Our Black Dog, R, can now walk far enough for me to take photos of him in the nearby meadow.
He's happy about the loosening restrictions, and so are we!
The meadow is ablaze with yellow flowers, which go so well with R's fur.
His latest round of elbow exercises is quite complicated. I need to train him about how to do the exercises before we can really make progress with them. For example, in one exercise, he has to balance his hind feet on a big blue squishy disk. A smaller squishy disk is on a chair seat, and he has to balance his left front paw on that disk. Then, I have to hold his right front paw up so he does a one-armed pushup from this crazy position. I spent the first two days just teaching him how to get into position for me (using a clicker and treats). Finally, I succeeded in having him do 3 pushups today!
That gives you an idea of how difficult the new exercises are. That's just *one* example. Our vet gave us new ones on Thursday. I may wait 2 weeks before an update to give us time to master the exercises.
He continues to improve although we humans notice that he's at his best every morning and then his limp gets worse throughout the day. That observation leads us to wonder if we should cut back his rehab but I suspect that our vet would say "no". We'll keep an eye on the trend before asking her.
Happy Black Dog Sunday!
We are so, so glad R is doing well and we love seeing that handsome face today!
ReplyDeleteR is looking good. You are doing a great job with the rehab. We doubt it would go as well for someone less skilled in training a dog to do tricks like you are.
ReplyDeleteIts total amazing that you can teach R to do these tricks,, and he does them!
ReplyDeleteGood job!
love
tweedles
Yay, to both of you! I'm so glad he's getting better.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful pictures of you, R! You'll be racing through those pretty meadows soon!
ReplyDeleteR we cross our paws that your special exercising helps you to use your elbow the bestest way... and I'm sure you can make it... you are a trooper :o)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad he is doing well. You are doing a fabulous job with him.
ReplyDeleteR is so beautiful and brave to be doing all those exercises.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to see R smiling like that!
ReplyDeleteThat does seem like a crazy exercise! I'm glad that you were able to get him to do a few pushups from that position!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, how amazing the rehab they have you do. It takes a special dog and person to be able to work successfully together to accomplish this - Bravo!
ReplyDeletehugs
Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel
Your face looks back to your happy self
ReplyDeleteLily & Edward
That sounds like a complicated exercise to master. Thank goodness he is such a smart boy. And that you are patient teacher.
ReplyDelete