Sunday, March 21, 2010

Re-Eval Tomorrow

Bug has his re-eval with the rehab vet tomorrow. I am nervous. He has made SUPER progress with the physical therapy - hence it is time for the re-eval. I think I am going to ask her about bringing him in for water treadmill. I really want to bring him back slowly so we have the best opportunity to play, period.

His iliopsoas continues to show signs of tightness almost a year later. That is what has me distressed - not the recent injury! I don't know what it means for herding. My current instructor had to retire her now 10 year old dog 3 years ago due to an iliopsoas injury. She made something much more clear for me about the nature of the strain/tear. I was saying how Bug shows the most stiffness/tightness in his iliopsoas after playing with other dogs or herding. He rarely, if ever, seems stiff after agility. K said, "Imagine you were a human with a groin pull. You would be bending over so as to not fully extend the muscle. When Bug is running with other dogs or herding that muscle is in full extension, so later it is sore." Well, duh. Once more I need the picture painted out for me. Boy, does that make sense.

So, my questions for the rehab vet:

Is it worth doing an ultra sound to see how severe the strain/possibly tear is/was?
Would we see anything at this point? If it was bad enough originally we should.
What would be the cost?

Is it realistic to think Bug can go back to herding?

What is the time table for him to go back to agility?

I am FINE if we need to wait longer. At this point I would just like to have an idea of how long I should plan on giving him off. I truly do not care about the length of time recommended - I would just like to know how long. He had his initial PT appointment on 2/15 and the first two weeks we went twice weekly before switching to once a week. He has been doing PT for about 4 weeks in addition to chiro (weekly) and acupuncture (every other week). Chiro and acupuncture pre-date PT.

I am not sure what this means for the Specialty. It is about a month away. Bug has continued walking 2 miles daily and playing shaping games, but he hasn't been doing anything else. At this point I don't think it would be fair to him to do the herding trial, but if the rehab vet gives him the green light to go back to work and we get some lessons in, maybe it would be okay? I am just afraid of creating an additional problem. Rehabbing your dog is brutal. I would much rather play it safe and make sure he is 100%.

6 comments:

Kathy Mocharnuk said...

OH, I am going to be thinking of you guys and hoping there is some really good news tomorrrow!!!

Sara said...

I hope you get some good news tomorrow, and answers to all your questions.

manymuddypaws said...

Fingers crossed for good news! I share your pain!

Nancy and Stewie JRT said...

We'll be thinking of you tomorrow. Hope you get some good info about Bug! Give him a kiss for me.

Kris said...

Bette was out almost a year with her injury - we now keep her weight WAY down (almost too thin) and keep her conditioned. She has strained it but has bounced back much quicker (only a couple weeks).

Good thoughts to you and Bug...we REALLY want you to go to Nationals - I am going to need all the support I can get there!!

Blue said...

Sending lots of positive thoughts that you get good news from the rehab vet tomorrow!