Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Controlled Freedom

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I’ve been hesitant to write about this, since it seems like every time I indicate Sampson seems to be getting better we have a set back.

BUT, the truth of the matter is that Sampson does seem to be doing better.

We are now almost 20 weeks post surgery. Four and a half long months.

During this time we’ve done two rounds of physical therapy, many variations of medication therapy, cold laser treatments, and acupuncture.

Sampson’s initial injury began in January.  We tired to treat it conservatively and failed.  So for the last seven months, Sampson’s activities have been restricted.

We are now at the point where he can begin doing many of the things he did before his injury.

As our Physical Therapist says, “We introduce him to the activities with as many controls as possible.”

How exactly do you do that?

We started removing the couch restrictions and putting our mattress back on the futon frame.   Sampson was never a jump on the couch dog, he’s always climbed, so he’s begun climbing on the couch again.  He does jump on the futon though and so far he doesn’t seem to be bothered by it.

Our yard is very hilly and at some point I’m going to have to let him out and have a run in it, but for now Hubby’s sectioned off the deck, and blocked off certain areas of the yard.

One area right near that gate that would allow access to the back yard.

One area right near that gate that would allow access to the back yard.

We can now leave the back doors open and if Sampson chooses he can go outside to potty by himself.

He’s been doing pretty well on his walks, so the next thing to introduce is a little bit of running.

To introduce this I took him up to the field on the fifteen foot leash a couple of times.  I chose the field because I can scope it out first and make sure there are no people or dogs around.  Once I watched him trot around on the long leash and could tell he was comfortable and didn’t seem to be straining anything,  I took off the leash.

Siriusly, you mean it? I'm free?

Siriusly, you mean it? I’m free?

At first he just stood there, like he couldn’t believe it, or he was unsure, but he soon got the hang of it.

It didn't take him long.

It didn’t take him long.

After he had done this a couple of times, I brought Delilah along.

Come Delilah, drag Mama and try and keep up.

Come on Delilah, drag Mama and try and keep up.

So far we have only been on the path that leads into and out of the park.  I think we’ll stick with the field for a bit before we venture off to the trails.

But we are finally at the stage where there’s a little bit of controlled freedom.   

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Comments

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Comments

  2. You’ve used great instincts knowing what needed doing and how to get things right, all along Sampson’s recovery. This is one more step in that direction. I used to think I was a patient person, but no – compared to you, I have no patience AT ALL.

  3. That’s great news! I bet you can really see that he is much happier too. I guess the last step is for you to start jogging with both dogs 😉

  9. I’ve been wondering about his progress but figured no news is good news. It sounds like all your efforts have paid off and recovery is almost at hand. So glad to hear.

  16. I am desperately behind on my blog reading, and this is exactly the kind of news I hope to tune back in to. I’m so glad things are looking up.

  17. Yay for this good news!! It’s been a long hard road for all of you, so I’m glad things are on their way to getting back to normal.