It's a double edged sword isn't it, whether to work or not. Do you have any friends that you trust that can come in for the appointment if you do go back to work? I wonder if you can get heating pads or a massager for animals at all? If you get desperate try a bowen masseuse that is willing to try on dogs. If I was closer I would come and do it for you, I have learnt bowen therapy through a professional and I do it for my friends canines, no charge when they need it as I don't have the papers.

I hope dogs do come back to us because I believe that Zorro (my last dog) has come back in Izzy, she has a lot of his attributes. Sits crooked, does a happy howl greeting and loves car rides but then again it may be wishful thinking.

most of my friends are working so if I go back to work I am going to be stuck. I have not yet been able to find a Bowen masseuse who will treat dogs. If you fancy a holiday in Canberra I am happy to let you practise on Perry.

As a result of the information from the animal communicator the holistic vet has changed Perry's homeopathic treatment - paws crossed this works.

How's the search for a Bowen's masseuse going? There must be one who's a dog lover in the phone book!lol Hope the new treatment has some effect on Perry.

Most are not back at work yet. We are going to a chiropractor tomorrow morning.

Sorry I have only just caught up on this thread sorry I am going to back track a bit I do appologise I would like to kno a bit more about these animal communicators this is like the Horse whisperers that talk to horses or not really talk as such but tap into there inner vibes and stuff I find it really facinating. Does anyone know of anyone is SA or is it more interstate. I would move to take our boy to one as he has a lot of those arthritis problems as my husband ran over him when he was young and since then as he has got a bit older he really majorly strugles with the heat and has to come inside to cope with it9 Sometimes I wonder if he does play on it a bit sometimes) but other times you see him outside pufin and panting and stuff cause he is finding it so hot and he cramps up majorly after only half an hour work. All I can get from our vet is that he reckons he is unfit but gee I am definetely not as convinced. And to take him to another vet I would need to travel 45 minutes and by then his cramping would all be over and the vet did say to find out what was wrong you wold have to take him to a vet while he is having one of his cramping sessions and then take blood and stuff and I did do that but by the time i got him there he was a lot calmer and then really the vet had no idea about what was wrong but I hav a huge incling that it has to do with when he was run over I am no expert but I just really get that feeling. But the poor bugger we have to carry him down from the sheep yards and cool him of and massage him cause he squells in pain soe of the time. My husband almost go to the stage of something drastic the other day cause he couldnt get him to um cramo and he was in major pain but lucky I got home when I did and all I did was gave him a huge massage and cooled him off and slowly he came good. But that was the worst he has ever been. So I am going to have to get a second opinion our vet isnt very imformative and doesnt fill us with much confidence he talks a lot but not about what you really want to know. Anyways if anyone has any ideas. But the animal whisperer sounds perfect maybe Yap could tell us more of hat goes on or maybe he is unfit and I just dont see it I dont know but I wander whether if it could also be arthritis related aswell from being run over he could have an early onset of arthritis or another muscle or joint condition. All of this forum is really interesting and thought I would add my story. You know our dogs are our world and Yap is our best worker from the time he started work he just knew what to do and was very much self taught just needed some little guidance but not much. So any ideas would be great if anyone has had a similiar experience maybe. Sorry I have dribbled so much but he does intirgue me (sorry not sure if that was spelt right).

I used one in Toronto Canada who was recommended by my holistic vet - she also recommended Caroline Pope who is in Melbourne -
Mobile 0427 563 239
PO Box 895, Springvale South VIC 3172
Website http://www.caroline-pope.com. I think it is best to use someone who is recommended. I sent Sheila some photos and background information about Perry and her problem and a list of questions I wanted to ask. She came back to me with a report about a week later. I am glad I did it - Perry is really important to me and I will try anything to help her. One advantage of using Caroline is that you can easily talk to her on the phone.

It does sound as though there is something definitely wrong with Yap and it would be good to get to the bottom of it. I would try another vet anyway. Sounds like Yap is a working dog and I think that country vets tend to be a bit more business like towards treating them - Perry is a pet and goes to a pet based practice in Canberra and their basic assumption is always that you will be prepared to spend whatever it takes to get your pet better. Good luick with whatever you decide to do but if you want to try a communicator you can do it over the internet and don't need to leave home.

Well we have just come back from seeing the chiropractor who says Perry needs a shoulder operation - going back to our original vet now to see what she suggests. I just hope we can get it done locally and don't need to go to Sydney for it.

Oh my, that sounds serious, did the chiropractor say what is causing it? When will you see the vet, was any x-rays done to Perry at all? Oh poor you and Perry, giving you a hug.

We had x rays done a few months ago - our normal vet was dealing with an emergency so not available to read them and we had to see a new one - I think she just missed what seems to me, now it has been pointed out, a very obvious problem which clearly needs surgical intervention. She did tell me what it was but it went in one ear and out the other. We are going to see our usual vet on Tuesday and the chiropractor will have spoken to her by then and we can look at the best options.

