CR is really HR (House Rest); Day 18

Hi Eve,

Tomorrow I think the count is going to reverse to show how many days until Marshal goes back to rehab.

If only they really were this sedate all the time...but if they were, would they be sooo cute?? I was the one who wanted highly intelligent, motivated, interactive companions--boy did I get what I wanted!

CR Day 17 - Life Gets In The Way

Dear Everett,

Sometimes the day just gets away from me. Today, I never went in to the office. I ate really bad food, all day. I shooed Ansel and Paisle outside as the weather cleared, and asked them to stay out there. Good thing the rain overnight was light--the doggie bed I left outside last night dried in no time (I washed the denim cover). The dogs were agreeable most of the day--Marshal didn't really start expressing any frustration until late afternoon/early evening. Other than some light cleaning, and one load of laundrey before day break, I did not get anything done today. And yet, I am exhausted.

It's days like today, where I wonder how anyone has the energy to get out of bed. Do dogs ever have days like that? It was effort this morning, to get Marshal to go outside, but I think he hides in his crate only because he doesn't like the pincher collar. He's grown since I first put it on him--I added another link in case it was just too tight but his behavior does not indicate the collar is any more comfortable.

The weather is supposed to be really nice for the rest of the week, though a bit cooler than we've seen so far this fall. The dogs are clearly filling in their winter coats. Marshal exhibits this nicely in the above photo. The distinct patches of lighter color he has on both shoulders (like shoulder pads) are completely hidden now, as his undercoat becomes more and more dense. I wonder if the patches will return when springs comes, or if they are gone for good....

CR Day 16 Still Walking

Dear Everett,
Sure feels like fall! The leaves are changing in the city. Squirrels are busy burying their plunder, and eating to create their winter bulk. Paisle and Marshal, ever ready to chase the offending rodents, are on squirrel watch:

And Marshal has spotted a squirrel (or was it a rabbit?). Lucky me, he goes stock still when he first sees them--gives me a chance to shorten up his leash to prevent harm to his leg at the inevitable launch after the moving target...and to take some photos, too. :-)

There has been a flurry of activity in the house. I wish I could say it's all been productive, but no, some of our activity has been counter-productive. M escaped in the backyard again--more zoomies. On the one hand, I applaud his continued desire to run around, but on the other hand, I know the activity might work against him, long term.

Tonight was the first night I seriously considered giving him the sedatives. He was trying to bounce all over the house--is this a typical growing child, pushing the edges of the boundaries set by the ruling part? Here I think I am granting him great freedom, by letting him out of his crate and the first thing he does is chase down Paisle in the LR, which included jumping into and over a few chairs. I immediately put his leash back on him...poor thing.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for him! No zoomies, but hopefully a better day.

Crate Rest Continued - Day 15 the Guthrie

Dear Everett,

This morning we went back to the Mill City Farmer's Market, prior to rehab. Here is Marshal in the lawn on the river side of the Guthrie.

And there is his back right leg--our main focus these past few weeks.

We visited with more vendors. I learned the whole tin roof section is off limits to pooches--who knew? When we were asked to exit that area we were on our way out, anyway.

This weekend celebrates the apple harvest, and what's an apple celebration without aebleskiver?

One order consists of three in a small paper tray, the bottom of which is coated in pure maple syrup. The apple filled delights are then dusted with powdered sugar and handed to the lucky customer--me! Boy, too bad M is allergic to grain anything, and I had to consume all three of these childhood breakfast treats myself!

We had a good day at rehab. Marshal spent 24 minutes in the tank on the treadmill, doing three intervals of 3.0 mph, and the last one was for 5 minutes! What a champ! The waves in the tank became so big they were rocking him back and forth as he struggled to keep up towards the end. We were pushing him maybe a bit too hard, but he won't be back in the tank for a week now, as rehab is going on vacation.

I relayed all the information from Dr. Vet. Rehab wondered along with me, about the change in Marshal's behavior in being handled. Reality, however, is we can speculate all we want but will never know what caused him to refuse to be handled. Our job now, is to help him be sound, and comfortable, and healthy. Rehab wants to know how long our walks are--I still have no idea. She suggested I time them, and then allowed me to add 5 more minutes. We don't have any new exercises--we still need to work on the consistent Sphinx down to standing! It's easier to do with two people, so one can make sure M doesn't immediately flop over to one hip or the other while in the 'down.' Staying square, or in the "sphinx" down position, forces him to use both back legs in rising to his feet.

Here is Big Boy in the car, after rehab. Notice the tiny little snip of white on his muzzle just above his nose. There are so few white hairs left that I think this is the only angle the snip is visible:

Off to see his girlfriend, the Bean! And here she is, many hours later, sound asleep in my lap as I type:I am so fortunate, to have the company of these charming characters!

