Ice, Ice, Baby...

Stop, collaborate and kibble!

There's a new icing routine going on.  For years that lady has put cold things near me and BRRR! I got the hell away from them immediately.  But since I've been handling the ice so well at Scout's House when I go there for physical therapy, we're now doing ice therapy at home.  The drugstore ice packs that sit inside the stretchy sleeves with velcro fastening straps work well.

2 or 3 times a day, usually after some exercise, that lady puts an ice pack on my hips and one on my back and I just lay there and think about chasing squirrels until it's over.  Actually, I usually spend my time wisely by chewing on a bully stick - I'm a multi tasker that way!

My only rule is that everyone needs to stay in the room with me while I'm getting iced.  Otherwise I have to get up and go see what they're doing and then the ice packs fall off and need to be re-applied.  Sometimes it's a hassle being in charge of *everything*, but you know, if you want something done right...

I'm Baaaaack!

I know, it's been awhile.  Here's what's been going on:  we're still visiting Scout's House.  We tried moving to a twice a month schedule but that wasn't working as well for me so we're back to going weekly.

I've worked my way up to the max time on the hydrotherapy treadmill (about fifteen minutes).  At home we go for walks and sometimes short runs (that lady won't run so she rides a dorky adult kick scooter).  Sometimes I feel well enough to race her!  We do weight shifting exercises, walking backwards and cookie trunk curls most days.  There was a low hurdle course set up in the backyard for me to add to my training routine, but that's now been moved inside so I have to step over them repeatedly during the course of a day.  What a hassle - I have to step over a hurdle every time I want a drink of water now?  BOO!

Things have gotten a little more professional with the hurdles, though.  The ones in the backyard were propped up on soda cans (keeping it klassy, lady - what, you couldn't find any Natty Ice empties?) and the first indoor hurdles used a variety of implements including the baseboard, the Roomba, swiffer mops and two egg cartons.  Now we have fancy cones and stuff, and the hallways looks like a soccer field.

I don't want to brag, but I'm looking pretty great these days.  I'm down to 47 pounds, which is pretty much my ideal weight.

Don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful.

Not bad for a 7 year old?

I love birthdays!  To get things going, we had a party at Scout's House the day before my birthday.  I have the best looking therapy team around.  There was cake and special party hats - and of course, my workout.  I'm up to eleven minutes of hydrotherapy, and now I go right into the tank, all business and ready to splashwalk.

On my birthday, that lady's mom made my fancy cake. Usually it's layered hamburger patties with mashed potato frosting, but this year we mixed it up and lucky number seven got salmon patties. Delicious!  Even the birthday hat was less obnoxious than most years. Life is pretty good.

We even did something special on my birthday and went for a scoot instead of a walk.  I didn't exactly run, but i trotted with the scooter, faster than our usual walking pace.  Not too far, but I wasn't too stiff after, so we might be doing this again soon if my therapists think it's a good idea.

Who you calling STUBBORN?

I didn't catch a name, but they were talking about some unrefined beast at Scout's House today. I know the terms "sloppy" and "stubborn" couldn't possibly have been related to me.

My workouts

Once a week, I go to Scout's House to work out. I'm up to seven minutes on the water treadmil, with the water right up to my boxer belly. I've done hurdles, figure-eights around cones (I don't like this one very much so I just sit down, look in the other direction, and hope it all goes away), and yesterday they had me walking on an air mattress. That's just weird.

I feel a little better. I'm not wearing traction boots on my frito-feet as often as I used to, and my TSW (time spent wiggling) is on the rise. I really freak out when I see the leash, and that lady who holds it is worried I'll fall down during my leash dance, so now the leash is kept in the back of the house so it can be put on while I kidney-bean around wildly on an area rug, and then we walk on a short leash through the house and out the front door. Outside! OUTSIDE!

Easter milestone

I'm feeling more stable on the hardwood floors. On Easter morning, I felt so good I jumped right up on the bed, which I haven't done in a long time, to make sure everyone got up on time. That lady who sleeps in the bed gave me the best belly rub ever! Then I got a whole hardboiled egg all to myself.

I like Easter.

Girl, look at that body - I WORK OUT!

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!

My second PT appointment went well - I did some walking on the water treadmill without trying to resist, and then I showed my therapist how to handle walking over some short hurdles before practicing walking backwards. The therapist asked that lady who walks me if she's trained me to walk in reverse, but the truth is that I get stuck sometimes between the sofa and coffee table, and the only way out is to back it up! Anyway, walking backwards is my new home therapy exercise, in addition to cookie crunches and weight-shifting on a step.

So it turns out I'm pretty good at most of this therapy stuff and I heard that lady telling someone on the phone she thinks I might be getting a tiny bit more stable on the hardwood floors already.

The ground is moving!

Aaaack, and it's wet, too? I'm a dog who jumps over puddles when we go for a walk, so this was all kinds of weird for me. Here's a short clip of my first exposure to hydrotherapy at Scout's House. I liked the part where Debbie gave me lots of Pupperoni.

Oh my gosh, INDEED.

HydrotheraWHAT?

This is me, getting introduced to the water treadmill during my first physical therapy session. I think I look pretty great in that vest. Orange is a VERY hot color this season, you know.

Financial Aid!

Thanks to Scout's Fund, that lady who drives me to physical therapy doesn't need to worry about the cost of my appointments at Scout's House.

Scout's Fund is pretty cool - they offer financial aid for qualifying pets from low income households, active and retired military and law enforcement K-9 unit dogs, assistance dogs and shelter pets who need rehab.

This must be kind of a big deal, because that lady cried when she got the news, and she doesn't do that very often.

If you're looking to donate some funds to a non-profit, please consider Scout's Fund.

Pfff, DAILY?

Years! Do you know how many BOXER years it's been since I last updated?

I haven't been feeling so well. I'm having a hard time walking on the hardwood floors because my feet are sliding in the wrong direction. That lady I live with took me to the vet and he wasn't too worried, but she still thought something was wrong. Luckily, we live near a place that does physical therapy and rehab for pets, Scout's House. So I had a consultation (with lots of treats!) with a vet and physical therapist, who said I have some back leg weakness (they can't say why without X-rays) and a moderately sore back, which could be helped by physical therapy. I'm pretty sure there will be treats involved, but I don't know about this underwater treadmill business.

I have some indoor traction boots to keep me from sliding, am doing my physical therapy home exercises regularly, and my first physical therapy appointment is this week. The therapist said that if I use the water treadmill they might be able to take some video.