Monitoring

I've decided to put any further testing on hold for Zio's leg.  He has been showing improvement and generally uses his leg normally while walking or playing.  I had started taking him on short five minute walks (without a leash to pull on) Monday and Tuesday.  I went on a longer walk Wednesday, but he appeared to be favoring it a little after we had been home a while.  Yesterday he was looking good again, so we did a short five minute walk off leash.  He is showing the normal bounce in his step and no indications of soreness.

I did try a little manipulation last night and noticed he resists flexing his hock if the stifle is in a normal position.  Flexing both joints at the same time doesn't seem to bother him though.  I will try more manipulation tonight and see what happens when the stifle is extended first.

Cranial Cruciate Ligament

A partial tear was the initial diagnosis last Friday by my vet.  Thursday evening we played a little backyard Frisbee when I got home from work.  After they ate, we went on a long walk as thunder rumbled in the distance.  Of course it started sprinkling when we were at the farthest spot from the house.  We jogged back and I spent about an hour on the computer before Zio followed me into the bedroom so he could hide from the storm in my closet.  When he came out he was hopping and wouldn't put weight on his right rear leg.  I examined him a number of times thinking he had something in his paw or pulled a muscle.  No matter how I manipulated him I couldn't get a reaction from him. 

The next morning he was hopping or toe touching.  I took him to the vet and of course he started putting some weight on it.  The vet tech initially had to ask which leg was the problem because his gait was close to normal.  He wouldn't relax enough for Dr Morey to examine him, so she put him on Rimadyl and asked me to let her know Monday if he wasn't putting 90-95% of his weight on that leg.  She suggested that I give him six weeks of rest with no walks for a while.

The rest of Friday was a mix of toe touching and then walking normal.  I did notice that he was pointing that leg slightly while in a sit.  By the time we went to practice Sunday, he had a pretty normal gait while trotting or walking.  While standing, he was still favoring the leg though.  Other than the issue with pointing his leg in a sit, he was acting normal... chasing birds off of the power lines, playing with his jolly ball, and generally being in a good mood.  He did hop one time last night after being inactive about 45 minutes.

Today, I haven't seen him hop once and there has been only a slight favoring in a stand.  I've taken him out for a 5 minute walk twice today (without a leash) and he trots and walks normally.  He's scheduled to go back to see Dr Morey again tomorrow morning.  She's going to sedate him to try and get a better idea of what is going on.  I keep debating whether I should just let him continue with limited activity or take him in and see what she comes up with.

Part of my concern is that my research said it's hard to pinpoint a partial tear by manipulation.  I know too much about the surgical options now too.  TPLO seems to be the gold standard for surgical procedures, but TTA and Tightrope have their supporters too.


Here's a video of him Sunday evening in the backyard.  There are a few times when I notice him slightly favor it, but if you didn't know about it, I'm not sure you would see anything out of the ordinary.

 

Disc Dogging Time

With the OKPaws Spring Fling in about ten days, we starting to spend a little more time practicing with the disc.  I've had him how the last two evenings doing some distance throwing that we can't do in the backyard.  He is still jumping early too many times, so he'll really need to get his timing down if we wants to do any good.  Sometimes he'll make an awesome catch and then on the next throw, he'll be way early and not even close.  We'll see how much more practice time we can fit in before the 28th.

Zio Factoids

Some non-flyball related observations.  Most people that know Zio have only ever been around him at practice or tournaments and see his focus and intensity.  He's actually a very different dog away from flyball.  To those he trusts, he is very affectionate.  He hates conflict and will go in his crate if Luna starts barking at the neighbor's dog through the fence or there are raised voices.  It's pretty obvious when he feels guilty about something when I come home.  It might not even have been him that did anything... just that he thinks someone is in trouble and he doesn't want to be around if he thinks I'll be mad.

 He doesn't play with many dogs, but when he does, he makes this growly, purring sound that I call his puma imitation.  He loves riding in the car and sticking his head out the window.  Absolutely loves his Jolly Ball!  I have no doubt that a stray cat would be in serious trouble around him.  He is okay if he is introduced to a cat and will ignore it, but a stray cat is just a slow bunny with short ears.

For three and a half years, Zio has stretched out to pee.  In the last three to four months, he has started hiking his leg once in a while.  I'm not sure if it's maturity, he has seen other males do it, or he has gained confidence... but it is happening more and more now.  I find it interesting to watch the transformation.

Zio also did something for the first time the other day on a walk.  He's been around barking dogs on walks and at flyball all of his life.  He's learned to just ignore them when we are out on walks and someone's yard dog is going crazy behind the fence.  Heck, Wisp and he bark at each other face to face all the time in the racing lanes before the race starts.  On our walk Sunday evening, we passed by a yard that has a wrought iron fence where two obese Boston terriers live.  I haven't seen them outside in over a year, but they were out that day.  I was trying to make sure Luna didn't escalate with them when Zio lost his mind and lunged at them with his "serious" bark and his hackles making him look like he had a buffalo hump. I've never seen him display an aggressive response to other dogs, so it took me by surprise.  It was all over in two seconds though as he found his mind and started walking down the sidewalk again.  It did take about a half a block before his hackles were down though.