Crate Rest Day 14 - Graphic Rads

Hi Eve,
What a crappy day.
It started with an unfortunate experience for Marshal. We went in for his 2 week follow up radiographs (rads - what you and I know as x-rays). These are the same positions the vet techs asked Marshal to assume two weeks ago, when the doc first saw M's bad leg. Marshal would not allow the handling.
Now, I don't know exactly how this played out, because as per normal veterinary protocol, I wasn't invited to observe how his rads were taken. But after roughly 30 minutes in the back room with the techs, a nice young lady came out to the waiting room and asked me to sign an estimate on the expense of sedating Marshal, doing blood work to make sure he didn't have anything funky going on prior to sedation, the rads (of course), and the additional miscellaneous expenses that go along with your dog spending the day at the vet under care. I said I didn't understand why sedation was necessary, as we'd just performed this same procedure, with BOTH back legs, just two weeks ago. She said they'd try one more time, but if M would not cooperate, sedation would be needed and I could come back late afternoon and meet with doc/pick up Big Boy.
What a choice! Did I really have a choice? Sure--take the estimate and do the rads, or take M home, and just hope he's healing well. I signed the estimate.
At 3:30, I arrived back to view his rads, learn doc's opinion, and take Big Boy home. When doc and I went over the different shots of Marshal's leg, I took some photos.
I'll start with the most graphic. These two rads was taken 4/30/08, two days after Marshal broke his leg.

The copy that came with him from the AHS (Animal Humane Society) says the following:

Dog jumped off porch and was surrendered with a mid shaft femoral fracture on 4/28/08. Rads were taken 4/30. On 5/5/08, the fracture site was evaluated by a veterinary surgeon. At this time, the fracture site had a good callus and orthopedic surgery was not deemed necessary. Dog went into foster and was on cage rest for 2 - 3 weeks. Gradually, he regained the use of his leg and now gets along just fine.

The rest of the copy is about his allergies, vaccinations, and body condition (underweight).

The next set of rads were taken 06/02/08:

The 06/02/08 rad came with the following note:

It was very difficult to get flat views as Biff was very resistence [sic] to handling of the leg. The femur is foreshortened on the rad. If you want better views, send him back w/sedative.

I have quoted this note in one of my prior blogs--please forgive me repeating myself. I did not include the rad showing his femur foreshortened (a head-on view instead of a bird's eye view) as it isn't helpful.

Darnit, Everett, I did not get photos of the 9/12/08 rads that determined his 2 wk crate rest. However, here are the rads that required sedation today:

In the bottom rad, his right femur is on the right. The lines where the bone snapped are faint, but present if you look carefully.

Doc and I talked at length about M's progress. Doc strongly feels that the location of the break, and M's age when it happened, have really worked in his favor. The fractured femur has grown at almost, if not the same, rate as its left counterpart. In the lower rad the right femur appears just a tad shorter, but he felt that M's pelvis was slightly tilted in the shot, causing the right femur to APPEAR shorter. He said M's growth plates look good (what wonderful news to me--his few short weeks rollerblading do not appear to have damaged his growing bones!) and do not appear to have been negatively impacted by the fracture. Doc said the cortex around the fractured femur appears much better than it did on 9/12, which he found very encouraging. Big Boy has gained 2.8 lbs, and now tips the scale at 68.8lbs. Doc said Big Boy still looks good.

Doc left it up to M's rehab to determine M's rest and recovery, as long as the follwing points are included: crate rest can now become house rest, but all outdoor ventures must still be on leash. No playing with Paisle (or Ansel). No running of any kind. No trotting. No stick, and no tug-o-war. I let Doc know Marshal is becoming more and more frustrated with his lack of exercise (therapy days he seems so much happier), so he gave me some sedatives in case M has really restless times ahead. I hate the idea of having to drug him to get him through the day. Doc gave me the kind that will not inhibit any potential growing M may have left to do, but my fears of drugging him were not based on stunting his growth, but rather on keeping him sane. I am probably looking at the drugs the wrong way--it's more important that he suffer through this temporary time now, than deal with a life of lameness or worse, should his leg not have the chance to heal properly.

My bigger concern, however, is why did M react so poorly to having rads taken? Has he matured in such a way in just the last two weeks, that he's decided against being handled by strangers? Or, have our physical therapy sessions been too strenuous on him, causing additional (and hopefully temporary) pain in his hind quarters? Or, was he in pain when the last rads were taken too, but just too shy to protest? It's times like these, where I wish he understood English....

Crate Rest Day 13

Dear Everett,
Back to rehab today. I think M really likes being there! He was in the tank for 24 minutes today. I was wrong about Tuesday's tank time--20 minutes on Tuesday not 15. And in today's 24 min, he had three intervals of 3.0 mph, with cool down intervals of 2.5 mph in between. Prior to going to rehab, I'd measured his thighs again, and thought we had improvement in the atrophy of his right leg. However, he was still shy about having his back legs handled at rehab, and we really struggled for a good measurement. I gave up the measuring tape to rehab and flopped over on the ground, hoping he'd rise out of his stubborn sit and come to visit. He did get up, come over, and then immediately sat on me. Too bad I'm the only crazy shutterbug because I'll bet that was a hilarious photo opportunity.
I shoved Big Boy up into a stand, but measurements were still difficult to obtain. If we were at all accurate, he has not had any improvement in muscle on his right leg (still 2.5 cm smaller than left). I'll keep handling his legs and pelvis at home, and start doing so while out on our walks and some of our social time, as well. Maybe the key is to get him comfortable having strangers handle his back legs?
We'll work on it.

Crate Rest Day 12

"A toad, madam? Perhaps it is you who are the toad..." the Phantom, from Act 1 of Phantom of the Opera

Dear Everett,
I inherited some plants this morning, and this young guest came along. When I was unloading the car, I noticed him (it?) in the dirt, and managed a few photos without scaring him away. No idea of his kind/type, but while I was moving the plantings around, I saw him hop away. I hope he loves mosquitos, and doesn't mind being transplanted!

