Injury Update

Last week when we got back from vacation I told you that Jonah was looking gimpy.  Well, as you might have guessed, he has looked much better since then.  By the next morning he was running happily without a limp.  I have become extra attentive to his movement since then, and I've noticed some inconsistencies.  The right hind is the leg that was broken before we got him, and he doesn't like to use it completely.  When he goes down stairs, he will often tripod on his three other legs.  Once he's moving, he looks fine, but he prefers his left lead.  Then, when he stops quickly he will carry his right hind out to the side in order to not put as much weight on it.  It never seems to bother him, but he has developed ways to change his movement around it.

I did a quick search about dog physical therapy, which does in fact exist.  A lot of it is swim based, but I'm not sure that's really what he'd need.  It would be good exercise, but I feel like he could be compensating for his weakness swimming just as well as he does running.  Also, you need a referral to get dog physical therapy, and I don't think this is enough of a concern to merit a new visit to the vet.  He has to go back next month for shots, so I'll ask about it then. 

In the meantime, I wonder what I could do on my own.  I'm thinking of trying to develop some exercises where he has to run in clockwise circles where he has to be on his right lead.  It's not uncomfortable for him to be on his right lead, but by choice he's more likely to choose the left.  If I get him to build the right lead muscles, maybe that could help.  Of course, I need to be careful not to go too far and make him imbalanced, so I'd have to watch that. 

The other idea I had was that, the time I got out the ladder for him, he would use all 4 feet at a slow pace, but when we picked up the speed he would tripod, keeping weight off his right hind.  I'm thinking I should get the ladder back out and work on slowly increasing the speed while using all four feet.  I think this could be a good use of the clicker.  The only problem is that I think I'll need Dave to help me at least at first so we can make sure he's using all four feet while regulating his speed.  If only the days were longer...

Overall, I don't think his weakness is really a problem for him now, but it's possible that as we start wanting to really shave seconds and make sharp turns, it could become an issue.  It's probably better to start addressing it as soon as we can.