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Re: Cheer Up Chinzi !
by Jean on Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:24 pm

Hi Annaret and Chinz

I don't envy you this rehab one bit as I know how long it takes and how painful it is for us humans who just want our girls to be back to their normal selves as quickly as possible. But keep at it. It seems like forever, but you do get through it, eventually. Remember, it has only been 6 weeks since her injury, so she is doing remarkably well in such a short space of time.Hang in there and know that your friends are all rooting for a full recovery.

Jean

Re: Cheer Up Chinzi !
by Glendyr on Sun Nov 02, 2008 2:31 pm

Of course & what would Chelsey do without her swimming pal ...hopefully we'll be keeping this up for quite a while - it's good to see Chelsey competitive too...now how do we get that happening out of water This morning at crack of dawn headed for the lagoon & found a beautiful spot to swim in the sea....by December we should be able to unwind all the dogs with icy Atlantic massages - good for people too.... so Hilary you can join us & we'll have you back on your toes in no time. Annaret meanwhile has designed a pretty good 'agility' hydro-therapy pool session with smart turns & interesting manouevres so Chinzi never gets bored...who says you need dry land to train...even the chlorobouy makes the perfect "go round" item

Re: Cheer Up Chinzi !
by Annaret on Fri Nov 07, 2008 10:25 am

Thanks Jean! I am very happy with her progress up 'till now, but the last few days have been rather tough and I'm sure this will continue for another few weeks... as she thinks she's fine and just wants to go back to normal. It's becoming increasingly difficult to keep her from running, but we are trying our absolute best!

She had a very good swimming session yesterday, and is really getting swimming fit. She swims for almost half an hour, with short rests in between, and then she still wants to continue! Her toes are looking good and Marinette is positive at this stage.She's been swimming without her life jacket for a week now (5 sessions) and this has done wonders, as she's really working harder in the water. After gaining 1.2kg since her injury, she has now lost 100g in the last week, so looks like we finally are winning, moving in the right direction, with regards to weight.

She's also extremely happy and chirpy lately and increasingly wanting to play. It's hard keeping her from playing and being wild without dampening her spirit, but we're trying all sorts, letting her tug while lying down, which she is an absolute whizz at by now... even pulls Emma off her feet while lying down! All this is of course closely supervised and monitored, but she has to be allowed some sort of enjoyment and "normall-ness". She's been out on walks with us about 4 times now... she obviously has to stay in the car while the Beagles have a run, as I cannot handle all of them at the same time, so she's screaming her lungs out at times, but beginning to realise that her turn always comes, so she's becoming calmer during that now too. Once the Beagles have run, I take her out on a leisurely walk, or more just a sniff, and she LOVES getting out onto fields and under trees and sniffing around a little again. Am sure this is also what is helping to lift her spirits, as she's been hating every afternoon when I take the Beagles out for their walk and she has to stay home. When I put her in the car with them, it's like her whole face lights up and she SMILES!

Obviously can't wait for her to back to normal again, but realise it's a long road, and actually the time has flown and we are past the 7 week mark already! And to think there was a time when it was lying ahead of us like one huge mountain and I wasn't sure how I was going to get through one day to the next.

Thankfully the worst is over and things are looking good. We will continue to take it really slow, one day at a time and hopefully time will fly by and before we know it, this will all be behind us.It's been a huge learning experience for me, and I am all the much richer for it. Sad that it had to happen to my wonderful girl, but I guess it could have been so much worse.

Once again, thanks to everyone for all the well-wishes, the continual interest in her progress and assistance in whichever way possible. The biscuit treats, swimming sessions, hugs&kisses, bringing her friends around to socialise with her, all has done her the world of good. Thanks to all!

Enjoy your weekend and will keep you posted.

Annaret & Chinzi

by Annaret on Sat Nov 08, 2008 8:36 pm

The Chinz-Chels Swimming Races

Boy oh boy did Chinzi have FUN today ! Here are some photos of Chinzi and Chelsey having an absolute ball racing each other to their respective balls in the pool. Needless to say, there were lots of screeches/moans from excitment and splashes all over to get there first!

On the step...

Ready, steady......

Go! What an action shot by photographer Glendyr!

Racing...

Back to the step.

We had an absolutely lovely entertaining time watching this competitive duo and I think the two Collies had the time of their lives!

Re: Cheer Up Chinzi !
by Glendyr on Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:15 am

Wow, what a fun way to unwind after yet another incredible brain-twister agility course design by Ian ( show class @ Cape Handlers) - no idea how he just produces one after the other & my list of sequences "i cannot do" is now very, very long

The dynamics & interaction of our swimming duo above was just such unbelievable fun ( especially from dry land - photographer's privelege - that water is FREEZING ) & the competitive relationship that has developed is not only entertaining but has brought out some amazing character traits we would usually never see in our dogs. Chelsey has found her niche & the pool is even called "Chelsey's Pool" so maybe this is something we can continue in the future to help any others who have injuries...dogs that is - will run this idea by husband another time though

Fetching their balls / toys is something these 2 take with such seriousness & though the photos reveal a lot there were many other things we noticed during the session. On their breaks, if one goes near the pool steps, the other starts crying & if you look at the "Ready, steady" photo Chinzi's look is typical of the "start" ( it may seem to be one of worry - but not so at all ) - she won't take her eyes off opponent Chesley ( who she has quickly learned cheats & barges & flies the step to catch an early advantage ) & won't take her ears off Annaret as she waits for the signal to go.The effort the 2 of them put in with each "race" is also amazing & even on the return swim they roll their eyes at each other to check whether they are "winning".