Crate Rest Day 11

Hi Eve,
It poured today, so I am including a photo from yesterday morning.

We have been working through the cavaletti we set up, as instructed, since Saturday. Marshal is very non-plussed about stepping between each rung with each foot. His posture says, what's the big deal?
We knew rain was in the forecast, so we loaded up on our cavaletti reps in the early early morning. Dare I say, I was out there leading him through the rungs, in my PJ's? Well, it only took a few minutes, it was not yet 5am, and the set up is in the backyard--I felt reasonably safe the neighbors were not watching. My timing was good, however, as we stepped between raindrops just as we finished the last pass through the rungs. The afternoon pass was a soggy one, but still no big deal for the Big Boy.
Back to rehab in the early evening, and more fun in the tank. The water level is the same, the incline is the same, but today we added more speed! M did two intervals of 2 minutes at 3 mph, his fastest pace yet. He maintained a walking gate, but boy was he making big waves in the tank! He consumed half his dinner, one kibble at a time, while trying to keep up with the increased speed. At the end of his session, there were 5 homeless kibbles floating in the water--pieces he dropped from my hand or that I accidentally dumped into the water as I tried to keep his attention focused forward. M ate a few of them--apparently the chlorine flavor was not a complete deterrent.
Our new piece of homework is standing from a Sphinx like down. This will be a challenge, as Marshal flops over onto either hip almost as soon as he lies down--he frequently does in a 'sit' as well (aka a puppy sit). So...new work is ahead for us.
After much rushing around today, I am going to call it an early evening. By choice, M is already in his crate. Ansel is hiding from the thunder, most likely in his basket. Paisle, unphased by anything, is working a beef bone the size of her head (no chance this one will get caught on her jaw, hee hee).
It is nights like this, Eve, where I feel your absence. Okay, so thunder was not your friend and I can picture your wide eyes, heavy panting, and nervous shaking like you are under my feet right now. I am glad to know you will never feel that fear again, but I still miss you.

Crate Rest Day 10

Dear Everett,
Last night we went to Dad and Pat's, to celebrate Avery's birthday (a few weeks early). Dad and Pat leave soon for the southern warmth, returning in December. Marshal heeded pleas to stay out of the kitchen for...oh...a few seconds. He wanted to help carve the grilled steak! After dinner the kids, minus the birthday girl, distracted M's attention away from the cheesecake...and pumpkin and apple pies. The Birthday girl, showing off her stacks of fresh raspberries picked just hours ago... Good times, had by all. Happy early Birthday, Ave!

Crate Rest Day 9 - Zoomies

Dear Everett,
If Marshal were a purebred, or a show dog, the above would be his pose. But the pincher collar would be in the right place (it slides down his neck every time he shakes his head but I'm afraid of making it too tight), or not on at all, and his back left foot would be included in the photo.
And here he poses with the Bean.
Here is Beannie, with her Big Boy bookends!
This Crew is made of such good dogs--I am so proud of them.

And yet they are naughty, too.
Last night Paisle caught her first rabbit. She had some help from the fence, but nonetheless, Paisle 1, Rabbits 0. Now, catching a rabbit is a perfectly normal dog instinct..I just hate seeing animals of any kind in pain. I dread what this will mean when it snows, and they're so much easier to spot...

Marshal managed some zoomies this morning. We'd just returned from the above walk, and I was moving the sprinkler in the back yard. Apparently I didn't close the house door completely (Ansel and Paisle were with me in the yard), and out comes Big Boy. At first, he just stretched, yawned, and rolled over for a good back runb in the grass. However. As I approached him, he flung himself to his left and ZOOM! Off he went, making the circuit of the yard...hairpin turn like a barrel riding quarter horse and back around the other direction! He slowed down a bit on his third lap, dancing a bit to show off, and for whatever reason, decided to come to me. Good boy!! BAD OWNER!! I really hope this does not set back all the careful rest we've forced on him.

Ansel has not done anything naughty recently, other than continual destruction of the tray in his crate. Sigh. The goofy dog has been so good, for so long that I have no heart to do anything but let him dig as he sees fit in his crate, and just replace the tray. Again.

Crate Rest Day 8 - Mill City Farmer's Market

Dear Everett,
We did a lot of things today! This morning, in our 6:00am walk, I took more photos. As you can see, it is much lighter outside. We had a nice walk. Later in the morning, we went to rehab!

Marshal really likes the folks in rehab. We demonstrated how we've done Marshal's leg lifts, and received more pointers on how to make them more effective. Next, we checked out our new challenge--Cavaletti!
These cavaletti poles are 7" off the ground, and 15" apart. As you can see, there are four here, but when we set ours up, we'll have between six and ten rails. The purpose of walking him through cavaletti poles is to increase awareness of all four feet, force him to raise his right back leg higher to clear the pole, and a small amount of muscle conditioning. His task is to walk through these poles, putting one foot down in each section, like this:
Up next, the underwater treadmill.

