Dixie The Puller

Was the first time Dixie was able to enjoy the lake since her surgery.

Dixie getting a ride at her favorite place to walk. Here is a vid of her when she was younger and had all four legs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTU-SHzFYaE

Well there have been some ups and downs but Dixie is slowly progressing. She can handle a little longer walks now and seems overall a very happy dog. Unfortunately we have to leave her behind on those longer walks, but she doesn’t seem to mind. We have been giving her anti-inflammatory and joint supplements daily and that has helped her quite a bit.  She is full of life and very vocal, I think she has come to expect the extra treatment and uses it to her advantage as much as she can. We tried to take her for a longer walk using the wagon when she got tired, but she wouldn’t stay in the wagon. She wanted to sniff every spot along the walk and being pulled in the wagon didn’t allow her to do that. She was tired by the time we got home but she seemed to enjoy the new sniffs that day.

Wow too bad daddy didn’t take a video, but we went for a walk to the park this weekend and I actually ran all over the park playing with Raja. I think I ran as fast as I used to. I could see daddy smiling from ear to ear and maybe even a tear in his eye! I think I have hit a turning point in my recovery. I was able to run around for several minutes, but I knew when to stop and take a break. But it sure was fun!!

Here is a shot of how I think I was running.

I am getting better figuring out my hopping, but I still get tired very quickly. Mommy took me on a longer walk but I had to rest several times especially going up and down those steep hills.  Mommy also took me to the Dr. last week since she felt some lumps in my groin area. The Dr had to shave my tummy again and do a test with that nasty pointy thing. He told mommy it was just a fatty tumor and it was OK if we just watched it to make sure it didn’t get much bigger. He also gave mommy some pills that would help my joints so I don’t hurt so much when hopping and jumping on my one front leg, but I don’t like the big pills and I spit them out, so daddy has to stuff it in my mouth and hold my mouth shut until I swallow it. I hate that!!! On the positive side I can jump on daddy’s lap now when he is relaxing in his chair. I even spun in circles when he told me we were going to the dog park. I had fun there and even played with some buddies while Raja was running all over the place. It was very busy and I got lots of pets and compliments on how pretty I am and how good I was doing. I liked that 🙂

Today marks my 4 wks as a Tripawd. Daddy says I am doing better every day. He had to go on a business trip this week so we missed some of our walks together. I was glad to see him come through the door Friday night and followed him up to bed and I jumped up on the bed without any help. It was raining Cats and Dogs all weekend but he still walked with me to the soggy park where I decided to roll around in the mud. He wasn’t too happy about that, but it sure was fun! I can also run through the doggie door now without stopping. I also figured out how to paw at my bed to make it more comfortable and move my blanket around with my nose instead of my other paw. When we went to the park he let me take my time smelling all the new smells but when we were walking home he made sure I ran most of the way so I can make it down the hill much easier. I even beat Raj home this time. 

I have been doing better this last week. Daddy has been walking me up to the park and I can now make it up and back without getting so tired. I have also figured out how to get on Daddy’s lap while he is watching TV. We watched lots of football this weekend.

Daddy took Raj and I to the dog park on Sunday and that was fun. I was able to make it all the way around and lots of other dogs wanted to play with me but Daddy made sure they didn’t jump on me or be aggressive towards me. I think I was more aggressive letting them know I wasn’t ready for rough play yet.

I told Daddy that by summer I want to be able to pull him a short distance on his bike with Raj’s help. So that is our goal to work towards.

 

Well it has been 2 wks now and I am starting to feel more normal. Daddy walked Raj and I up to the park and I am finally figuring out it is much easier to run than just hop. I had no problem getting up to the park and getting some good sniffs in. Daddy had Raj on a long lead so he could play fetch with him and I had to be careful not to get the rope around my leg so Raj wouldn’t trip me as he played and ran around daddy and me. Daddy even got me to run back home with him down the steep hill. I was pretty tired when we got home but I felt good being able to go for a walk without the wagon and got a good treat too. Maybe we could do this everyday to build my stamina up so we could do a longer walk in a few weeks.

Yea, I got those nasty wirey prickly things out of my side today. Feels so much better and I was ready for a walk when we got home. Dr Scott also drained quite a bit of fluid from under my sore side too. I think he must have drained a couple of cups of fluid. That also felt good. I had a bad night two nights ago and mommy had to give me some pain meds. We are hoping after this draining I won’t have these pain spells. Daddy was hoping it wasn’t the phantom leg thing. Daddy says I have finished all my other meds so he doesn’t have to force pills down my throat anymore. Dr. Scott also wants me to work on my endurance too, so hopefully I can walk longer. I am still having difficulty hopping down the steep hills we have around our house, but I am starting to get the hang of it. My fur is also starting to grow back so hopefully I can stop wearing those shirts that I keep tripping on, it feels so much better to go all natural. Daddy also trimmed my fury paws and I am able to navigate the wood floors much easier now and I don’t need those booties except maybe on longer walks in the future. Me and my brother got into a little scuffle last night over a plate that was left on the floor, I think I showed him that I am still boss, even with a leg missing. Hope all you Tripawds and furry butts are having a great start to 2015.

Dad and mom took me for a walk up to the park and mailbox. Daddy brought me home in the wagon.  Check out my new shirt, pretty cool huh 🙂