The Joy Of Pursuit

Yours truly-
Tigerlily

Late For Work

Me: Penny!  Levi!  Come on, puppies, I've gotta go to work!

 Penny: Sorry, mom, no can do.

Me: Dudes, REALLY, I've gotta go!

Levi: We're very busy.  You go ahead, we've gotta stay right here.  Don't you see it?

Me: Umm, up there?  I don't see it.  Are you sure?

Penny:  Yeah, I'm sure.  It's right there, mom.

Levi: Yeah, it's totally right there.  Don't you see it?

 Levi: Look again, mom. Really.

Me: Oh, whadaya know, you're right!

Yours truly-

Tigerlily

Makin' Me Look Bad

Hmm.

Someone is making me look bad.

I thought we had a deal-- I give you plenty of fun places in the yard to play, and in turn, you help me to show the world how all y'all are the world's best, most well-behaved garden dogs.

What the hey is that going on over there-- behind the rhodey, behind the rain barrel?

Odd, I don't remember displacing a large volume of dirt...

At least whoever did it had the courtesy to spare the hostas.

Well, now, that's some pretty damning evidence.

I can now scratch my hubby off the list of possible suspects.

Looks like I'm going to have to interrogate the troops.

"What? No, mom, sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

Kid, you're lucky you're so damn cute, and that you gave me a really awesome Mother's Day present yesterday (but more on that later).

Yours truly-

Tigerlily

Sun Salutations

Sometimes, all it takes is a warm sunny day, a caravan of friends, and the beach to remind us that a cold, grey Spring has to end eventually.

It's especially good when you take the time to roll in it...

Like, really roll in it.   Oh yeah, that's good.

 And then there's an invitation,

which starts a chase,

and escalates

to a high-speed pursuit.

After all, isn't that what friends are for?

Yours truly-

Tigerlily

Penny & Howard- A Love Story

Dog toys have come, and dog toys have gone.

Most make it a couple of weeks before their ceremonial disemboweling occurs, spilling a trail of polyester fiberfill behind their sad, empty pelt.

And then there's Howard.  Oh, Howard.

 

Since the day we brought him home, we knew he held a special place in the hierarchy of the stuffed animal kingdom.

Don't expect to see Penny come out of the bedroom in the morning without Howard in tow.

After all, a girl's gotta make sure her duck is getting his fresh air for the day.

If it's a really good day, he'll get buried,

 only to be unearthed a few hours later,

and used as a prop.

He'll take an evening trip through the washer,

 

 

so he can be returned, nice and clean, just in time for bed.

Yours truly-

Tigerlily

Wrestlemania

In the couple of years that we've had 2 dogs, I have witnessed countless wrestling matches in the backyard.  During these matches, I'm fairly certain I've taken no less than 10,000 pictures.

It never grows old (unless you're the lawn).

They always start the same-- an invitation to chase:

The chasee becomes the chaser:

The competition for ugliest faces ensues:

The big one bears her teeth:

 The little one stands his ground:

Several minutes are devoted to the fine art of canine head biting:

And if you're really lucky, you capture a moment that defies gravity:

Next time on Tigerlily Chronicles, we discuss how to attempt to maintain a healthy lawn with 2 active dogs.


Yours truly- Tigerlily

The Dog’s Knees: Chapter 9- One Good Knee Deserves Another

This is one of several chapters chronicling our successful story of recovery from bilateral TPLO surgeries.

We had a fantastic Fall 2010, and were getting our money's worth out of Penny's $4000 knee.

All seemed right with the world...

Until...

Right around Christmas she started limping again.  This time it was the right knee.  We knew that there was a good chance this would happen, we just didn't think it would be so soon.

There was no hesitation this time around- January 5th we took her back in to see her ol' pals at the Animal Surgical Center of Seattle and said, "Just do it." It's winter, she's bored anyhow and hanging out on the couch, she might as well be recovering at the same time.

In a way, I'm glad it happened so soon after the first knee- we all remembered exactly what to do.  The nerdy-pants mom that I am pulled out the old diary, the old training calendar, the old medicine chart, and the old pictures.  The baby gates went back up, and the ice packs were in the freezer.

Rehabilitation of knee #2 was incredibly uneventful- essentially a mirror image of knee #1.

Here we are in March 2011, one full year after the limping started, and what is the one thing I am most thankful for?

Dogs only have 2 knees.

Yours truly- Tigerlily

The Dog’s Knees: Chapter 8- Freedom!

This is one of several chapters chronicling our successful story of recovery from bilateral TPLO surgeries.

We made it!

The hard work payed off, and 12 weeks after TPLO surgery to repair Penny's left knee, we were back on the trail for our first real hike.

The mountain air never smelled sweeter.

Our recovery was smooth, and I know that much of it was due to our careful, diligent approach to her rehabilitation.

This happy face made it all worth it:

 

Would we do it again?  In a heartbeat.  For us, TPLO was beyond a doubt the way to go.

