. some stretching and weight bearing exercises and then a little work on the ball. she worked in the tank for a bit just a brisk walk for about 20 min. and she handled it just fine. when i gt home she was not sore at all and today seems just ducky !!! so later I will take her for a walk.

Judy and Sony

Been a while

well its been quite a while since my last post, work has kept me very busy. but the good news is Sony has gone back to rehab. she has been back to Melanie and swam at the training center my office goes too once too. just short sessions at first but so far so good. she has been doing just fine. I plan on bring her back very slowly. she is a blob :) her hind legs are the same size but only because the left has built up some and the right has lost. but hopefully now we can build them back at the same rate. we will be watching this very closely.
she has been allowed off leash for her potty breaks outside and she does run around a little. trying to keep her head together :) but she has been a stellar patient. I am not going to plan any goals for her just yet, getting her back to agility is not my focus right now I just want her sound and able to run around and play.

Judy

update

I spent much of last week in TX judging. and when I left Sony was doing quite well. however this week not so well. being sore on her RH leg again. but after thinking about it she hasn't had her Trixsyn in almost a week, and was due for an adequan shot last Sunday, BAD MOMMA. she is back on the trixsyn and had her shot last night so we'll see how she does. I made an appt with Melanie for next tuesday after work to see how she does. she will also get some accupuncture tuesday as well


Judy and Sony

So Far so good!

last 3 days Sony has been doing real well. she walked around my office on Thursday afternoon and I didn't notice any stiffness later on. she was kept quiet yesterday and today and still no stiffness. might take her for a short walk tom am, ( like 5 min!)

Judy and Sony

more rest for other knee

Its been a while since my last post. not much has changes for Sony other than she finally gave David a pain response on her right knee. which although is not the answer I was looking for its an answer non the less. So she will stay on her herbs, continue with Acupuncture and adequan. I am also giving hera low dose of deramaxx for a bit to help with any inflamation. she is being leash walked and kept very quiet in the house. crated when no one is around and at night so she doesn't jump on the bed in the morning.

David did say her Left knee felt great with full range of motion. and otherwise she felt great. she really loves her massages :)
I'll post in a week or so with an update beofre I leave for Texas next week


Judy and Sony

not much change

its been a few days and Sony is still stiff on her RH leg. not terrible but its still there. she started her new herbs. and Although I have to empty 3 capsules because she is the queen of not eating pills, she is eating it. I'll continue to rest her and hopefully in another week she will feel better. she see Dr Angela again Tuesday and David on Sat.

Judy and Sony

time off

its been a very busy 2 weeks, with a 3 day trial and 3 day seminar plus working a lot of hrs. Sony still has her mysterious lameness on her Right hind. David Accinai looked at her this past weekend and said her back was pretty tight and sore. she really enjoyed her massage and we decided to put her on a low dose of muscle relaxers to help her be more comfortable. I took her to work today and had Dr Angela look at her again, her back was out of alignment and sore.however she didn't feel it was enough to make her lame. we took another look at her Right knee and although there is no swelling or thickness and no response to the drawer test we are treating her as if it did. her gait really looks like a dog with a sore knee. we did acupuncture on her and she had a few needles that were reactive confirming what we thought. so I will give her some time off with lots of rest and will do a few more acupuncture treatments and see how she does. I don' think there is any real damage but it really seems to bother her.


Judy and Sony

pretzel dog

Sony was checked by Dr Angela yesterday and when I took her out of the van she was very stiff and sore on the right hind , UGH!!! but when Angie looked at her her but was all twisted and not in the usual direction. we put her back together and she had an acupuncture treatment. which she really liked and stood there with her head in my lap. we decided she should skip her workout with Melanie and rest until tonight and I can swim her tonight when I get home from work. hopefully we are over this little episode and we can get back on track getting fit and strong.


Judy and Sony

recheck with Surgeon and a good weekend

we just got back from a trial in PA, on Friday Sony had her recheck with Dr Lesham and had some Xrays, I also had him check her hip/knee on the right and he said it felt fine to him. Xrays looked good, he suggests she keep going with what we have been doing for one more month before I let her off leash to go ballistic :) then she can be set free.

