Doctor's orders

So on Thursday night at training class, Akyra hurt herself. We were doing recall drills (coming when called) and we were using tunnels. Akyra stood on one side and I on the other and I call her to me. Very fun and she loves it. Well my overzealous puppy is always so excited when we do these drills. Well on the second time through I called and backed up as she is coming.. she goes through the tunnel.. barrelling at me full bore. When she (likes she likes to do because she gets so excited) collides with me when she gets to me... now we have been working on this one so she goes into a sit right away... when I bend down, give her her treat. I also give her a pat on the head and start to move away when she trys to move she starts crying. I bend down to her to see what is wrong and I can't figure it out. We try to move out of the way of the next person but she is crying and isn't moving very fast. I don't know what do or even where she is hurt. I am trying to feel around on her and can't tell. Someone comes over and says it is her back leg from when she collided with you. And then I see it. She is limping and trying not to put any weight on it. The trainer tells me to keep her moving so it won't tighten up... she walks it out and isn't crying anymore. But she is hurt and limping. Of course she quickly goes back to her normal self (wanting to say hi to everyone close) but she is not moving really well. The trainer asks "have you had her hips checked? Sometimes the hip can come out of socket"... I say "no".. thinking she is only 9 months old and has had no problems til this moment... He says she is done for tonight but if she is still limping tomorrow to take her in. We walk around for a while. Geoff comes over and he is very upset. Upset that we were doing these "lazy drills" instead of "training"... upset at what it could mean for our puppy to get hurt so young... and upset that it could be a window into the future for us. So we leave class a few minutes early. And oh my.... it is a quiet ride home. So we get home and she is moving around slowly, limping and favoring her leg especially when she comes down the stairs. I went over to the neighbors house next door (our vet) but she is not home. We are not sure what we can give her so we pull out some of the stuff they gave us from her surgery a few months back to encourage her to rest. We decide we are going to give her the weekend to heal and see if she gets better then take her in.

On Friday morning I call the vet and explain what happened and make an appointment for Monday morning (they would have seen her sooner). She was also due for her bi-annual stuff so I made the appointment for everything at once. But our regular vet is out until Wednesday on vacation...(explains why she wasn't home) And so we wait.... Saturday.. she is getting better and Sunday she is still favoring it on the stairs but has no limp when she is just walking. Good news...

So Monday morning I take her in for her appointment. She gets weighted.. 82 pounds. She gets her kennel cough vaccine that she is due for. And then the vet comes in and of course Akyra is all friendly.. wanting his total attention. She gets examined and he checks her knees (look good) and her hips... (a little tender) but he says to let her rest the rest of the day and start a little exercise on Tuesday.. I ask about training class Tuesday night.. he says it will be a great way to see how she does... to rest her before and after and if her "lameness" returns to call and he can get her some antiflamitory medication. And he asks about her getting extra treats because of the training.. I say yes.. he recommends reducing her dry food because she has a couple of extra pounds which can add stress to her hips. He states that generally she seems very healthy. But at this point there is no need to have her hips x-rayed but if her limping returns it may be an avenue we take next. So Akyra is now on a diet! Well sort of... it is winter after all and it is very hard to get her out for her walks when it is so damn cold out. But with her increase in treats with training and decrease in activity... doctors orders are to reduce her food. Personally I thought she was doing pretty good.. in fact I thought she looked skinny. But I don't want to add stress to her joints and being a big dog she will have enough stress already so we will listen to doctor's orders and get her were she "should" be.