I decided in July that after the Spruce Meadows Agility trial I would give Kort a break from Agility & concentrate on Obedience.
Obedience is my first love, more then all other dogs sports, it's what I love to do. I started training everyday , I was very committed. If you know me you know how much I actually hate training ! It was going well, then Kort started to limp :(
I called Sarah who came & looked him over as well as giving him a massage. The problem was in his front left leg, the forearm to be exact. He was quite sore, there was also a big knot behind his right shoulder from compensating for his left leg. Sarah left me with instructions for exercises & stretches which I did religiously everyday. He wasn't allowed to run off leash at all.
I had to put some training aside for awhile, heeling for one thing, but I kept up with stays, fronts, pivots etc. 2 weeks went by & I hadn't seen any signs of the limp. I was out walking the boys & I threw the ball for them, Kort went out to get it & came back limping :( :(
So we have been back to babying the leg, I feel so frustrated. There is so much I still want to do with Kort.
In May Kort will be 5, in AAC Agility they allow you to drop the dogs jump height, if they have been competing in the Specials category for 2 yrs. Kort has, so he can go down to 16" , hurray! He jumps 22" right now.
In CKC Agility Kort is in the Select category, which means he jumps 20", but he has to wait until he is 7 yrs old to qualify to drop to 16". He needs 1 more leg in Intermediate Standard & Intermediate Jumpers to finish up with those titles. His next CKC trial is in July 2013 so I have lots of time to get him back in shape. After that I may wait until he is 7, & can jump at 16", to compete in the Excellent class.
In the meantime I am not giving up hope that I can enter 1 day at our show here in Lethbridge in November, for Open. We are also hoping to do 2 trials in Excellent Rally, looking for that elusive last leg:) Our Scenthurdle group will also be competing, so fingers & toes crossed !
I have taken a whole year off from competing in the Obedience ring to work on Kort's confidence & I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with him.
He is such a great dog ♥ & I know there will be great times ahead for us !
6 comments:
I hope with rest Kort can get back to work. It's like with horses, you can't take them out too early or they can get re-injured. It's better to err on the safe side and rest them longer than recommended. Good luck with him and keep us posted!
Is it definitely an injury, or could it be early arthritis?
Hope you feel better soon Kort!
So I gather that the possibility of Lyme Disease has been ruled out? I sure hope things work out with Korty and for your plans too(hugs).
Dianne, had a talk with my vet, I really don't think lymes is the issue so I am giving him some more healing time & then will go from there, we aren't doing anything for a least a month. ugh :(
I hope Kort feels better soon. Im glad we can drop dogs jump heights here regardless of age. I didnt want miley jumping 16 inches due to her injuries. She is 13.5 inches tall. So I can put her in performance or perferred and jump 12 inches. It isnt has competitive but I want her to have a long time in agility.
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