Thursday, December 17, 2009

Ryker is hurt....





..... and we don't know what it is. I took him in for x-rays and was told he had some mild hip dysplasia. I was also told that he had some mild scoliosis in his lower back. I had two other vets look at the x-rays and was told they were of mediocre quality and there was no evidence of hip dysplasia.
I also had him examined by another vet in Salt Lake City. Ryker was not lame at the time and the vet said his gait was beautiful. He also confirmed that he does not have hip dysplasia. He did some leg stretches with Ryker and confirmed that he was uncomfortable stretching his left leg.
He recommended to give him some crate rest and to keep him on the leash to avoid running and jumping. The following week I met with Anita our acupressure massage therapist and she also recommended to keep him in on crate rest for 4 weeks. I have seen very little improvement. Sometimes Ryker comes out of the x-pen normal and other times he keeps his left rear leg up and hobbles around for a few minutes. It is very disconcerting not knowing what is wrong with him. I am not planning on doing anything with him until he is fully healed. I would rather keep him as a healthy pet than to enter him in any more Agility trials. My plan is to let him rest until the end of February, than sign him up for some underwater treadmill sessions. Maybe he will be ready for the USDAA trial in April, but I am in no hurry and will be ready to wait for as long as it takes.