This video tape of me and Willie doing his exercises reminds me how important it is to “honor your dog.” (I think that is originally Kathy Sdao’s phrase, and I just love it.) The video shows us doing two exercises, “Flex” and “Paw,” both designed to strengthen his shoulders before the surgery. We first began doing one set of 10 reps each with very short durations, about 2 seconds max, and have worked our way up to 10 seconds duration for the first set and 5-6 seconds for the second set. But the therapist warned me to watch for signs that we were pushing it too far, and those showed up recently, which we caught on video. Watch the video first, then I’ll tell you more about it. It’s a little under three minutes. We cut out about 30 seconds just to keep it short, I’ll describe more about what is happening after you watch:
Now, watch it again, paying attention to how he holds his leg back at second 34. I wondered if that was random, but also whether it was a sign he was becoming uncomfortable. So when, at second 48, he refused to “Flex,” I felt sure he was trying to tell me something. (I should mention that he has seemingly enjoyed these exercises and offered lovely “flexes” over and over again a few days earlier.) So I asked for it again, but decreased the duration considerably, giving him little breaks in between as well. At second 125 he raised his paw (our next exercise) when I asked for a Flex, which I’ve learned to interpret as “Can we move on?” I suspect it is not because he’s bored (a possibility though), but because his shoulder is hurting. So we did one more very short one, and then quit. You’ll notice an edit at second 146; all we cut out was one more 2 second flex (as well as some later “paw raises,” just to keep the video from being too long.)
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Eight lambs and counting! All the ewes are late, but Dorothy had twin girls Monday night, and today Lady Godiva and Brittany had their lambs (Lady G twin girls and Brittany one little boy–still wondering if there is one more in there, come on, Brittany, have twins!). That makes 7 ewe lambs and one little boy. Gonna have some slumber parties for the girls… are there sheepy chick flicks?!
Willie and I just visited his physical therapist (Courtney Arnoldy at UW Madison Vet School, fantastic woman) and we have an entirely new set of exercises to do. Gotta go get some equipment before we can get started, but I’ll do that tomorrow…. And just when we were mastering the other ones (but they will come in handy, it’ll be great to be able to ask him to pick up each paw… boy is training making his exercises easier! Especially useful are Wait, Get Back, Paw, Touch. (He knew “Take a Bow” but Flex is new, is different than a bow.). Now if someone would just make me do my exercises . . .
Beth says
Courtney is awesome. When my Lab tore her ACL, people told me she’d never be 100% again, especially after she then tore her meniscus 5 weeks after the TPLO & needed more surgery. Thanks to Courtney, and the great Ortho docs, my dog is 100% no problem. Took 4 months or rehab, but we did it. Couldn’t have done it without all her support and encouragement. Have complete faith in them there! Keep up the good work with Willie! It will pay off in the long-run.
Liz says
Thank you for posting this, I absolutely adore watching the videos of Willie and you interacting. And thank you for sharing his story with us, it is so inspiring to read the learning experiences you have, still, even with all your experience and knowledge!
Looking forward to the stories when Willie’s shoulder is all better too, best wishes for the PT and surgery.
Wild Dingo says
I agree! Training makes everything so much easier. I have a sibe with hip dysplasia but surgeons won’t do surgery because they can’t tell which hip is worse as she doesn’t limp, so physical therapy is how we maintain it. She goes on the water tred mill which she is not crazy about but she does it because of training. I also had to train her to “jog” — not run, not walk. It had to be a “jog” or a “trott” for 10-15 minute intervals (we worked up to that). That will probably be what she will need for life to keep her stabalized and pain free. In the beginning, I had to use my bike to “jog” her and teach her to say right next to my bike so she wasn’t running or walking. Now I jog with her in order to kill two birds with one stone. She’s my personal trainer these days!After she’s done with her jog, she’s allowed to walk, run, trott at whatever pace she’d like or stop and smell the roses.
A while back you mentioned explaining why the one dog stayed with the sick dog after Japan’s tsunami. Maybe I missed it? I was curious to hear your explaination.
Josh W says
Best part of the video – just at the end when he plays up for the camera (on your ‘cue’) but it gets even better when your laughter gets his tail wagging! It’s just a great little shot of mutual enjoyment of each other.
I also noticed that as he got tired/sore he seemed to bend more at his mid back (what would be the thorasic back in humans) rather than holding himself in “flex” with his front legs/shoulders.
Shalea says
I love the bit at about 2:35 where Willie smiles and wags at the camera – does he associate any concept with the word “camera” or was that aimed a person holding the camera (shifting position or something)?
Susan S. says
Willie’s momentary confusion of “touch” & “paw” gives me a chance to tell my poisoned cue story. This winter I broke my arm, walking the dogs of course. When I got the splint off I realized I hadn’t worked with my Weimaraner in a while because of it, so I got out the treats & asked for touches. The left side was fine, but when I put my broken right arm out for a touch I must have been tentative & it looked like “paw” to Sallie. Her big left paw came smashing down precisely on the broken place, I yelled (ow, oweee, ow ow ow) & Sallie hid under the dinner table. Now when I ask for a paw she looks right, looks up, looks left…. This might take a while.
trisha says
Very interesting observation Josh, about how Willie flexed less in his shoulders/elbows and more in his mid back, good eyes! And I have no idea why Willie looked at the camera at the end, I wasn’t looking so I can’t tell if Katie shifted her weight or not, but I share the amusement about his look. Katie and I burst out laughing when we watched the video the first time. And Susan, oh my what a story about your broken arm. Owww.. hope it’s okay that I laughed out loud to that too. . . (But I should add, although Willie is perfectly capable of being confused, and I’m perfectly capable of giving unclear cues, I truly believe that this time he knew exactly what I was asking, and was trying to communicate to me that he didn’t want to do it anymore.) Anyone think I’m crazy for that?
