The emotional rollercoaster of Rehabilitation

So here's the thing. Or things. I've been lucky in my dog agility life until recently to have not had any majour orthapedic issues or injuries with my competing agility dogs. I'd like to think that lot's of this was to do with their health, fitness, and management but I know there is also a huge amount of luck. 

Photo by Mariji Smith

Also people assume that I'm a pretty confident person, but I'm actually a very anxious overthinker. 

So when it became apparent that Flori's issues were more than just a strange first season, I immediately went into total stressy overthinking mode. She's the first dog that I've had more than just sore muscles with, and six months into the problem, it's been hard. 

Starting with information gathering and conservative rehab, then operating on one knee, continuing rehab, and we are still not yet at the point of deciding if the first surgery was enough,  and if we also operate on the other knee. Let alone if she's likely to be able to train and compete in sports with a physical aspect like agility.  

But at the moment the up and downs day to day are enough to stop me thinking about the distant whisper of agility.  At the moment it's worrying about how she walks, how she sits, if I walked too much, not enough, OMG did she just hop? Did I let her sit and play with the students too long? 

There's also the additional costs. Surgery with an experienced surgeon was more than I could afford on knee one. I was lucky to have amazing support from the school community to help me out.  But how am I going to manage if knee two needs doing? Because there's also the extra UWT, physio, and rehab vet appointments and the cost of these. 

I'm doing what I can to increase the chances of a fast and trouble free recovery, including following instructions and rehab plans to the letter, collecting accurate data on our activity, and managing her environment. A lot. Puppy pens, crates, and the balance harness and double ended lead are vital tools. Along with a boat load of enrichment toys and activities, and delicious treats. I'm also (as I do with all my dogs!) making sure I support her rehab with an awesome diet and supplements, and other complimentary therapy like laser, the Actipatch, and our PEMF bed. Multimodal support is the key! 

I was surprised about how much the surgery, and this process has stressed (and exhausted) me. I feel like my other dogs arent getting as much of me as they deserve, and definately feel like it impacted our lead up to, and performance at NZDAC. 

So wish us luck.... in a week and a half we are back at the surgeon and we know where we are at! Fingers (and toes and everything else) crossed.