We did 15 minutes in 17 inches of water again, but today the front of the ramp was elevated to create an incline. Again, I neglected to pay attention to his maximum speed, but he is clearly more comfortable in the tank. Sure he still cheats, by resting his front paws on the stationary rim of the floor, but his walking motion seemed much more relaxed, and he barely needed any treats to keep him in constant motion. And now the tank is draining...Good job, Marshal! He is hosed off and gently dried. We used the dryer again with much encouragement and a few treats. His attitude towards the dryer has plenty of room for improvement, so we'll continue our work with the hair dryer at home.

So we leave rehab, and go to the Mill City Farmer's Market. What a great group of vendors, in a beautiful setting between the Guthrie and the Mill City Museum. Here is Marshal, with two new fans, who are selling beautiful handmade items for doggies. We first met this artist at Woof Stock last weekend.
None of their wonderful items are shown, in case there are birthday presents pending for any of our furry friends...

And finally, after sampling some of the fun fare at the market, including some really great Brau Brothers beer, we headed home. I mowed the lawn. Marshal slept. Our next task--build our own cavaletti! Wish me luck, Little Girl!

Crate Rest Day 7 - Half Way Through!!

Dear Everett,

This morning I brought the camera with me on one of our early morning walks--it was shortly after 5 when I took these. The situation is not ideal for nice photos--three dogs and poop bags in one hand, camera in other. So...it's a photo challenged post. :-) And isn't it a good thing both Paisle and Ansel have white on them, otherwise you'd never know they are in the photo!

Rushed day today. I spent too much time doing doggy things in the morning, was late to work, late getting home. Jenner came over for dinner--thankfully she was running late, too! We had a nice dinner, laughed some, helped Marshal spend some mental energy, and she left about 11. Morning is going to come so quickly....

Crate Rest Day 6

Hi Eve,

Here we are trying to desensitize Marshal to the very scary tape measure. Rehab wanted to measure the circumference of both his 'thighs' but M would not have any of it. So this flashy orange thing has been keeping him company wherever we've gone--on walks I wear it around my neck like a seamstress.

Correction from Tuesday--there is no difference between the vet's scale, and the University's scale. Marshal really does weigh 66 lbs. We went to the vet this morning, to pick up his radiographs, to bring to the U so rehab can view them. I brought M along, not only to get him out of the crate but for the mental stimulation and of course the hand outs from the vet techs. And at the vet, we used the scale--66 lbs. just like the Unversity's scale.

I also picked up the x-rays taken when the fracture happened (from our rescue group), so rehab can look at all of them. Turns out there are rads from April 30th, and ALSO from June 2nd! Who knew! There was a note with the 6/2 rads, saying, "It was very difficult to get flat views as Biff (his name at the time) was very resistence [sic] to handling of the leg. The femur is foreshortened on the rad. If you want better views send him back w/sedatives."

Poor little thing! Here are his weights, over time:

Apr 30 - 24.3 lbs

Jun 02 - 30 lbs

Jul 08 - 46 lbs

Aug 23 - 56.5 lbs

Sep 05 - 62 lbs

Sep 16 - 66 lbs

I don't know much about reading rads. I have never broken a bone, nor have any of our previous dogs. But the rads showing the break back on 4/30 are really graphic. I'll post photos of them, if I can figure out how. The bone is literally in two pieces, sharp jags at each end.

The rads from 6/2 are not as clear--no surprise given the quote above--but rehab tried to show me where the callous was visible. I am curious to see what the vet says when he sees all of these.

Rehab session #1 went well. Marshal was much more comfortable in the room, with the techs, and on the treadmill. We still only did 15 minutes in the 17 inches of water. No attempt to use the blow dryer on him, because I let them know we've not made any progress with getting used to dryer at home. We did measure his thighs though--the right 'thigh' is 1 inch less than the left, in circumference. They prefer metric measurements (converting is such a pain), so I need to start carrying around one of my other measuring tapes.

We also received home exercises to do: support his back end; raise his LEFT foot for 5 seconds at a time, forcing him to stand on his right foot. Do this 5 times, 3 times per day.

I hope we do more than 15 min. on the treadmill on Saturday--Marshal was very bouncy when we reached home, so I am thinking he needs more exercise....

Crate Rest Day 5

Dear Eve,
You are so glad you aren't in this house now. This poor dog is so restricted in what he can do, and I find myself losing patience with him. He has devised games with himself, in his crate, which are NOT on the approved list of activities. For example, he has learned how to throw himself against the long side of his crate, so that it rocks enough to slam into the oven door. It makes a really nice, scary sound the first few times you hear it. Next, he digs himself a new bed in his towels, by using both front feet at the same time, the way a human would row with an oar. He added in a little hop, so he slides the towels underneath his feet--sometimes he 'digs' so hard the towels go shooting underneath him to the opposite side of the crate. Of course he needs to up the ante, so next he stuffs his mouth full of towels, THEN does the little dig, with the hop and, sure enough, the tearing sound of the towels can be heard several rooms away. He's also worked on hiding his toys from himself by sliding them under his pile of towels, then he flings the towels away as he searches for whatever he just hid. Of all his games, this is the only one that is low impact, though perhaps his little hop is not as bad as running on pavement for miles at a time....