Sounds horrible having to have surgery, but if surgery can alleviate the discomfort or pain and give Perry back some mobility (so she can chase balls!) it's worth it. It's frustrating when you get told first one thing and then another by different vets - a bit like doctors when you see different ones! Good luck for Tuesday.

Took Perry back to our original vet - the chiropractic vet has not called her yet so she knew nothing. She is not convinced of the need for an operation but is happy to send Perry's x rays to a specialist orthopaedic surgeon in Sydney for his opinion and before she does that she will try and get hold of the chiropractic vet. I will update when I have more news.

Sounds like a good vet, if she is going to get a more expert opinion on the matter. Is Perry getting tired of going to the vets all the time? Hope it will be good news for you.

Perry is not at all happy to be going to the vet - she considers it a bad place where they stick pins in you or stick thermometers in embarrassing places. However, she will have to put up with it because I want her to be OK again. I think we do have a good vet who is pretty open minded about whatever I want to try. The orthopaedic surgeon she is sending the xrays to apparently works at the leading edge doing things like knee reconstructions for dogs.

We are going to see the specialist orthopaedic surgeon on Monday morning - pity humans cannot get into see specialists so quickly.

Paws crossed for Monday. Is the specialist in Canberra or do you have to travel? That really was quick to get in too!

It is on the far side of Canberra in a new area I have never been to before.

Wow you did get in quick and you go on an adventure to a new unexplored part of Canberra too! Good luck for Monday and I will be thinking of you and Perry. Paws crossed.

I think the look that your dog gives you when the vet insists on putting the themometer up there bottom is just priceless. It really isnt that comfortable I am sure but just how they look at you. The look is like mum do you realise that person has put something in my bottom and what are you going to do about it. I feel really sorry for them but then the look really gives you a bit of a grin. Sorry that must sound really mean but it is a tad cute the look

Anyways good luck for monday I wish you all the luck. I will have all of my fingers and toes crossed with some good news

Can relate to the thermometer look. Paxy wasn't really worried the other day until it started BEEPING and then it was OMG!! The cat is another story! At the moment she still likes going to the vets!

All weekend Perry has been running around with no sign of any discomfort - however, this will not get her out of going to see the specialist.

I hate it when you take your dog (or kids) to the vet/dr and say well they were sick and they couldn't do this and at the dr's they look healthy but you know they're not. Hope the specialist listens to you and considers everything and gives you some hope.

Took her to the specialist and she has been kept in for more x rays. Once they have looked at them and the vet has done a bit more prodding while she is sedated, then they will make a decision on what to do. I have to go and pick her up at 5.00. The house is so quiet and empty without her.

Paws crossed for you both.

Hope it all went well. And definitely can understand about the emptiness, you don't realise how much they fill your life just being there. Paws crossed for you.

The specialist orthopaedic surgeon decided that she needed more detailed x rays so kept Perry in all day so she could knock her out, take the x rays, and do more prodding than Perry was prepared to put up with while she was awake. The problem is Perry’s bioccipital tendon (?) which may be shredded but has worn down some bone – Perry got an anti inflammatory injection into the joint but is banned from running, jumping, chasing balls (for ever) and playing with sheep (maybe forever) so we won’t be at sheepdog school in March which is really sad. We can only do 5 minute sedate walks four or five times a day and have to go back and see her in late February. She may repeat the injection into the joint. She says this might be enough but if not we are looking at arthroscopy on her shoulder. She is going to give it six months to see how Perry goes.

In the meantime Perry is not speaking to me because I left her there in a cage and she was not happy. The fur has all been shaved off her shoulder and where you would expect her skin to be black or white it is actually white with big black splotches – she seems to be quite embarrassed about it and keeps moving around so that people cannot see it.

She is not going to be a happy dog when her balls disappear and she is not allowed to run.

Oh Poor Perry and poor you. No balls forever! Sedate walks, oh dear. Looks like you're going to have to channel that ball drive into something else, maybe some tricks. She probably feels uncomfortable with the fur shaved off, the air feels different on her skin so she'll be a bit twitchy for a little while until she gets used to it I'd say. Hope she forgives you soon for leaving her there.

She has never been at all interested in learning tricks - any suggestions for how to get her started or for other ways to keep her mind busy?

Have you done any clicker training? http://www.clickertraining.com/basics

http://www.clickertraining.com/store/?item=clickerkits

Using the same principle instead of a clicker you can use a word such as "yes" or "good".

Clicker training is a good way for the dog to understand that it is doing the right thing or on the way to doing the right thing. So it is really good for tricks.

Does she shake paws? Getting her to touch her nose to your hand or a stick or anything, can lead to a full turn or spin. Teach her to lift a different leg on command. Roll over, hide your eyes.

