Day 2

So far so good - at least as far as Vegas being cooperative about the whole x-pen/no activity/restriction thing. She's still gimpy but it's early. I'm saying lots of prayers and still hoping we can heal quickly enough to compete at Rose City. She's crashed on her bed again next to me so that's nice. I kind of expected her to bug me constantly since she should be full of energy but she seems to have an understanding of what is going on. Or she hurts a lot worse than it seems. Hopefully it's not the latter....

No Answer But Bad News

I ended up taking Vegas to the vet this evening. The vet couldn't feel anything off in the exam with us but asked me to leave her for an orthopedic exam. In manipulating her joint, she was able to hear crepitus so suggested doing an x-ray. When we came back and talked with the vet, she informed me they weren't able to get a good x-ray. Their goal had been to get one from the top with her other forelimb alongside for comparison. They also wanted a view from the side. Unfortunately Vegas can be stubborn and resistant and while she was good, her resistance didn't let them get the perfect views they wanted. So, basically all she could say was it looked like based upon what she was able to tell that there was some air around a bone on the right that wasn't on the left. I've found a picture online to show the area we're referring to.

It appears that the air she thinks she was seeing is around the carpal bone. The thing is, Vegas' feet weren't identically positioned so she isn't 100% certain, although I could see what she was seeing on the x-ray. I'm going to see if they'll email it to me (it's digital) and I can post it. You can also see a red thing I put up on the side of the bone higher up. She saw something like that, too, although because it was right by where the x-ray was cut off, there was no way to tell what it is.

At this point, the vet gave us two options. 1) Come back tomorrow for sedation and more x-rays; or 2) Rest her and use Rimadyl.

At this point and based upon my confidence in the vet tonight plus the cost for their quote tomorrow, here is Vegas' home while I decide what to do:

I'm going to make some phone calls tomorrow to vets that I know better and see what they think. I'm not satisfied with the non-answer they gave me and was really disappointed the vet seemed afraid of Vegas.

After talking with my son though, we may have determined that, if this is a soft tissue injury, she may have done it by running up the stairs. There are times she gets so gung-ho running up the stairs that a paw might fold under her on a stair tread. He said she did that this week and that would fit this limping and possible soft tissue injury to a tee. For now, I'm going to probably keep her confined like this, downstairs, with no exercise whatsoever and just potty breaks and meal times out (plus cuddles!) and see how she is by the end of the weekend. I probably won't give her the Rimadyl simply because I don't want it to mask the discomfort she's feeling.

So for now, I'm totally bummed we don't get to compete this weekend and really hoping that we can make it for the Rose City Classic in 2 weeks, but that is coming up really fast and I definitely cannot count on it. It's really not a great start to the new year.

Off to the vet we go

So to add insult to (literally) injury, Vegas got skunked this morning. She didn't just get skunked but she made us smell. I showed up at work and people immediately smelled it. My oldest son was sent home from school after repeatedly being called Skunk Boy and ridiculed (starting with his best friend!). Then my youngest son finished the school day but had similar experiences. Kids are SO mean!

And Vegas wasn't any better this morning so we have a vet appointment at 6pm tonight in hopes of figuring out what's going on. Need prayers for it to heal overnight! I want my baby girl to be okay!

Hopefully it's nothing serious

So today is Wednesday and Vegas and I haven't gotten out and had time to do anything this week yet except rough house, tug, and zoomies. Tonight she was her usual bouncy self although she got sassy with the boys when she thought they were fighting. She played with her toys and sassed me. Then, around 6, we noticed she had started favoring her right front. After manipulating, palpating, and feeling for heat, I wasn't able to find anything. She didn't show any indication of distress but as the night wore on, she put less and less weight on it. I'm starting to get worried. We have an AKC trial this upcoming weekend, too, and I would hate for us to miss out on it. I hope it's nothing serious and maybe she just stepped wrong and stunned a nerve. Here's praying for 'all better' tomorrow!

Snow Day & Keeping V in Shape

I'd started worrying lately, and getting a little frustrated that all the work Vegas had been doing (by my direction) to really get in great shape was going to waste and we'd have to start over. We've been out of agility classes for a while now and the weather had turned nasty again on top of going to work in the dark and getting home in the dark and having kid things to do and homework and then the holidays, we haven't gotten out and done much activity. After yesterday's powerhouse ride/run and today's snow day, I would have to say she's still got it and I just need to refocus our efforts despite the weather. Fortunately with the DVD set I got, we'll increase our odds of being able to do so. This will help me combat the weather because I am so not a rainy day fan and, add to that the dark after a long day of work, and it's going to take an army to get me out of the house.