Sony was fine at the trial, not a lame step and even hung out at the ring for quite a while. she does seem a little tight in her back but that is not surprising considering how bad it was a week ago. I ma going to bring her to work tom for Dr Angel to check her again and then off to PT for a light work out. If she does well with that I will let her swim wed night and plan on a little jump work during lunch this weekend at the seminar in PA. hopefully get her back on her program

Judy and Sony

minor set back.

well what I thought was just over doing it turned out to be a little more. when I got Sony home from Flyball and she was sore I manipulated her leg and I heard a 'click' she seemed better. although still a little roachy in her back. Monday she was pretty sore again and limping on her good leg. so I took her to work with me Tuesday and had Dr Angela look at her. she felt her knee and said it felt fine , no swelling and no pain response also manipulated her knee/hip and could not get the click to happen again. however her low back was extremely sore and WAY out of adjustment. so she put that back as well as her Butt :) her front end was not as bad as her back end. the roachy back went away immediately and she was already walking better. our best theory is she did displace her patella and throw her back out. How?? only Sony knows and she isn't talking !! we put her on a few days of a NSAID and I am giving her some extra adequan to help the knee. and keeping her bubblewrapped for at least a week,maybe more. I am going to have her surgeon look at it as well on Fri at her regular appt. and then Dr Angela will recheck her low back again next Tuesday.

Judy and Sony

oops, over did it

So as to not over do it with Sony I am trying to keep her work outs with plenty of time to rest in between. so she was at PT with Melanie on Thursday and I gave her Fri off so she could work Sat AM at Flyball. all she did was runbacks, from the box over 4 jumps set at 7" she was great the first set, came out after for second set just fine. however the second set she was against another dog and she tried a little too hard. so when I got her home she was sore behind.and was off on her good leg. I gave her a massage and noticed quite a bit of heat in her low back so gave her a low dose of NSAID and muscle relaxer so she could sleep well. she is fine and dandy today but I am passing on her swimming I had planned so she could rest another day. She will swim tomorrow and Tuesday with jump work scheduled for wed after class.

Judy and Sony

FINALLY!!!!!!

Sony finally got to swim in her pool, she did about 15 minutes.and had a blast. she had a few toys and played fetch and I walked around the pool so she did some laps. Nick helped do a lot of the laps and take the pics. we set a kitchen timer soI didn't go too long. I had a heater for when she came out and a blower to dry her off.

so we will see how she does with the 15 minute swim and go from there. of course if you ask her she will swim everyday !!!!

Judy and one very happy Sony!

Harder Work.

well after talking with Melanie we decided to up Sony's workout so she changed the UWTM so it had a slight incline and Sony trucked right along at 4.2 mph for about 2.5 miles. she did real well , she was weak when we finished and a little sore when I got home but she really needs to step it up and work.

The Pool situation is doing OK, I finished filling it with Water today and got the filter running. I added some chlorine before it got cloudy. the leak stuff came today but I am going to wait till Fri AM to put it in. apparently I should stir it the first few hrs and then let it sit for 48 hrs. since I was leaving Fri afternoon for the Flyball tournement in NH I can do that before I leave and it should be good by Sunday.

Judy and Sony

IT LEAKS!!!

after putting in almost 3/4 water in the pool it turns out it has a leak. I tried to find it but couldn't. I ordered some stuff that I can pour in the pool and it should fix the leak but we'll see. so poor Sony still hasn't been in it! I have been doing some more with her. I took her to the BB field to play in the snow and she loved it. I did the one jump work again today with her and she did pretty good. Yesterday I took her to flyball practice and tried to let her do 4 jumps from the box to me, jumps were set at 6" she really had a hard time with it. adding in steps and even hitting a few. she is really out of shape :( I think I need to step up her work . hopefully the fix it stuff comes and I can get her swimming.

Judy and a dry Sony

finally some water!!!

