2 Months Post Accidient

Yesterday I saw my Dr to discuss what the orthopedic surgeon had to say.

I found out some things that I was not previously made aware of.  For one, it could be 6 months for my fracture to heal, not 6 weeks like I had been told.  Here I was thinking that either I was a big fat baby, or something was very wrong.  I was also told to not use anti inflammatories such as Advil or Motrin as they can inhibit the growth of bone.  Interesting, perhaps I should have been told this , lets say, 2 months ago????

The orthopedic surgeon also looked at my xrays & said my fracture is healing, there is some deformity there, but as long as it heals that is no biggy.  The problem will arrive if the deformity causes me to continue having pain, or if it is actually the deformity that is causing the pain to begin with.  They won't do another CT scan, which would tell them for sure,  for 6 months from the date of the accident, so that would be May 20th.  If I am in pain still at the end of May I will get a CT scan.  I am hoping I will not be in pain still, if I am that is another big can of worms.  He mentioned opening up the thoracic region to repair the deformity, ewwwww!!! No thank you!

I can do most day to day things now which is a relief.  I feel pressure/pain when I do anything like try to open a stuck pickle jar lol! Anything that pulls at my chest.  I take my time doing things like making beds or vacuuming, everything just slow & easy & I'm ok. Walking the dogs is a bit scary still, Lync is a puller but he is making great progress in learning not to.  I am getting him used to having a halti on so I can walk all 3 boys together.  We are just in the "put it over his nose & head stage", click, then take it off.

Coughing, throat clearing or sneezing continue to the scariest things ever imagined, I panic if I feel the urge to sneeze.  I find grabbing & plugging my nose is the easiest way to stop the sneeze.  The coughing/throat clearing ends up making me sound like a little old man who has smoked one too many cigarettes in his life, I have to do short teeny little coughs to avoid the pain.

I am battling a bit of depression/anxiety though.  I just don't feel myself, everything is a chore, especially if it involves leaving my house.  I don't mean I am sitting in a state of depression, I am actually quite happy right now, more then I've been in awhile.  I think that there has been so much that has gone on in my life in the past couple of years, that I am just done, totally & completely done in mentally, burnt out.  Right now there are no demands on me to do anything and I think it is slowly helping, I'm just not quite there yet.
I don't want to leave the house unless I "want" to leave the house.  Not sure if that even makes sense.  This involves everything from, dog classes to Dr appointments.  I have struggled with this for awhile now, nothing new there, it's hard, I can't make people understand it, make them understand that going out of the house doesn't always help me, sometimes it just makes my anxiety worse.  I do however enjoy leaving the house to travel for dog shows, I'm a seriously messed up gal, ugh
I do of course do all of the above things, I go to my dog class, I go to my Dr appts, but I can't wait to go back home, here is where I am the happiest.  I enjoy the quiet, no tv, no radio, just birds chirping.

So there you have it, the update 2 months since the dreaded accident. 

Hip Hip Horray!

Three cheers for my sister Joanne who had her last radiation treatment today, now to get through chemo ....

Solid Foundations

Tate gets his Agility Dog of Canada Title

 Yesterday I signed Lync up for the Performance Fundamentals class with Denise Fenzi.
Denise is an amazing trainer, she believes in all positive training. This particular course is being taught by Deborah Jones however, a great trainer in her own right.  I have so much to learn & I'm eager to work with her methods.  I signed up for the bronze class, I have full access to all the video, questions asked, but I don't have to actually video my homework, nor do I get feedback on what I'm doing , but that is just fine.  I have amazing trainers around me that I can ask questions of if needed.

One of those amazing trainers is my friend Amanda, & last night was Lync's first class with her.   It was fun but man I had forgot how difficult it is to keep a puppy brain engaged for an hour! Lync did awesome however, he only had a few moments of realizing their were puppies scattered about the room that he could have fun with!
 
Lync will be the 5th dog I have trained in obedience.  I said obedience & not performance because when I trained my first Collie back in 1975 there was no such thing as Agility, Rally, or Nosework, there probably was Scenthurdle but I had no idea what it was.  I took Ben to one puppy obedience class, we needed to bring our choke collar & were taught how to pop them to heel properly, in Open we were showed the correct method of an ear pinch to take the dumbbell, so very sad, I wish I could have a do over with Ben, he was amazing.

With Drake my second Collie, I only did conformation classes, he was my first show dog & that is all I really wanted to do with him.  I did eventually get his Am. & Can. CD, he finished his Am CD when he was 8 years old !

Tate only had conformation classes as a puppy as well.  I never did put a CD on him, my only dog without one, we do however have our Rally Excellent title & I really had to work for his last leg, he was so not an obedience dog lol!

Kort, oh Kort, he was my first dog that I started off in a positive training puppy class.  I remember the first night, he barked & whined,  he still barks & whines.  Kort is my first reactive dog.  He has taught me so much, most importantly the need for a solid foundation, without it you are just asking for trouble later on.

So back to Lync, I can tell he is going to be amazing, it is up to me to follow through with all the necessary training & homework to give him the best foundation I can.  I think we are off to a great start & I am looking forward to our future in the world of performance events.

AKC Show

Picture take by Liz of Lync competing for Best Baby Puppy In Group

 Slowly getting caught up on everything since last weekend at the AKC Show which was held at the beautiful Spruce Meadows.

Lync was such a good boy, handling the noise & new smells & hundreds of dogs, people, & general madness that goes on at a dog show in stride.
He was a good boy in the ring, behaving so maturely and came home with Best Baby Puppy In Breed.
He had his first hotel stay but stayed with Liz in her room as I was competing in Scenthurdle with Kort until late that night, Liz says he also handled that well too.  What a good puppy he is.

Scenthurdle went very late, we finished at 11:30 pm, it was a long day for Kort as he was also at the dog show all day with me.  He was quite tired near to the end of the racing, he had to run in every single race as we were down one of our teammates.  When we got back to our hotel room at 12:30 am. he jumped on the spare bed & didn't budge until morning, poor guy!
It was worth the trip and Kort came home with his Scenthurdle Masters title!! He even got extra points that will be toward his Masters Bronze title.
The Scenthurdle Masters title requires 500 points!  Well done Kort, well done!

While I had a wonderful time it took alot out of me. Gone are the days when I take 3 dogs along and compete in various events.  I will have to do better planning that way I think.  I'll figure it out though, nothing is going to stop me from doing what I love, I just have to plan things better next time.

Lync in the ring with his handler Pat

Doggy School

Last night was orientation for Lync's puppy class that starts next Wednesday.
I am super excited to get out with him & start the learning process.  He already has a pretty good understanding of what the clicker means.  He knows quite a few commands, sit, down, stand, come ( not reliable yet ), wait, crawl, sad, & back.
I have been working on the coming to heel position as I am walking, as well as the sitting at heel position.  Basically just rewarding him for being at my left side right now.
We have worked on leave it and I can hold a handful of treats under his nose & he won't touch them.  I have started focus work, so if I am standing up & he is sitting in front of me, he knows to look at my eyes to get the treat.
He works just as well for toys as he does for treats.  He enjoys tugging & has a pretty good "out" command.
Of course all of this is great at home, I will have to work twice as hard in class with the distractions of all the other puppies, but I am looking forward to it.  He is such a fun puppy to work with.
I think we are going to have a great adventure together!