That said, boy oh boy, I hope I'm not as sore tomorrow as I am afraid I'll be. It was my very first time ever on skis and I fell plenty! Vegas, being the incredible girl she is, was right there every time. She did a great job of not getting on my skis and only occasionally got in the way of me getting up or actually moving. We got up to the mountain around 9:30-9:45 or so but it took a while to get our skis out on the trail, get our gear on, get gear on the dogs, and then head out. By Lindsay's estimation, we did about 2 miles out and then made the return trip. She got some good pictures and I took a few as well. Vegas was a COMPLETE goofball. She has this funny habit of "making" her bed before lying down. I know it's somewhat normal for a dog to turn in circles, but she takes it to the extreme and spins 180s and really roughs up her bed, generally making it more of a pile and mess than could possibly be comfortable. So out on the trail when she wasn't romping through the woods and the deeper snow off to the side of the trail with Bess, she was "making her bed" in the snow. Only once did she sit down and another time, had I not gotten up (from another fall) when I did, she probably would have sat, at least, if not laid down. It was pretty darn funny and now she's completely crashed out, sleeping hard from her day on the mountain. She loves the snow and, in fact, I had to hear about it for the 12 miles or so we had to drive up the mountain where she could see snow outside. Well worth the drive and the damaged hearing to bring so much joy to my girl.

Thanks for inviting us, Lindsay!

I snagged this picture from Lindsay of Vegas sitting in her "snow bed."

This was her making her "snow bed."

Striking a pose.

Powerhouse Dane

Vegas and I were able to get out of the house today for a nice bike ride. Instead of going our usual route, I opted to take a bit longer outing and head west from our house to the middle school. After Googling it, I discovered the route is just 1.4 miles each direction. Once we got to the school we also rode around the track for an additional mile. 

Sometimes when I go out with Vegas, I can just tell she's not really up for a hard run. In this case I set my bike gears to where it's more of a challenge for me pedaling but where I can keep a steady pace that lets her stick with a trot. Today was not such a day. Vegas regularly amazes me with how much power and strength she has. She was a complete powerhouse today and wanted to full out run the entire way there. Her tongue was hanging out and she was frothing a bit on her lips and from her nose when we arrived at the school. But she wasn't done yet! After a quick potty break, I let her off the WalkyDog so she could run inside the track on the grass. Almost always when I do this, she runs alongside me anyway. Today I pushed her to run in the grass a bit and I could tell she was happy when she did. Her stride lengthened and she got that motion going where her front legs cross her back when she's all stretched out. She had a lot of fun. We took a quick break before heading home so I could let her breathing regulate and then we rerouted ourselves to home. 

I had just ordered a new supplement for her recently and it showed up last week. We've never tried it but I see a lot of people giving it to their dogs at agility trials. It's called Go Dog. I half filled the water bottle that came with it, about 10.5 ounces and mixed it up for her. I've never seen her drink something like that. She downed the entire amount and licked the bowl clean. And 3 short hours later she was up and acting like she wanted to go again. It might be hunger prompting her to get up and at em' as she's laying down again now after having been fed dinner, but usually if she's that tired she won't get up and follow me constantly. I'll have to monitor that and see if it really does help her performance and recovery wise. We're going up to the mountain tomorrow for my first time trying cross country skiing. My friend, Lindsay, is going to give me pointers and we'll have our girls along, Vegas and Bess. Our destination is Frog Lake and it'll be Vegas' and my first time on the mountain this season. I really hope that she gets good and worn out and I am able to keep up with all of them on skis! 

The BEST Way to Spend New Years Eve

Last night a group of agility friends got together for a little snacking and a lot of fun. There were two nested courses set up that, at walk through, seemed quite difficult. However, upon running the courses, I believe I have figured out the motive. They required control on the contact points and very specific and intentionally planned front crosses. They were great courses and I was SO proud of Vegas. She totally rocked and they were not courses with a lot of maneuver room. The strange thing is, we came home after just over two hours at the barn and Vegas still had energy! Too bad today was rainy and nasty and I had a bunch of stuff to catch up on or she could have done well with a bike ride. Perhaps tomorrow...

Happy 2010! We're now counting down to one week from tomorrow (Saturday, 1/9) for our next AKC trial. This one is hosted by Portland Agility Club. We are entered into 3 runs each day: FAST, Jumpers with Weaves (JWW), and Standard. If we get one JWW Q, Vegas will have her NAJ. As it stands right now, she has two JWW legs, and one Standard. By the end of the weekend she could have that leg, too.