The improvement in Chinzi's foot is quite incredible & those toes are looking fantastic - I think the smile on Annaret's face says it all - Chinz will be back sooner rather than later - of that I am certain

"The reason dogs are man's best friend is 'cos their tails wag & not their tongues"

Re: Cheer Up Chinzi !
by Hilary on Tue Nov 11, 2008 8:54 pm

stunning pics - lovely to see what progress you have made!

Update

Re: Cheer Up Chinzi !
by Annaret on Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:51 am

A SPECIAL THANK YOU…
I would like to thank the following people for not only freely giving their expert advice on Chinzi’s injury, but also caring, listening and truly making themselves available to assist in whichever way needed during her road to recovery:

Dr. Stephen Maberly BVSc (Hons) and Dr. Elzet Rossouw from Goedemoed and Durbanville Animal Hospital who performed the surgery on the day of the accident. Dr. Maberly left his kid’s birthday party in order to come in and perform the surgery immediately.

Charmaine, the veterinary nurse who with lots of love and care made sure that Chinzi’s splint and bandage was magnificantly prepared to last for the time necessary.The staff at Goedemoed Animal Hospital , in particular Gillian and Debbie, who never got tired of my phone calls and always helped where they could and as quick as they could.

Dr. Thomas at Durbanville Animal Hospital for researching homeopathic medicine specifically to aid tendon healing and prescribing tablets for Chinzi on my request.

Dr. Alasdair G Cameron (Scotland) - Managing Partner at Baker & McVeigh Clinic, International Equine Injury Specialists – giving expert advice on injury, healing and aftercare, access courtesy of Glendyr’s husband David.

Dr. Vere Allin (UK & SA) – Founder & Former Operator of Cape Vet Hospital - small & large animal clinic specialising in sport's injuries - a Goldmine of Information & experience. Retired but offered info & help with Chinzi anytime from now til whenever as special, special favour.

Last but not least, Marinette Prinsloo (Teeling) BSc Physiotherapy, MSc Animal Studies working with Chinzi’s rehab program. She also consulted various vets and specialists in order to provide the best guidance and treatment possible. Marinette is one of only two veterinary phsyios qualified with a Masters degree in the country.

For all these people I am truly thankful! Without you guys we would have been lost, but now we are content being in good hands and doing the very best for Chinzi’s health and happiness that we possibly can.

Re: Cheer Up Chinzi !
by Annaret on Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:43 pm

Whew... been so busy, haven't posted an update for almost two weeks!

Good news, still... so far so good. Chinzi is doing better than expected at these early stages of her recovery. I've learnt more about tendons than I probably thought I ever would, and for now there's nothing to complain about.

Chinzi has slowly started putting weight on the foot during the last 10 days, and we are now at the stage where she walks on it permanently. She's not allowed to run or trot yet, although she sometimes seems to think we are absolutely nuts in trying to slow her down! " 'cos mom, I feel fine! "

She is absolutely LOVING the swimming sessions. Since my last post she's been getting quite swimming fit! She sees Marinette for treatment and therapy every Tuesday and Thursday, then we try to work in some extra swimming over the weekends. Last weekend she had 2 good sessions on Sat and Sun. This week we're going to try do the same. Thursday this week was the first time she swam without her life jacket and she had to work much harder as she now had to keep herself afloat as well. She was very comfortable in the water, so all good. She's now kicking evenly with both back legs, which is great as it was understandably slightly uneven in the beginning. Today she had her second session without the life-jacket and she didn't want to stop swimming... she just carried on and on and on... I eventually had to hold her to rest a bit, as she was just ready and rearing to go again each time she brought me back the ball. She also raced Chelsey in the pool a bit, and that competitive flyball racing adrenalin could kick in somewhat in a safe environment. She absolutely loved having a friend swim with her and we'll probably have some more races tomorrow. She also practised her swimmers turn quite a bit, so watch out for Chinzi's return flyballers!

The only unfortunate thing at the moment, is that she picked up some more weight... she is now almost 1.5kg heavier than she was at the time of the injury of which about 0.6kg she picked up since she started swimming... Although she doesn't seem to get tired quickly from the swimming, she's obviously not getting the same exercise as she would with running, and probably building some muscle which also slightly adds to the weight. So, we look forward to her being able to start running... but that will probably be quite a while still. We will start with controlled jogs in the beginning, on leash and minimal amounts initially, slowly building it up, should the signs be favourable to do so.

Well, that's some news for now, will keep you posted on progress.

Thanks again for all the interest and care, it means a lot to us to know that so many of you are rooting for Chinzi's full recovery and thinking of her in this time.

Wags&Kisses from Chinz...