In Which My Pity Party Concludes

It occurred to me this evening that:

1. I have not posted in almost 2 months.
2. My, I am quite dramatic when I get worked up.

For the record, I am a very normal person when it comes to everything else but my dog. What can I say, my dog makes me all weepy.

Ok, and other people's dogs make me all weepy.

And stories about dogs in magazines make me all weepy.

But really, other than that, I am quite normal. Really. Honest.

We are adjusting to the new normal. Caleb has shown a lot of improvement in flexibility and has TONS more energy than he did before we started treating this disk problem. Essentially, one of the disks in his back is deformed, not quite all there. Because it's not the right size, it throws everything else out of whack. Scientific terms, there, you like them? So the chiropractor helps keep things where they should be, the meds help with the pain and inflammation, and we control how often and how quickly he uses the stairs.

Agility and Flyball and Dock Diving are officially of Caleb's list of things to try one day because of this, but so far Nose Work is fine. As long as we choose activities where he will not be put in a position to extend his lower back (imagine him running mach 5 then leaping off the last three stairs to the floor with his feet splayed out behind him, or leaping out of my truck to go to Nose Work - that is baaaad back extension) or where he will not be asked to make hairpin turns or stop suddenly, we are ok. Fetch is technically in this category, and that is tough. We still play fetch, but I have tried to modify it a bit to hopefully help prevent him tweaking something the wrong way. We are under Doctor's order to keep up the running and walking two miles a day; inactivity is just as bad as the wrong activity, so that is what we are doing.

I am very thankful that I have the ability to provide this course of treatment and make these modifications for Caleb. Considering the joy he brings to my life, it is the least I can do.

But I may start calling him 'My Million Dollar Doggie'.