You could try "find it", first try hiding food under a tea towel or small towel. Progress to a cup then one piece of food under one cup out of three cups. Progress to sitting on mat at a distance and then finding it from under one of the three cups.

There are some tricks on DOL in the training section, up the top. Some people on there might have some other ideas too about ways to keep her occupied!

She is not allowed to do any turning or spinning. We did use clickers in basic obedience but I was not very good at it.

Just noticed you've got a thread going on DOL too! That's good!

I'm not very good with the clicker, I'm a bit slow, I'm better using my voice. Some people like the clicker some like the voice and some have trained their dog for both. I would hope that in time I will be a little more co-ordinated and be able to use the clicker better.

Does Perry's nose work well? Start hiding treats in certain areas and ask her to sniff them out, keeps her mind occupied and you can control where she can go. That was the only thing I could think of at the moment, I will mull it over and see what else I can think of to stimulate her mind without overstimulating her body. Sorry to hear about this, it will be frustrating for you. Hopefully you will both make the adjustment. Here are some hugs to make you both feel better. Wish I could do or say more to make you feel better.

A friend has suggested a place she can go swimming - cannot do it tomorrow but will take her on Friday morning. She does seem very down and just wants to sleep a lot.

We went to Molonglo Reach on Lake Burley Griffin for an illegal swim this morning - she was paddling happily and getting up the courage to go a bit deeper and then we got hissed at and chased by an angry black swan so we retreated to the car and went for a walk further up the Lake - we will try there again next week.

Are dogs not welcome there? Hope Perry will be happy to go back in the water!

It is not clear whether dogs are welcome or not - a lot of the lake foreshore it is either no dogs or on lead only, I am not sure about swimming. I think she will be ready to try again but I might try somewhere else first.

Hope you've survived the heat we've been having the last few days. Been doing some thinking on obsessive dogs lately, Paxy is obsessed with toys, balls, having something in her mouth and in doing some sleuthing found this on Turid Rugaas' site: http://www.canis.no/rugaas/oneqanda.php?id=629

about a dog with a ball obsession and how it increased the stress of the dog. I find this correlates with what I've seen with Paxy. Hope it might give you some help with Perry and her ball obsession!

Thanks for that - i will give it a read.

I think playing fetch does not make Perry stressed so much as satisfied - it is a bit like working sheep and bringing them to me. She regards both as work and both as highly satisfying.

She has noticed that her outdoor balls are missing and turned out the contents of her toy box to see if they had gone to the bottom but they had not - she has had a look in the usual places they might hide but they are not there. She does not seem to be stressing about it - she still has her chewy indoor foam balls and football ted is getting a lot of cuddles. She still looks for a ball when we go into the garden but does not seem too upset when she cannot find one.

We had friends over for dinner last night and she got a lot of attention so today she has been having a good sleep and recovering.

I have noticed some dogs get rally OCD on balls. Ceejay's toys go away once I have finished playing with them. Have you found any other places to take Perry swimming at all?

The easiest place to get to is where I took her last time - we will try it again later this week. It is going to be a really hot week - over 35 every day so it needs to be when everyone else is back at work but relatively early in the morning before it gets too hot.

Took Perry back to the specialist on Monday - the long lasting steroid anti inflammatory seems to be working quite well but she has to stay resting and go back in a month. The specialist is hopeful that if Perry can lose weight she can avoid the operation with the use of injections. I have a very bored dog. The lakes are still closed - has not rained since early January and it is still hot.

After two cortisone injections in her shoulder Perry is slowly improving but is still not allowed any exercise (just 5 x 5 minute walks on lead a day). The vet looked into stem cell therapy but has come to the conclusion that it would at most only offer short term help and perhaps not even that. She is on a diet to get her down to the lower end of an acceptable weight range rather than the top end - this is hurting both of us and is not easy.

Went back to see the specialist this morning and since Perry is not limping she did not have to have another injection. We can up the walks to 20 minutes but still no sheep for another 3 months at least.

That's good that she's not limping anymore. Hope she continues to improve. Has she lost any weight?

After 5 weeks of living off boring diet dog food with no treats she has lost 200g - I think she would have lost more on meat and carrots and yoghurt. She is only getting half the amount the Eukanuba diet food pack says she needs in order to lose weight.

Pleased to hear that Perry is slowly improving, she sounds like me when I go on a diet, takes ages to lose any.

Perry has clearance from the vet to do half a day at sheepdog school so we are going to Binalong tomorrow - should have been today but something came up and I had to stay here. She will be limited to a small yard with a few sheep but I think she will be happy again.

That is fantastic news! I hope you enjoy yourselves. So pleased to hear that you are both managing the change. I suppose it is like us when we injure or have to live with an injury, you alter your life accordingly. Have fun.

Hope you have a good day and Perry enjoys her sheep!