A Trackin' We Will Go

I totally have the tracking bug again and decided to go tracking with Falkor today before we went for our walk. We had rain for nearly half the day yesterday (yes RAIN) and the snow has gone down quite a bit in some places and the ice was washed away. It was VERY windy today but I was determined to get out for a short track at least. I laid a track with 3 turns in a field very close to our house that we've tracked in quite a bit. Falkor gets SO very excited when he sees me haul out our tracking gear. He did GREAT on the track and we were both really happy with our outing.

Then we went for a nice walk around the big pond at the library. It was nice but the wind was a bit much. I couldn't really feel my chin by the time we got back to the van. :)

And in knee related news Falkor has not toe touched even once in three days!!! He wasn't toe-touching all the time the begin with but I'm pleased to see that he is not doing it at all right now. I am really interested to see what the vet at the rehab hospital has to say on Wednesday.

Falkor's Whole Album

Since I couldn't get Blogger to post more than 5 pics at a time and Falkor's book has 25 pages I figured I would make a pic with all the of album pages on it. :)

(Click on the image to see it bigger)

Update on Falkor

Falkor seems to be doing really well....I am almost afraid to type that out loud. ;) We've been doing the supplements, the PT exercises, the therapeutic training tasks, and controlled exercise and it's been going well. We had our appt. at the vet hospital that offers hydrotherapy scheduled for this past Wednesday but that was rescheduled due to the @#$%#$ ice storm we had. The ice storm also kept us from exercising outside yesterday and today. Boo :( So we've upped the obedience work and such inside to work him out a little bit and tire him out physically and mentally.

I am DONE with winter already!!!

More pages from the album

For some reason I can't post more than five pics so here are more of the album.

Falkor's First Year Album

I finally finished Falkor's "first year" album. It has taken me forever to get it finished but I am happy with how it turned out. I love doing acrylic albums and had a lot of fun with this one.

Super Sunday!

Falkor and I had a wonderful day yesterday. I have been itching to get back to tracking for a while now and it was simply impossible when it was -35 degrees outside with everything covered in ice. The weather has finally broke and we've been enjoying balmy 30 degree weather. I decided to lay a track for Falkor yesterday and I was really interested to see how things would go since we haven't tracked since the end of November! I laid a medium length track with two corners on flat ground with about 8 inches of snow cover. He did AWESOME!!! He was spot on the track and nailed both corners. It would be sweet if we could certify in the snow. LOL

"Love it when a plan comes together"

After my roller coaster ride this week with Falkor's leg injury I feel much better this weekend and I feel like I am focused on getting through this with him. With the help of one of Falkor's co-breeders we've come up with a plan to rehab his knee. This plan includes controlled exercise, therapeutic training tasks, physical therapy on his knee, oral supps, hydrotherapy, and Adequan injections. We have an appointment next with with a local vet hospital that offers hydrotherapy. He is also on two weeks of Rimadyl.

We started implementing the plan yesterday and Falkor is loving it! He especially loves the physical therapy. He is loving his Momma fawning all over him. :)

I am THRILLED that the arctic weather has finally broke and the sidewalks are clear of the death trap ice slicks. It was wonderful to be outside in the sunshine getting fresh air with my big boy.

I scrapped with my best bud Shannon yesterday and I am almost finished with the scrapbook album I did for Falkor's first year (finally!!!!). I will post pics once I finish the final page I have to complete.

Oy What a Day!

Today has been a day! I took Falkor to the vet today and he was diagnosed with a partial ACL tear. :( The vet found some movement in the knee but there wasn't the "positive drawer sign" that there would be with a full rupture. There is also some thickening in the knee which could be swelling.
I was heartbroken when we left the clinic. I understand that this is NOT the end of the world and that things could be so much worse...it was just that I could see all my dreams of actively competing in obedience and agility disappearing before my eyes.
Fortunately, one of Falkor's co-breeders had emailed me this morning and we chatted via email and she was able to successfully talk me off of the ledge. :) We are working on a plan of attack to help rehab Falkor's injury. I found out that there is a local vet hospital that does hydrotherapy which I think will be a great benefit to Falkor.
So even though I feel like we got some bad news today I feel much more hopeful tonight!

Trying not to flip out...

I am really trying hard not to overreact and flip out here. Something is wrong with Falkor's back left leg. I noticed a while back and he would occasionally toe-touch with that back leg while he was standing around. I didn't think much of it because it was only once in a while. It seemed to coincide with when he had been in the rigging for his tail wound for a while. Last week I noticed that he was doing it more often and then I noticed that he was also very slightly limping after being in his crate for a while. He doesn't act painful...he still plays and acts a fool like normal and he allowed me to manipulate his leg in every which way without acting painful.

One of the reasons that I am wigging out so much is because Hexi, our lab mix that passed away two years ago, tore her ACL right as were to getting ready to start her agility career. I am terrified that Falkor did something to his ACL that could end his agility career before it even began.

We'll be going to the vet tomorrow and I am hoping and praying that it's just a strain or sprain. :(

Finally Blogging Again!

(Sleepy Falkor...after chewing on his Christmas rawhide)

("Yuummmmmmy I wuv rawhide")

("Mmmm snow is tasty too!"

Sheesh! I have been terrible about blogging lately and I really need to change that. In fact, it is one of my resolutions!

We had a lovely, quiet Christmas and I am excited about starting the New Year and getting back into a training routine with Falkor.

I decided to come up with some goals to shoot for in 2010. Some of the goals are quite lofty but I am hoping I/we can rise to the challenge!!!

Training Goals for 2010

-Get our RA and work towards our RE
-Get certified in tracking and possibly try for a TD
-Enter in Novice Fast agility (if they offer it) at the Great Dane National this year
-Work really hard on our heeling skills
-Enter Pre-Novice a few times
-Enter at least one UKC trial

We have a lot of work to do but I am so very excited about all the possibility!