Vin says
Thumbs up! Wonderful interactions. This is how it should be.
Laurie says
Amos needs PT for hip and knee. I struggled for months luring him through the exercises. Then we took a tricks class… Now PT is fun for both of us. Going to start doing the same with my older dog to keep him in shape.
JJ says
Thanks for sharing this video! I find it very helpful to watch.
You have me obsessed with looking for tongue flicks. However, when I see a tongue come out in my own dogs or others, I’m often not sure if it is really a tongue flick or not. And if it is a tongue flic, what does it really signify?
Aside from what you and others have said about this video, one of the things that I keyed in on was at about second 26 or 27, I think I see a tongue flick. Or is it just Willie thinking about that good treat and wanting to lick it? The first time the tongue comes out a second or two earlier, I don’t think that is a tongue flick. But I think the second time might be. I don’t remember seeing Willie doing that tongue thing elsewhere in the video when he is standing and the treat isn’t right in front of his face.
If it is really a tongue flick, perhaps signifying that Willie is thinking about all those stretches/having to do another one, then maybe that was one other subtle indication that he was having enough.
—————–
I totally sympathize with all you are going through. My dog had a TPLO and then a meniscus removal surgery. (And unlike a previous poster, Duke has suffered ever since.) After the surgery, we did physical therapy exercises at home. It also involved holding up Duke’s legs one at a time. Because Duke’s problems were with his back leg, I had to hold up his back legs.
That was tough because Duke is a Great Dane. He was too big for me to hold up a (very heavy back leg) and reach around to his front and hold a treat that he could see while I was doing it. He kept wanting to twist his body and look at me while I was trying to hold up his back leg.
Then imagine the next level where I was suppose to lift up two legs at once – kitty-corner front and back legs. Duke didn’t get it and wasn’t able to keep his balance very long, quickly putting pressure to try to put his legs back down. I’m a relatively small person and had a hard time getting my arms wide enough to hold both legs up very well.
I’m thinking good thoughts for Willie’s full recovery soon.
Rose T. says
I love watching you interact with Willie. It’s so sweet and genuine, the way eveyone *should* be with their dogs.
Rose
Mary says
Love Willie looking at the camera after you said “want to do one more for the camera?” It’s so much easier for me to pick up training tips from watching a video than from just reading. Thanks.
Kathy says
Like everyone else, I really enjoyed watching the video. Jazz has had two TPLO surgeries, and a meniscus removal since July 1. We are about out of tricks and physical therapy! He has done very well I think, and I know that without the training we had already done, he would be in much worse shape. I quickly learned not to push him too hard and to spot any little sign. Willie was definitely favoring one shoulder fairly early in the video and again later. Just not flexing one side completely.
Jazz ran flat out yesterday for almost 50 feet – ears flat, tail flying behind him and a huge grin on his face! (He is a Samoyed so the grin is pretty big!) Anyway – it was a truly wonderful sight and I wish that kind of joyful recovery for you and Willie also.
Thanks for the blog – I really look forward to reading it.
Heidi N says
Trisha,
This is kind of random, but I am wondering if you could do a future blog post on ways to improve the lives of pets (and perhaps animals in general) in our country. I am horrified by the actions of puppy mill owners, as well as those sick people who post videos on You Tube where animals are being abused and tortured on camera. I also am sick of seeing so many large dogs in Denver with choke/prong collars (dogs like old labs that are clearly well-behaved and not lunging at all). And finally, I am tired of seeing people be rude or careless with how they touch (or kick) their dogs. (For example, I recently talked to a young punk-type guy in a PetSmart parking lot who was pinching his dogs ears and kicking his gentle dog to get into his SUV. I asked him if he loved his dog and told him he was being kinda rough with him.)
I was hoping for some guidance about how you think we might (a) confront (gently of course) people who are being mean (but not outright abusive) to their dogs, (b) what are some effective arguments to use in getting rid of puppy mills, (c) how to talk to people who think there’s nothing wrong with having a choke/prong collar on their dog. I realize you are not an animal advocate and that your life’s work is generally to work with owners who really, really want to do the right thing. But surely your vast experience could give some of us regular folk some guidance about how to stop animal cruelty on many levels!
Any advice our resources you can give (just throw us a bone!) would be helpful!
Hedi
Heidi N says
Oops. I meant to say that I know you are not in the animal advocacy world, such as those at the Humane Society of the U.S. or the Aanimal Legal Defense Fund. I KNOW you are an animal advocate and love them dearly!
Heidi
Lucia :) says
Thank you for the video and explanations. They are very interesting and helpful! And lovely too 🙂
Julia says
Dr. McConnell, it’s an absolute joy watching and hearing you interact with Willie! I watched this video a few times and then decided to view it with the sound off, which helped me really focus in on and appreciate how beautifully you two communicate with one another.
Julia says
Another quick note in response to Willie’s last (hilarious!) look to the camera – I found an interesting video on youtube that I then posted (on my blog), which is of a dog watching his reflection in a mirror. I’m very sorry if it’s gauche to post a link here?, but I’d love to hear your thoughts: http://www.thinkingoutdog.com/?p=335