We only went for one walk today. This morning everyone seemed very subdued, even Ansel. We went out for a slow stroll after breakfast; by the time we returned to the house all three dogs were ready for a nap. I think the A dog and the Bean were so frustrated by going so slowly, remember, NO TROTTING, and M was still recovering from last night's pool run, as well as dinner at the parents' house. Paisle had class tonight, so shortly after dinner and some brain tricks, M saw us leave him yet again. He was so cute, when we returned, sitting in his shredded towels, waiting for me to open the crate and take him out to pee.

I wish tomorrow's rehab session was in the morning, but all of them will be in the afternoon. Maybe that will mean a night of solid sleep after therapy days, instead of waking to the yowling of the confined youngster.

Crate Rest Day 4

Dear Everett,
Marshall had his first rehabilitation session at the University of MN today. The rehab group had a bunch of questions, and gently let me know I've done some pretty big things very wrong. Their biggest concern is why is it taking a young pup's leg so long to heal?

The bad things I've done:NO ROLLERBLADING for ANY puppy so young, EVEN if I let him (or her) choose the pace. Rough play in the yard is fine for a healthy puppy, as they will stop or pace themselves...but NO BLADING! Boy did that make me feel like a bad parent. So Paisle...no blading for you either. Sorry, Beannie.

Next--NOT ENOUGH PROTEIN. I've cut way back on the amount of food Marshal is eating, to make sure he doesn't gain the wrong kind of weight, i.e. excess fat. Due to his allergies, he's been eating Natural Balance since I've had him, but it only has 20% crude protein. Their rule of thumb is 1 - 2 grams of protein per pound of dog, so he should be getting between 66 and 132 grams of protein a day. He's not getting anywhere NEAR that. So I've called around--Chuck and Don's carries a high end food called EVO, which is 42% crude protein. I called my vet, to ask what is the happy medium between worrying about a growing puppy growing too fast, and getting enough protein to heal his leg. Vet called back and said take care of leg now, so let’s not worry about him eating too much protein yet.

Last--NO TROTTING, NO JUMPING, and NO STAIRS. So sure we've been sticking to walks, but again I had let him pick the pace...rehab said WALK ONLY, so slow the pace down. Make sure his pincher collar--new since our mandatory walking started Friday--is used correctly and no lunging after squirrels, Paisle, moving leaves, nothing. I had no clue the stairs were bad--good thing my house is all one level but the stairs in the garage to the house are the MOST he can do (three only).

Now the good:STICK WITH THE CRATE. Rehab was questioning the multiple walks per day with the 2 hrs rest in between, saying even that amount of repitition might be bad. The crate rest is only 2 weeks, and we want to see improvement on his next set of rads on the 26th, so suck up and deal with his complaining, and DO NOT LET HIM OUT. I didn't confess to his two mid-evening outings from the crate where he immediately went to sleep on a doggy bed. The whole point of the confinement is to keep him off the leg, right??

WEIGHT--they were very pleased with his weight distribution. He has a nice waist, you can feel his ribs with a light touch, and can see his ribs while he's standing. Their scale says he's 66lbs, so I am assuming the two scales--vet vs. University--are off a bit from each other, as I don't think he's gained 4 lbs. in 4 days.

He's tired, FINALLY! He spent 15 minutes on the underwater treadmill, in 17 inches of water. His maximum tread speed was 2.0, which I think is mph, but my job was to keep his attention at the front of the tank and all four feet on the tread, instead of standing on one of the sides or front, i.e. cheating. So I didn't pay too much attention to the speed increases. We have 12 more sessions, three times per week. Rehab said swimming will not do him any good, as he needs to have weight bearing time on the bone to heal it. That confused me, but I guess the way to heal the bone is to use it in long slow impact movements, like walking. The longer his stride, the better, but no trotting. Fifteen minutes on the tread is the equivalent of 30 to 45 min. of street walking; the added resistance of the water makes the forward motion more strenuous. I think he is also tired mentally--he really did not like the measuring tape rehab wanted to use on him, and the blow dryer really scared him. He'll have to be desensitized to the dryer, however, as they won't let him go until he's completely dry in the coming colder weeks. For the measuring tape, he kept sitting down when they wrapped it around his 'thigh,' and would not resume standing, even when lured with a treat. I have both a measuring tape and a blow dryer at home, so I'll work on using them near or on him, a few times per day. And so, Eve, the learning curve continues. Rehab was really an eye opener for me. I had no idea I was doing so many things wrong, for growing dogs. The more I think about it, Paisle’s food should probably also be changed, as she is barely older than M, and probably in need of more protein and minerals specific to growing puppies. I hope it isn’t too late to give both of them a helping hand now, so they are strong solid dogs in the future! One last note—rehab did give me the encouraging news that bones are the only part of us that heal completely. So, now it is a matter of getting Marshal completely healed, as soon as we can!

Crate Rest Day 3

Hi Eve,
I would never say that Marshal is high strung, as you were. Perhaps he is not even as high energy as you were, though the jury is still out on that as he continues to grow. But wow, is he a persistent (and consistent) complainer, now that he's had a few days of limited activity! He is loud!! No matter where I am in the house, I can hear him clawing at his crate if he cannot see me. When he CAN see me, he is yowling for freedom. At one point this evening, in order to distract him so I could properly exercise the A dog and the Bean, he had every toy in his crate with him, and he STILL howled when he realized we were going outside without him.

