Alayne took these photos of Darla and me in a physical therapy session on Saturday. The goal of her PT (Darla thinks PT stands for “pain and torture”) is to get her to use her right rear leg, which is the one she had knee surgery on in September. As I explained in a previous post, she can indeed use that leg, but she doesn’t want to … and the physical therapy is designed to get her over that mental block. In the photo above, I’m having her step over poles in a set-up we borrowed from the physical therapist at Peak. You can see her right rear foot is down. But, she soon got lazy (or crafty) and realized it would all be a lot easier if she just knocked the poles off with her front feet as she went over them:
Hmm.
Then we went back to having her step over 4″ x 4″ wooden posts we laid on the ground. Back and forth, back and forth. It’s hard to step over these things with only three legs, so she learns it’s easier if she gives in and puts that fourth foot down.
Next up came walks through thick, rough grass on a slope. This, we’ve learned, is the most effective technique, because it’s a natural walk but the grass makes it difficult to just use three legs, and the slope adds to that difficulty. So here we are setting out on the slope walk … notice she’s put that foot down already:
You can tell in this next photo there’s quite a bit of climb to it … a gentle but persistent slope:
Up and down the slope we went.
And yet, given an opportunity, she’ll still try to keep that leg up in the air:?
Before giving up and putting it down again:
Meanwhile, at the top of the slope, Darla and therapist (mental and physical) take a break:
I know that looks like a sweet dog-loves-man/man-loves-dog photo, but in reality, she was pleading with me to get the utility vehicle and drive out to’the field to pick her up.
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2014 Fall Shelter Challenge Begins
The fall?round of the Shelter Challenge for 2014 is underway. It began October 13?and ends November 23. You can vote every day at?http://www.shelterchallenge.com/. To search for us, type in our name, Rolling Dog Farm, and Lancaster, NH 03584. We’ve won thousands of dollars in the previous contests, so your daily votes do bring in serious money for our disabled animals!
Please note that I cannot help with technical or voting problems. If you find yourself having issues, please consult their FAQ page and their Rules page.
Thanks for your votes!
Trekking for health Darla, don’t give up!
Would putting a sock on her good foot help?
Vicki, been there, done that … after three minutes, she shrugs and accepts that something’s on her foot. Doesn’t bother her. It didn’t really work when we tried it at Peak with the therapist there. Some dogs are more sensitive to that sort of thing than others.
Go Darla, you got this!!! No matter what the convo is in the last pic….it’s adorable!!!
This is all very inspiring. With all the work you guys have to do at the farm, sometimes I forget that having a phenomenal amount of patience is required to work with your animals. Your work with Darla really shows that patience and love.
I think a side benefit of the PT is that Ms. Darla might lose a few pounds too which will also be good for her knees. Darla…..you are so special…..I just love reading updates on you. I can tell you have Steve wrapped around your paw too…..
Poor Darla. Everyone is so mean to her. Very smart of her to figure out how to dispense with those pesky poles, but there’s not much she can do with the other trials and tribulations you put her through. 🙂 Good to see all the hard work is starting to pay off.
Glad to see she sees to be improving; if only a little. I would think the exercise is good for more than just her leg. Besides, it looked like a nice day and she was lucky to be outside enjoying fall. Keep up the good work, Darla!
:). I LOVED the last photo — and comment — in the series. Darla is truly a lucky dog!
You’re getting there, Darla! Slow and steady wins the race 🙂
You can do Darla. Love you Steve and Alayne—your 24/7 dedication is AMAZING!!!