This ended up being a good opinion to have, since just 4 short months later, we WOULD be doing it again!

Yours truly- Tigerlily

The Dog’s Knees: Chapter 7- Boredom Busters

This is one of several chapters chronicling our successful story of recovery from bilateral TPLO surgeries.

How do you keep your recovering dog and you from going totally nuts?

In the beginning, it's pretty simple.  If dog is bored of being inside the house, put dog outside:

Give the dog some company:

As dog gets further along in recovery, and it's more challenging, give dog things to steal and take 10 feet away from you, so that she feels like she's getting away with something:

Let dog hang out with your other dog, so that at least they're bored together:

Hang out with dog and watch the hair in between her toes grow to unnatural lengths:

All joking aside, we really did do our best to keep Penny from going totally crazy.  In addition to the items noted above, we also did tricks.  A LOT of tricks.  Sit, stand, high five, shake, spin, touch, up, down, stay, come, rollover, etc.  It was great exercise, it kept her brain engaged, and was a wonderful way for us to strengthen our bond with each other.

Yours truly- Tigerlily

The Dog’s Knees: Chapter 6- The Tank

This is one of several chapters chronicling our successful story of recovery from bilateral TPLO surgeries.

One of the benefits of having our surgery done at the Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle was the access to their top-of-the-line Rehabilitation facility.  It was a no-brainer for us to see that the underwater treadmill would be perfect for helping Penny recover and restore her strength.

We opted for the recommended 12 session course of therapy, starting 3 weeks post-op.  Penny had 4 30-minute sessions, 4 45-minute sessions, and 4 60-minute sessions.

Water dog + a job to do = happy puppy!

If you have access to rehab and the financial means to pursue it,  I highly recommend it.  Depending on your pet insurance policy, rehab may or may not be covered.  Unfortunately, Penny's plan did not include rehab, so we did have to pay for it all out of pocket.  I'm not quite sure why rehab isn't always included-- it just seems like good practice to me.  What would be the point of putting all this money into the surgery, and not pursuing everything possible to ensure success?

Yours truly- Tigerlily

The Dog’s Knees: Chapter 5- The Training Plan

This is one of several chapters chronicling our successful story of recovery from bilateral TPLO surgeries.

I should preface by saying that my husband & I are both runners.  This means that we're no strangers to creating training plans for our own events, and we felt that Penny's rehabilitation was no different.

Our approach involved a pretty solid training plan, using the guidelines provided by the vet, in conjunction with additional suggestions I found on the web. 

The most important piece of this plan was the calendar, which we maintained every day, starting with the first day we were allowed to start walks, all the way up through 12 weeks post-op.

We also made sure to build in rest days-- at least once a week we would have a day of nothing- no walks, no exercises, just a chance to rest.  This is an element that we pulled from our own training.

 

These are the things we noted on the calendar: 

• Walk duration & frequency

• Icing 

• Additional exercises 

• Hydrotherapy sessions

• Other "social" events, such as friends coming over

• "Naughty" moments (like the time Penny got past us & went up the full flight of stairs on her own- oops!)

The "Additional exercises" as noted above were broken down into 1 new exercise a week:

• 2 weeks post-op: balance shifts (leaning onto operated leg)

• 3 weeks post-op: 3-leg stands

• 4 weeks post-op: figure 8s

• 5 weeks post-op: sit-to-stands

• 6 weeks post-op: Cavaletti Rails

• 7 weeks post-op: walking on an incline/decline

• 8 weeks post-op: stairs

• 9 weeks post-op: swimming

• 10 weeks post-op: straight-line trotting

Having this much structure really made the rehabilitation process seem manageable, and also really helped make the time move surprisingly quickly!

NOTE: I am not a vet. Please work with your vet to assure that the rehabilitation plan for your pup is right for you.

Yours truly- Tigerlily

The Dog’s Knees: Chapter 4- Baby Steps

This is one of several chapters chronicling our successful story of recovery from bilateral TPLO surgeries.

12 days after surgery, we had our first follow-up appointment with the surgeon, and were given the green light to begin active rehab.

"Oh, mom, say it ain't so-- I'm busy resting!"

The first steps really were just that- two 5-minute leash walks a day.  It may not sound like much, but it was a big deal!  Most of the walks were from the house, but for a few, we'd make the drive to Mud Bay so she could go "shopping" and see some of her favorite treat-dispensing friends.

 "Come on, Lady, get my harness! I've got shopping to do!"

 We were also careful to make sure that if she seemed to overdo it at all, that ice packs and rest followed.

Penny also got several human visitors during those first few weeks, just to keep her spirits up.  I think that this is important for dogs like her, who tend to be quite serious & sensitive to odd situations.

Nice looking healing- about 4 weeks post-op

The green light also included the permission to pursue hydrotherapy, which was one of the best decisions we could have made.  More to come on that, though, later!

Yours truly- Tigerlily