2 Corgis and their people

Tory has passed the torch to Kyan. While Tory can’t participate in the Purina Dog Star agility demos, Kyan has taken her place. Kyan performed for the first time at the Sportsman Show in Toronto on Wednesday.

Kyan did three agility runs and managed to leave every bar up! It’s a miracle. Kyan is normally a terrible jumper. Kyan’s times were ok. His weaves still need work (and he decided 10 poles were enough during one of the runs). I also tired Kyan out playing fetch to keep his reactive tendancies in check, and it affected his speed a little. However, he is still faster than Tory ever was. I wonder if being tired helped him jump better…

Kyan did very well paying attention to me with minimal barking. We did learn that Kyan does not like camels. There were camel rides directly beside the agility ring, with no fence or anything separating us from the camels. While running agility Kyan ignored the camels, but otherwise he would bark when he noticed them. I guess I “forgot” to socialize Kyan to camels when he was a puppy. Where exactly would I do that?

Tory got her fair share of attention during “pat and chat” at the Purina booth. We were using a wagon to move Tory around, so we got a lot of questions. When I explained what happened, Tory got a lot of sympathy and attention.

Chris was busy as the timer, so he didn’t get a chance to take a lot of pictures.

It’s been a long time since I posted Tory’s progress. Since the last post, she has continued going to physiotherapy and added swimming in January. She continued to get better very slowly. She regained bowel and bladder control. She started standing on her own while she ate her breakfast/dinner. Then, she could walk across the living room when motivated by peanut butter toast. Next, it was tough love. Tory could stand/walk well enough to get around our (small) house. We put mats down on the wood floors and then we started refusing to carry Tory around the house. Tory looked drunk while walking; her back end swung from side to side and she had trouble walking in a straight line. However, she was getting around better. Tory would use a sling for walks on the sidewalk or the treadmill (when it was too cold outside), but she would require less and less support. Often, the sling was stopping her back end from swinging to the side rather than actually supporting her weight.

A few weeks ago, we decided to get Tory a cart. She would still be able to use her back legs in the cart, but it would stop the back end swinging and allow Tory to go for longer walks. It would take a couple weeks for the cart to be delivered.

We also started acupuncture with Tory. The acupuncture vet also gave us some Chinese herbs. Well, Tory has progressed significantly in the last couple weeks. I don’t know if it is the acupuncture or simply a coincidence, but she is getting around much better in the house and in the backyard (which is finally snow-free). Tory still looks drunk while walking, but there is a marked improvement. She still requires the sling for walks around the neighbourhood, but she gets around the house and yard quite well. However, if she tries to run, it doesn’t go so well. She ends up hopping on her back feet. Tonight we finally videotaped her progress. Not bad for a dog given a 30% chance of recovery. This was taken after trying out her cart (see below), so she’s a little tired. The video also makes it look like the hair never grew back on her back. It’s not a completely normal length, but it’s not as short as it looks in the video.

h.264 Version

We arrived home to a UPS package that contained Tory’s new cart from Eddie’s Wheels. She took to it right away (with the help of some salmon Rollover treats). We will have to remove the “stirrups” on the back. They are for a dog who cannot use their back feet so that their feet/legs don’t drag. This video was taken about five minutes after Tory first tried the cart.

h.264 Version

Hopefully the cart will allow Tory to come on longer walks with Kyan and give her a little more freedom. We will try to balance the cart use with Tory walking on her own in the backyard and house. I think Tory is going to like the cart!

Tory has now switched to physio three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). She doesn’t seem to be as tired during the physio sessions, so this schedule is better. Unfortunately, it means she didn’t have a session yesterday, so no new treadmill video.

Tory does seem to be making some progress. When she’s walking around in her sling, her hind legs often move in a walking motion. She only does it if her feet are touching the ground. Leftie (her weaker, left leg) seems to need a little time to “warm up” in the treadmill and sling walking, but they are both definitely moving. She can also stand a little longer, and is picking up her feet when they hit pieces of the “obstacle course” (pieces of PVC on the ground) at physio.

I think Tory is getting a little frustrated with her lack of walking, but she continues to progress. That’s all we can ask for.

Its been a full week now of Tory doing her physio. She is doing well and progressing nicely. She is enjoying working with her vet tech. Although we have another person who wants to kidnap her

We have started to notice her trying to use her back end when getting up. She looks like she is trying to push off and stand up. She is still weak so she can’t actualy get into a standing position on her own yet. She is able to stand up with our help and keep her self balanced for a few seconds before we have to help her and keep her from tipping over.

Tory looked a little tired this Saturday, which is understandable after a week of 5 days of work.
She is now doing about 16 minutes of walking on the water treadmill each session (and thats twice day). We have also found out that she tends to walk better when she is distracted . Add on to that the electro muscle stimulation, as well as manual exercises and I can’t blame her for being tired.

