7-31-08 6 weeks

We are officially at the end of our 6 week re-coup period. Tristan is happy and is doing well, he has not quite made the progress that I had hoped for but I will accept anything that means he feels even a little better. The limp he had in his front leg has been back for a couple weeks off and on, more on than off. I have stopped taking him for his short walks even though he looks to go, I am afraid it is not in his best interest to over-due it. He still appears to be happier and stronger. I do most everything on- leash, even in the house so that he does not go to fast and hurt himself. The video below was taken off leash so you could see how he moves without me taking weight off with his harness.

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY!!!! 7-22-08

The Big Day is here !!! Tristan was 13 years young today. He spent his day doing all his favorite things. He wasn`t having a great day with his foreleg today so we couldn`t go for a walk but he got extra cuddles this afternoon as he sat in the "big bed" (which is code for my bed ha..ha.ha..) with me and his heating pad. He likes that almost as much as going for a walk. This evening he had a burger on the grill( no bun, he`s saving his carbs ..) followed by presents and his favorite of all, banana ice cream from Marble Slab....after all, you are only 13 once!!!! and he can go back to his diet tomorrow.

First there were presents!!!

Then came the ice cream!!!

7-17-08 A Walk in the BIG yard

We haven`t walked for a few days, as much as he would like to do it all the time he is not always feeling up to it in my opinion. Sometimes he can be limping on his front leg rather badly one minute and the next time he gets up he is fine. Today was a good day and boy was he excited to go, I couldn't open the gate fast enough. Tomorrow is 4 weeks since the procedure.

7-13-08 Off Leash

I had Tris off the leash a little today, I made sure I checked the yard for squirrels first so we didn`t have any extra added excitement ! I don`t intend to do it on a regular basis yet. I was thinking that we just passed the 4 week mark on Friday when in fact we won`t reach 4 weeks till this Friday so I don`t want to push things. You can see he is moving well but still favors his left foreleg at times. He seems to be more sure of the steps , he hardly hesitates at all when going up the 3 steps to the house, but I do think he moved better on leash with the harness since I was supporting some of the weight in his front.

It has been getting harder each day to keep him confined in the evening which is normally his "active" time. Nothing like a big old bone to give us some quiet time!!

7-8-08 Hurry Mom !!!...HURRY!!!!!

The end of this video is dark but I wanted to show how well Tristan could move when he wants to. This was taken while I was making his breakfast this morning, if he were not on leash he would probably hurt himself moving around like a puppy!! The boy does love his food!!

7-7-08

Things still going well, he was a little stiff yesterday but this weather has been so crazy. We skipped the short walk yesterday and today just stuck to our trips out for bathroom breaks. The video from today shows how well he is getting around but most of all he is still as happy as can be. His mind would go a little faster than his body would carry him I think. I have started using a little heat on his joints this week like what they suggest, I will see if that makes a difference.

7-5-08 A Very Happy 4th!!!!

It`s been a very busy but happy holiday!! Each day over this weekend Tris has gone for a walk around the "big yard". He actually goes right for the gate since he is enjoying it so much. Today he actually walked all the way to the back of the property and back. Lifting his leg on every flower or tree he can find, something that would have drove me crazy in the past now makes me smile..He pulls so strongly on the harness , it reminds me of one of those weight pulling dogs. He seems to be stronger each day.

7-2-08 A GREAT day!!!!!

Tristan had a GREAT day today. His limp was gone again and he was feeling good. Good thing I had him on leash when I was making his breakfast or he would have been running down the hall at top speed!

For the first time in several years he took a short walk around what we call "the big yard". Years ago if you asked him if he wanted to go in the big yard he would get so excited but it became to much for him so he stayed in the smaller section of our property. Today when we went out I went over to the gate and opened it, he looked at me in disbelief as if to say "are you for real?". We took a nice slow walk once around the yard and back,he was even lifting his leg to mark everywhere when his whole life he has been a squatter, too funny!! He turned when we got back to the gate and actually wanted to go again but I told him this was a good start and under the recommended 10 minutes, maybe next week we would try more. I haven`t seen him that happy in years, it is truly amazing!

7-1-08 A Little Better Today

His limp seemed to be a little better today. It seems to come and go. The 2 videos I posted were taken within minutes of one another. In the outside video he is not limping much at all but indoors it is rather pronounced.