Well, the girls and I got to enjoy 3 days of agility at the Dog Gone Fun USDAA agility trial. First 2012 Qualifying event, so a chance to get some of those Qs early, though no idea where it will be. Also a chance for Ticket to finish some titles before heading into surgery.
Ticket looked great coming into the weekend–I worked her a few times during the week, and really no problems. She hasn’t been limping, the signs that her knee is even bothering her are pretty subtle. She’ll shift her weight to her right rear leg, and her stride on that side is a little bit shorter. Nothing like what you would logically expect a dog with a partial ACL tear to look like. Friday was the toughest day for her–she was entered in titling classes as well as DAM team (with friends Lori and Spree, and Donna and Siryn). I was paranoid about how she was looking all day–overanalyzing every move, holding my breath every time she came out of the crate, etc. I was trying to take it as easy on her as possible, choose the least physically challenging courses/sequences I could in the classes where I got to pick what we would do, etc.
Ticket, well, she doesn’t know how to take it easy. She has only one speed–warp. I think I may have caused her more problems trying to be careful then anything. Lesson learned–if you’re going to run, do it all the way, or stay home.
Friday, Ticket earned her Starters Gamblers and Snooker titles. DAM Team was pretty bad–if you would have told me she would do as badly as she did, and we’d still earn a Q, I would have told you you were crazy. She Ed on the 2nd to last jump in Jumpers (got out of position towards the end and never recovered). She got a whopping 5 points in Snooker when she knocked the 2nd red. She earned a decent number of points in Gamblers, but nothing stellar. AND she Ed at the end of a tricky Standard course that got tons of dogs–SOOO close! However, it turns out it wasn’t really a great night for any teams. Lots of Es, that I honestly don’t think would have happened if we hadn’t been running late at night, some of us having been there since 8am. Wish I could blame Ticket’s issues on that, but she was just a baby dog. Anyway, despite Ticket’s struggles, we were still above the Q line. If we didn’t E in Relay, we would make it. We all overhandled a bit, but made it through with minor faults, and YAHOO, Ticket has a 2012 DAM Q. SO glad to have it out of the way–it’s hard to find a team for a baby dog (and it’s hard for me to make a trial that offers Team).
After Friday, I was much less stressed about Ticket. If she came up lame, I could just pull her from the rest of her classes, and not affect anyone else. But she ran great! She earned her first Advanced Snooker leg, and came OH SO CLOSE in Grand Prix, with one bar down. I miss the days of being able to Q with 5 faults… One thing that we will be doing LOTS of work on once she’s on the mend is the TABLE. It’s just looking worse and worse, and she’s going out of her way to avoid it because she doesn’t want to stop. It’s the one piece of equipment I don’t have, and I plan to fix that in the next few weeks. I will be building lots of value for the table, and don’t think it will be too hard to get her excited about it–she is extremely motivated by her dinner.
Trip was her typical brilliant self. I was hoping to get some Tournament Qs on her, and she didn’t disappoint. She and teammates Kerry and Boomer WON PVP on Friday. She then proceeded to win Round 1 of Steeplechase, AND win Performance Grand Prix to get that all-important Bye. I can’t say she was feeling GREAT–she was acting a little weird in Standard and I ended up pulling her, and on Saturday, she skipped a weave pole. Nothing terribly remarkable that we could find going on, but just stayed really focused on her in GP to get her through. I scratched her for R2 Steeplechase since she looked done. But I’m SO happy with her–3/5 Qualified for Nationals, and with a Bye. I don’t think we’ll be doing another USDAA until December, so it’s nice to have that head start. Because of Ticket’s surgery, I’m not traveling and only doing local shows until Ticket comes back. Once she does, it’s going to be a marathon to try to get her qualified for 2013 AKC Nationals in Tulsa–6 QQs plus two Exc. A Standard legs. If there’s a show, I expect we’ll be there. 🙂
Ticket is scheduled for surgery next Tuesday (9/20). I know we need to do it, but it’s hard to take a dog that does 19 runs over 3 days, and put them through surgery. But she will be healthy and ready to go when she comes back. It’s a tough road, but I know we can do it. She’ll be in good hands with Dr. Beale and the staff at Gulf Coast, and hopefully the time will fly by.
Had a nice, relaxing Labor Day weekend. I worked Saturday but it was pretty quiet. Mostly have been hanging around the house, but today I got motivated and cleaned the “dog room.” Mostly, that involved vacuuming up massive amounts of Sheltie hair, reorganizing a bit, and cleaning out lots of stuff I apparently don’t need. I wanted to clean it up/out before Ticket’s surgery, which is scheduled for two weeks from tomorrow, September 20th.
Ticket was absolutely bonkers today with pent up energy, and I couldn’t pass up a chance to train in this awesome weather, so Lori and I got together for a little practice. Both girls did well and were happy to play. I haven’t gotten to play with video lately, so here’s some of our practice. I’ll have more then I know what to do with after next weekend.
Soo, I’ve been putting this post off, because somehow it makes everything seem more real. Ticket came up lame before Reliant, responded to rest, massage, and NSAIDs, and has been doing fantastic with her normal training schedule. Even did 2 days of USDAA, no problems.
Last week, she stood up on 3 legs again. No reason, just lame. I decided to stop messing around with my future superstar, and Monday I took her to Gulf Coast (at this point completely normal again). Based on swelling of her joint capsule, and pain in her knee, she’s been diagnosed with a partial ACL tear. The treatment of choice is surgery–for her as an athletic agility dog for whom I expect a very high degree of function, that would be TPLO. TPLO will also preserve her remaining cruciate ligament and add stability to her knee.
I know some people thing that PT, or stem cells, or other conservative therapy can help partial tears, but I’ve done a lot of research in the last 48 hours, spoken to other surgeons, and rehab vets, and they all agree that the research just doesn’t support it. 90% of partial tears go on to become complete tears at some point, and the entire time there is inflammation in the joint resulting in irreversible arthritis. THAT is a reason to do major surgery on a dog who’s not limping. I would rather fix the problem now, and not be worried about her knee blowing out in 2 years at Nationals or Tryouts.
Since she is currently feeling fine, she’ll be having one last hurrah at a USDAA trial in 2 weeks. At this point, the surgery is the same no matter what might happen there, and if she’s feeling good and not limping, then I will let her play. The following week, she’ll have surgery, and then begin rehab. Barring complications, I hope to have her back competing in January, but she will tell me when she’s ready. I’m just too goal-oriented to not having something to shoot for.
The whole thing sucks, but I also know that in many ways I’m lucky. I’m greatful that my dog has a fixable problem, with a GREAT prognosis of coming back as good as ever. I’m glad I have a young, small, fit dog who I expect to bounce back. I’m glad that this is happening now versus being in her prime, competing at Nationals and Tryouts. I’m glad I’m not trying to qualify for 2012 AKC Nationals in Reno–and I will have almost the entire qualifying period for 2013 Nationals in Tulsa, which has been my goal for her all along. I’m glad I decided NOT to go to USDAA Nationals with Trip–I wouldn’t want the expense now.
I’ve come to terms with the decision, though I know it won’t REALLY sink in until the day of surgery. It’s going to be a long road for both of us. I’m hoping I’ll be able to document the whole thing from surgery through rehab, and back to her show. I think it would be helpful since a lot of agility dogs go through this.
