{Rehab} starts for Sky

Our sweet Sky finally started rehab this week! First, we went and met Tena and Annette at Alta Dog Rehab. They showed us exercises and stretches that we could do to help our girl get better faster. Then they helped her walk in the underwater treadmill to help build strength in her leg. She did so good!

Then a few days later we took Sky swimming to help her with strength and range of motion. She did amazing! Almost didn't need any help getting in or out of the water. After only 12 minutes though Sky was so tired! Annette was very proud of her and so was I! Sky is getting better!

Hip {surgery} for Sky

Our sweet 6 month old Border Collie, Sky, injured herself while playing on November 10th. We immediately knew something was wrong and took her to the emergency vet. An x-ray revealed that Sky had dislocated her hip and would require surgery to put it back in place.

On the morning of the 11th, the surgeon reviewed the x-ray and told us that it was worse than just a dislocation, Sky had broken the head of her femur as well. Now rather than a hip placement surgery, she would receive a Femur Head Osteotomy (FHO) surgery. This is the surgical removal of the head and neck of the femur. In simpler terms, it is the removal of the “ball” part of the ball-and-socket that makes up the hip joint.

Once the femoral head and neck are removed, the surrounding muscles and developing scar tissue work to support the area, and act as a false joint. This means that now when the limb is moved, the forces are transferred to the pelvis rather than the leg itself.

We picked up Sky on the 12th from the vet. She was trying so hard to be her happy, active self but it was obvious she was in pain. The vet estimated it would take 6-8 weeks for her to be confident walking on it like normal. On our way home we stopped to pick up an e-collar (cone of shame) just in case and she was a champ walking three-legged into the store. As soon as we got home and she went potty she hobbled into her crate and fell asleep.

Now Sky is healing so well! We took her to visit the vet on Saturday and she said that Sky is doing great with her rehab and her incision looks awesome. Sky still needs to wear the cone of shame until she gets her sutures out. She tries to run and jump but we have to keep her calm and lying down as much as possible. Her activity is limited to four 5 minute walks a day, and she is all smiles when she does get her walk.

It's been a tough week trying to keep this girl contained and making sure she gets everything she needs to heal properly. Next week she will get her stitches out and hopefully then we can increase activity and stop using the cone of shame.

Sky learned to {Swim}

A couple of weeks ago we discovered Barley's Canine Rec Center in Salt Lake. It's a place that not only boards and has daycare for dogs, but also has a dog pool! So we signed Sky up for a swimming lesson. I couple weeks ago she had her first lesson and did awesome, but just to be sure, we did a second lesson this week. This time was so awesome! She was jumping in the pool and swimming around like a pro. The only struggle is that she gets distracted when other dogs are around so we are going to do some reserved swims before trying open swim again. Just for memories and your enjoyment, here are some pictures of our "Otter Collie".

Coming up the ramp

Jumping in for the ball

Swimming with Mike (the instructor)