I finally got the hose defrosted and hooked up and the pool is filling with water as I type!! so as not to drain my well I'll only let it fill for about 2 hrs. then shut it off and then again later for 2 hrs. I have set a kitchen timer so I don't forget about it !!!

I decided that since Sony was doing so well and the stiffness has been less and less I would let her do some one jump work from Linda Mecklenburgs developing jumping skills book.I started out at 12" and did just a few reps, she seemed to struggle a bit like it was a big effort but got better. I gave her a break and came back to it a bout 15 minutes later. she walked out of her crate just fine and was very eager to work again so we started out at 12" but now it seemed easier for her. I put it up to 16" and again it seemed like an effort but quickly she got better. I am wondering if she is protecting herself thinking it will hurt, and as she realizes it won't she relaxes. again when I got her home I saw no stiffness and she seemed fine.

I was asked about her doing a seminar in early March and I was hesitant because I really want her strong and I think that may be too soon. I spoke with Melanie about it and she agreed . Sony's work revolves around getting her leg strong and getting her fit. running courses will be soon enough !


Judy and Sony

PT is going well

Sony's PT is really going well, Melanie stepped up some of her exercises since she was getting good at them. she left her on the Ball by herself :) took her a little bit but she figured it out and did fine. she even got good about walking over the 8" caveletis and not trying to jump them :)

Of course she was thrilled to get in the tank and go to work. did 30min with the last almost 10min half the water. supposed to make her work harder. Its so nice when I get her home she is barely sore now.

She also got to swim on Tuesday where my office goes once a month. again she really wasn't very sore after.I am going to finish putting her pool together today and start putting water in it. wont she be happy !!!

Judy and Sony

POOL is up !!

well I finally got the pool together but still need to fill it with Water and hook up the filter. it fits perfect where I wanted it and Sony cant wait !! hoping to have it ready for her before the weekend

I Feel Good!!!

Sony has been enjoying her time off leash. mostly just in the back yard for potty and an extra 10 minutes or so. even with the snow/ice she is being good not getting to crazy. our yard is on a bit of a hill and its good for her to go up and down.

Yesterday I took Sony to the office to have Dr Angela check her and give her her acupuncture treatment. Dr A said her knee felt even better,she adjusted her and she was barely out :) Sony was very good for her needles, at one point she lifted her leg up so there must have been a zinger. So I left them in a few extra minutes.


Today Sony went to PT and did lots of work, did the caveletis and did real well. she did even better on the ball. along with the other exercises she does. then her favorite part the tank !!! Sony did great, she did a little faster more like a slow trot. (4mph) for almost 30 min then we slowed it down for another 5 -7 minutes before we stopped. I gave her her new supplement after, which she gobbled up. and then Melanie measured her leg and we are thrilled because Sony gained 1cm on it !!! so now there is only 3cm difference instead of 4cm.

I am so happy we are going in the right direction and she is getting better. I have actually been planning which trials to take her too in the spring.

Judy and Sony

I'M Free!!!!!!!!!!!! Sort of :)

Sony had her 12 week Check tonight, I thought she was going to have Xrays but she didn't. Dr Berzon felt her Knee and checked the Range of motion and said everything felt great, He asked about her PT and was happy with what we were doing. Sony is allowed off leash gradually so long as there are no problems, to keep is semi controlled until the next check . she will have one more check in a month and then she should be good to go.
Sony also had an Appt with David Acciani over the weekend and he too said she was doing great. she felt good even her biggest issue was being tight behind, but with the work she is doing it was perfectly normal. he said we can up the amount of work and that in a month she could slowlystart doing some jumps. I can't wait to take sony outside and let her have a romp in the snow !!!

Judy and the soon to be VERY happy Sony!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Sony and I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. For Sony and I we are hoping for Sony to make a return to Agility in April. poss the Y trial or K9 Logix. Last Year Sony's agility season ended in July. I tried to run her in 2 classes in October and it was not productive. I am looking Fwd to running her again in 2009.
thanks for everyones support in 08

Judy and Sony