Next week we are switching to one day on one day off.
This week our little video has 2 parts. I tried to get footage from multiple angles so you could see how her little feet-ies are doing.

h.264 Version

Slow but sure progress. She is working hard and I am proud of her. I couldn’t ask for a better pup.

Its a Saturday today so we were able to go to Physio with Tory.  I took along our old video camera to get some video of her in the water treadmill.

She is doing well, and really likes Jen the Rehabilitation Coordinator. Lots of work ahead of her, but she is heading in the right direction.

Anyway without further adieu, Tory on the water treadmill.

Tory went for her physiotherapy consultation on Wednesday at the Mississauga-Oakville referral clinic. I’m trying to call it physio rather than rehab, because the latter makes it sound like Tory has a drinking problem.

Our consultation was with Marnie, one of the physiotherapists at the clinic. She is a human physiotherapist who has taken additional courses in canine rehabilitation. She showed us some exercises to do everyday with Tory at home. She is also going to set up a program for Jen to execute. Jen is a vet tech who is also certified in canine rehabilitation. She will be the one working directly with Tory in the physio sessions.

Jen had some free time, so Tory got to try out the water treadmill. With the buoyancy of the water helping to support Tory’s backend, her right leg was moving in a basic walk pattern. Her left leg moved a bit, but not as much as the right. Tory definitely got tired quickly.

Tory will be spending her days at the clinic, where Jen can do several short sessions with her throughout the day. At the clinic, they can also make sure her bladder gets expressed completely and generally keep an eye on her while we are at work.

Tory came home today! I took Kyan to agility class, so Chris picked up Tory. He learned how to express her bladder and got homecare instructions. The instructions were basically to limit her activity at home and to take her for physiotherapy. She has an appointment tomorrow at a clinic near our house. Tory’s right side is doing well, but her left side isn’t as strong as her right. Physio should help her continue to improve. 

Everyone at OVC was sad to see Tory go. She really had them wrapped around her little paw. Chris picked Tory up after work, so she spent one last day in the treatment room. Apparently she enjoyed watching everything that was happening. When her doctor was talking to another patient, Tory would tilt her head to the side like she was trying to understand what he was saying.

Tory and her Doctor

Chris and Tory met Kyan and I at Kyan’s agility class. Tory rode around McCann’s in her wagon and got lots of attention from everyone.

It’s awesome to have Tory home.

The weather was bad today and Kyan had agility class, so our visit with Tory was pretty short today. We did go on a wagon ride, and Tory and Chris showed Kyan and I where the cows and horses were.

Tory’s staples came out today. Other than that, there aren’t any new developments. She is still hanging out in the treatment room during the day. Everyone at OVC seems to love her.

Oh yeah, one more piece of news: Tory gets to come home tomorrow!

I went to OVC for 2:00 again today, and my timing was good.  I passed through arberfoil just before their Santa Clause parade started.

Before Tory and I went for our walk/ride I talked with her Doctor and Student.  They are very happy with the progress that Tory is making.  Her right rear leg is really starting to have lots of movement.  Her left rear leg is still a little weak, but its slowly making progress as well.  Her initial urine culture came back clear, and they are just waiting for the final result, but its a good sign.

We also talked about Tory coming home.  It sounds like Monday or Tuesday will be when it happens.  I’ll be talking to the rehab center tomorrow morning and getting all the paperwork done.

Her stitches/staples might be coming out tomorrow as well.

The Doctors also mentioned that she seams to be slowing getting control of her bladder.  They still have to empty it for her, but once they start she seams able to continue and finish on her own, so again another good sign.  Either way they will teach us how to express her bladder ourselves, and the rehab clinic can help by keeping an eye on her as well.

On our walk the Horses were out in their fields again and we went to see our new paint pony friend again.  This time we went up to the fence and he came over to see us.  Tory’s nose was going a mile a minute sniffing.

We also extended our walk a bit more since it was quite a nice day, and we ended up going by the barn on campus.  Its quite funny to see a barn in the middle of a university campus, but at quelph I expect nothing less.

Tory was quite interested in the herd of cows outside by the barn.  So we stopped to see them for a little bit.

When we got back to the Small Animal Clinic there were some other people in the waiting room.  We didn’t go back to an exam room but instead stayed in the waiting room visiting with them.  It turned out that there was a couple there who was in Tory’s grade one class at McCann with me.  Its a small world.

Tory was a good girl as usual, and the Doctors said that they really enjoyed taking her for little walks down the hall, and taking care of her.  She is a lucky dog.  She is getting very good care from the folks at OVC.

chris.