Last night I broke down about 2am and let him out of his crate. He immediately went to one of the round doggy beds and lay down--he didn't even explore the kitchen or look for Paisle. I think he might have been just as exhausted from his complaining, as I was from listening to him! I had to get up and pretend like I was doing something unrelated to him in the kitchen, to give him a chance to CLOSE HIS MOUTH so I could let him out while he was quiet, instead of "in response to his creative noise." Still, I suspect he has me pegged--I think he can feel me cringing as his volume increases. He spent just two hours there on that doggy bed last night before my alarm went off and it was time for his first walk of the day. I don't think he moved a muscle from the time he hit that bed until I made him get up to go outside those 2 hours later.

So, to occupy his overactive mind, we learned some new tricks tonight. M has a habit of laying his head between his feet, so we started calling that "Nice." Paisle, of course, does the same thing, and she picked up on my signals faster than he did...is there anything he can do that she cannot? Even Ansel got into the action, though the Antique Black and White guy simply put his head in my lap and left it there, to be fed as I saw fit. Both Paisle and Marshal now know how to "be nice," or answer the question, "Who's nice?" as well as high five and shake. We are still working on the "Down Low", and "Ten Up." I didn't want to encourage him to sit up on his hind legs (for 10 Up) in case he fell over on his bad leg. We'll see what both dogs remember in the morning.

Currently the Big Boy is chewing his 7" solid beef bone, at my feet. He's on his leash, on the doggy bed, carefully keeping his back and shoulders between his bone and Paisle, who is sharing the bed with him. I am going to have to stuff him back into the Condo very soon, and I dread doing it. Even though I know it is for his own good, I hate hearing him complain. It makes me feel mean, and like I am being a bad parent. I could shove the whole crate into the garage, so I wouldn't be able to hear him so well, but the isolation would probably be worse on his mind than the confinement. Besides it's cold out there.

Alright Eve, wish me luck as we head off to tuck eveyone one in, and shut out the lights. I have to keep saying it out loud, "this is for his own good!" "this is for his own good!" "this is for his own good!"
That appointment at the U cannot come soon enough...let's go swimming!

Crate Rest Day 2...Off to the Farm

Hi Everett,
Marshal had a tough second day in the crate. It is still raining, so our morning walk was abbreviated simply because I didn't want to risk him slipping. Odd, you say, worrying about a dog slipping on a wet sidewalk/road/grassy yard, etc? Remember, this is the same young pup who, while standing still on a hardwood floor, can suddenly send both front legs in opposite directions, greeting the wooden surface with his face in the blink of an eye. I think his coordination is catching up with his lanky frame, but yes, I was worried about slippage, so our walk was very short.

The pups ate, then all of them reluctantly retired to their respective crates, and I left them for the day. I went to the farm, to help my sister Nina collect more of her harvest, and do general chores. The photo above is four kinds of beans, and just a few raspberries. We collected over a quart of berries, with full branches holding on to more that will be ripe for picking in just a few hours. We also filled two (three?) 5 gallon buckets with yellow squash, acorn squash, and one full bucket of pickle cucumbers. The pumpkins are not yet ready for picking, but I took lots of photos of those too--here is one with Dixie donating her head to put the pumpkin in the right scale:

These pumpkins are white, or yellow(?), at maturity...Dixie however will be white for life. Such a cute little lab! She just turned a year old, so she wasn't at the farm last time you were there Eve.

So Nin and I only picked for a few hours, then did some other outdoor things before it started raining again. We headed inside, then out on errands. We went to a neighbor's farm to drop off the overgrown cucumbers for the pigs, who love the extra-large veggies. I didn't take any photos of the pigs devouring the tasty treats, but here is a Jersey x short horn steer, who I HAD to photograph, given his coloring:

Isn't he awesome!! I have virtually no experience with cows of any kind, ESPECIALLY a brindle cow! But I digress.
While we were at this farm, it really started to rain in earnest, so we made our way back to Nina's place. She packed a nice meal for me and I left for the long drive home.

When I arrived at the house, Marshal was clearly ready for some play time. During the day he managed to get through the bottom tray in his crate, pulling up the rug underneath and appeared to methodically unravel each strand of the Berber as far as possible. We went out for our evening spin--yet again in the rain, so again for a shorter hike. Once again inside and toweled off, back into his crate he went, while I made dinner. He ate quietly (he doesn't inhale his dinner like you and Paisle, so I am hopeful we'll keep him at a good weight during this inactive time), but as soon as I removed his bowl and shut the crate door in his face, the protests started. Two rooms away and in the shower, I could still hear him alternating between ear piercing screeches (did Paisle teach him that?) and grown up barking. The volume varied but the message was clear: I WANT OUT!

I gave him one of the full marrow bones, about 7 inches long, fully frozen, complete with small amounts of grisle still attached. I left the kitchen again, to go get dressed, but the bribe did not work--as soon as I was out of sight the crying started again. So here I sit, in his line of vision but not actually IN the kitchen, wondering how we are going to get through the night.

Marshal is now in Paisle's condo--if anyone remembers why I put the smallest dog in the largest crate please let me know--and it easily takes up half the kitchen floor. Reaching either side of the stove is a stretch, while the oven door and both cupboards on each side of it are inaccessible. But, the good news is he can stand, stretch, lay on his side fully extended, and sit without his head touching his barred ceiling. What a small consolation, for such an unhappy dog.

Some folks on the forum to which I belong have sent to me links of rehabilitation clinics in the area. One of them is right next door to where we went to see your oncologist at the U! (for any new readers, Everett lost her cancer battle earlier this year) I still owe Michelle the last photos of your tumor--I started to burn the CD for her but just could not bring myself to look at those awful, awful photos another time, and put it away. If the rehab clinic has the time and space to see Marshal tomorrow--I hope he can swim at their facility at least a few times a week if not daily--then I'll finish the CD for Michelle and drop it off for her. Well, in reality, as soon as the clinic can see Marshal, I will bring the CD with all the photos of your tumor to her, or anyone in Oncology.

It's time for bed. Marshal has barely dented the large bone, but he has hours ahead of him to make progress...I hope he makes it through the night without crying. Tomorrow is a work day and I don't want to spend part of tonight on the floor with him in the kitchen, like I did last night. Come to think of it, now that he is in the condo, I bet there is room in there for me too, should it come to that....
Here's hoping everyone sleeps well (and through) tonight.

Woof Stock Portrait of Paisle

Dear Everett,
Marshal's first full day of confinement and it is raining outside. We've only been for one walk, early this morning in spitting mist, before the real rain started. We've ventured out to pee a few times since then, but no other walks.

Marshal has demolished two beef marrow bones (slices) so far, and accepted a remnant of a third. Paisle managed to wedge her beef bone slice onto her lower jaw, like a big fat bangle. She panicked when she couldn't remove it...okay so I had to maintain a calm disposition while I held her down to work it off, but the second I released her I had myself a really good laugh. Still, lesson learned and I will not give the petite Little Bean another beef marrow slice--she'll get the whole enchilada. Both Ansel and Marshal are big enough that the slices do not pose a lower jaw problem.

Paisle and I went to Woof Stock, today, in Linden Hills. It is an annual, one day, outdoor event for dogs, where vendors line the streets at 43rd and Upton, and we dog people bring the pooches to mingle and buy stuff. There were some events, and an air jump thing for children, but the weather put a damper on the outing. Thankfully, all the vendors had tents!

We visited with specialty dog food makers, portrait people, coffee shops, doggy blanket makers, dog bed designers, toy vendors, and even a few of the local shops where Paisle was welcome to enter. We met a ton of greyhounds (greyhound rescue had a booth), several Great Danes, many pooches of mixed parentage, and a Doodle that was Irish Setter colored (and equally Irish setter energetic!). It took a bit of encouragement to show Paisle there were HOT DOGS in the bottom of a small wading pool (only 7 or 8 inches deep), but as soon as she figured that out, she was in hot dog heaven! I only let her bob for two, in the spirit of sharing.

We met a caricature artist named Adnan Shati. He created the portrait of Paisle above, and I might add, it was the only one in color, AND the only one of a dog we saw him create! By the time she hopped off my lap when he was finished, Adnan's waiting line had grown significantly, and the new people in the queue each had a dog in tow.... Adnan's web site is http://www.idrawacrowd.com/. Here is Adnan, working on Paisle's portrait, while the Litlle Bean sits in my lap. This photo was taken by Paige T, one of the photographers chronicling the whole Woof Stock event:
We also picked up a new toy, for heavy chewers. It's called a Huck, and it floats! It's a Zogo-flex product, made by West Paw Design in Montana. And the packaging says, "At any time, for whatever reason, you no longer need this product, please send it back to us for recycling." Paisle LOVED its erratic bouncing and Marshal set off new volume records in protest that he could not play, so I stuffed it into his crate with him. In that small, confined space he still "chased" it around from one end of the crate to the other. I suspect that does not qualify as 'crate rest,' so I may have to steal it back from him when I give him his dinner tonight.

Marshal's Broken Leg

Dear Everett,
Marshal went to the vet last night. He’s been limping after play time, blading, etc. and slow to get up from a sit…sometimes slow to go in to a sit. Besides, I needed to introduce him to everyone there and drop off his vaccination records.

Marshal broke his leg back in April (mid shaft femoral fracture, meaning his ‘thigh bone’ snapped in the middle as though hit by a car, or got in the way of a heavy foot), and was subsequently surrendered, which is how he ended up with us. It was determined that ‘crate rest’ would be sufficient, and sure enough after a few weeks he started using his leg again (paraphrasing from his records). He has been running and playing since he joined us in July.

Everett, your doctor's office has a new vet, who loved Marhsal. The doctor examined every inch of Marshal’s pelvis and both back legs, before giving the rest of him the once over, and pronounced him in general good health, except the broken leg. We took x-rays (radiographs, to be exact). His left leg is fine, and I am glad they took radiographs of both femurs, to help my untrained eye see the difference. His right femur is still healing! It’s been almost four months, but I guess the added task of growing, as well as healing, elongates the time frame for repair? Not to mention all the activities we do every day!

So the poor thing is confined to crate rest again. I bought several packages of beef marrow bones. I gave him one small slice first (frozen), to see how his stomach handled the marrow, and he made it through the night with no ill effects. To be fair, both Paisle and Ansel received slices too—everyone was very happy.

NO running. NO blading. NO fetch, NO playing with Ansel and Paisle!! He may have walks of one mile or less (must have at least two hours crate rest afterwards) and he can swim all he wants. It’s a little cool now, for lake swimming, but I will cast about for a place to take him nearby. Doc said make sure to bathe him well after being in the water, so we don’t aggravate his allergies. Doc also gave me a brochure for a canine rehab place in Burnsville (they have a small tank with an underwater treadmill—really cool!), but that’s a bit far from home. He doesn’t think the U has a pool, but I’ll call Monday anyway and ask.

So how to keep this active, growing pup entertained in his crate for the next two weeks?? Doc said mind games of any kind are great—the bones are a start and stuffed kongs are freezing as I type.

Lastly, doc thinks due to tail and muzzle, that M’s cross is likely Great Dane. I dunno—I spend a lot of time walking behind my boys and M’s tail looks exactly the same as Ansel’s, though they clearly have different heads. I looked up some Dane pics though, and the heavy feet/leg structure looked VERY familiar…doc thinks M might be between 100 to 110 lbs when he’s done growing. He’s at 62.2lbs now, at 8 months old.

Dinner Out with the Dogs

Hi Eve!

I have found a new source of entertainment for the pups! :-)

This is Jenner with the Crew on her, though all you can see of Marshal is his hip and back where he has shoved himself under her right arm. Marhsal and Ansel are chewing on each other's faces while Paisle is pawing at her. But mauling our guests with happy tails and slobber is not the new source of entertainment (though that was fun too!)...we went out to dinner!

There is a website in town that lists all the restaurants that will allow you to take your pups to dinner with you. One of them is W.A. Frost, in St. Paul, where they welcome dogs on the patio. The outdoor temp hit 72, and Jenner and I had plans for dinner anyway, so I talked her into bringing the dogs along.

We left Ansel at home--he's not quite so outgoing as the pups and I was pretty sure the two dogs would be difficult enough for us to handle. We brought props with us: Paisle's blanket from my sister Koren, some of their favorite toys, and the treat bag (no clicker).

The other patrons did not seem so happy to see us, when we arrived. We were seated in a closed section of the patio, away from any other guests, along a low retaining wall and steps, right next to the kitchen door. I thought it was the perfect table for us. The low wall created a pocket of protection for one dog, with the table on one side and human bookends. The other dog was on my right, putting that pup at the foot of the stairs and in the line of waiter/waitress traffic.

Jenner and I each had a glass of wine (I had a salad too), then dinner, then coffee with dessert. We were there about 2.5 hours.

The wait staff and one of the managers certainly warmed up to us. Most stopped by to say hello to the dogs (we rotated who was in the pocket and who was on the outside), some more than once. A fellow patron recognized Paisle right away when we walked in, from our puppy class. She is Nancy, mother to Juno who is a BEAUTIFUL boxer mix, a week younger than Paisle. Juno and Paisle played very well together in class, and I am so glad Nancy stopped by to say hello to the Bean.

The dogs were so well behaved! There were a few snags...at some point Paisle became fixated on something at the kitchen door and started growling (we put her in the pocket and I was able to refocus her on sits/downs/high fives with lots of treats). Marshal suddenly became very restless (have I mentioned what a strong pup he is?) so I took him outside the patio and he immediately peed. And it was hard trying to maintain a conversation while keeping an eye on the pups. But overall it was definitely a success.
Here is Marshal, in the pocket on Paisle's blanket.

And fair is fair...since I posted a photo of Jenni, I am also putting up my mug--with Paisle of course. You can see the kitchen door behind us, and just a piece of the RR tie that is the retaining wall. Marshal is just out of sight, under my left elbow.
We will go back! I hope they remember us, and speak well of us to other patrons.
I wish you had been able to partake in outings like this, Everett. I hope you were with us in spirit, enjoying the positive experience with pit bulls.

Adding Marshal to the Crew

Dear Everett,

Your suspicions are confirmed. I have adopted that Masked Man, formerly known as Gopher. His new and forever name is Marshal...though most of the time I call him Big Boy. This picture does not show it very well, but he is bigger than Ansel. How much more will he grow? Who knows, but we hope he becomes a good size, maybe even your size?

We are going to the vet on Friday, to have his leg reviewed. When he gets too much exercise, he won't use the back right leg at all, poor thing. I think this is the leg he broke (and hence the reason he was surrendered).

More later, but boy talk about a Lover, not a Fighter! He has learned, from the Bean, that my lap is a really great place to be, and even at his current size he still climbs into it when he can. Oh he is just so precious (funny word for such a large dog!). Ansel continues to tolerate him, and on the supervised times they've been out together, they have even attempted to play. The goofy dog is still working on his playing skills--Paisle helps him with that--but it is so cute to see the boys do the doggy bows, and chase each other around....

Paisle's State Fair Photos

Hi Everett!

I am so excited--my friend Steve sent to me some of the photos he took of Paisle doing her thing at the State Fair on Tuesday, Aug. 26th. Here are just a few...

I think this was the beginning of a sit/stay (I can tell b/c I'm stepping forward with my right foot--if she were to heel with me it would be my left foot)...

and heeling...

Waiting on instructions from the announcer (can you see how close we are to the crowd?)...
After the instruction, "Release your dogs!" "Okay!" What a good girl. Mama is so proud of the Little Bean! Boy was she exhausted, but she did a great job. All those children right at her level, all the food, the exciting smells, the new location, not to mention the other 30-odd dogs in attendance...I could not have asked for any better performance out of her. I can't wait until next year!