Tuesday, August 3, 2010

No more of this...


in the near future.  The good news though is that I DON'T have a bone/joint disorder like we thought.  My joints looked fine on the CT scan performed at Washington State University.  The doc did say that I have tendonitis in my back right hock area though...imagine that, a sports injury?  Me?  ;) 

Clearly, as evidenced from the picture above, you can see how playful and active I have ALWAYS been in the past so it's no wonder this happened to me.  Tendonitis can be caused by a one-time injury (acute) or by repeated, high-impact activity such as running and jumping (chronic).  I have always been an excellent runner, and it's one thing that I totally enjoy doing, but won't be doing much of that for awhile.

Mom and Dad talked to the vet about how I like to play with other dogs too...I always go back and forth trying to get them to play with me...ya know, trying to "bait" them into a game of chase.  This back and forth movement on my back legs has probably put some strain on my tendons and everything else back there, so the biggest challenge once I'm ready for doggie play again will be to prevent me from being so hard on my back legs like this. For now, I am on strict rest for 4 weeks and only leash walks which I am used to at this point.  Mom has let me off-leash a couple of times though when we are by ourselves and I have maintained a calm demeanor...no tearing off to do my crazy "hot laps" where I run in circles.  Probably because every time I even look like I am about to run Mom says "slow" and totally kills the mood. ;)  Mom and Dad will also be icing and maybe applying heat to my legs twice daily for 10 minutes each.  Right now, we are just icing and waiting for more detailed directions from the vet.  I am also staying on the Rimadyl for a little longer, but Mom and Dad plan to get me off of the drugs soon, as they prefer not to have me on medications if I will be ok without it.  After 4 weeks, they will slowly start building me back up to a more active level.

I must say, even though I was freaked out, the WSU vets were very thorough and nice.  I had a whole team of doctors just fussing over me...that's the way it should always be. ;)  They kept saying I was a good dog, but of course they also said I was a very nervous girl and they tattled on me to Mom and Dad.  They told them I was not cooperative and they had to take me to a separate room to sedate me.  After they sedated me I vomited too, but they said that is common.  Haha...vomit is what they get for "man-handling" me and tattling! BOL!  Mom and Dad do admit that I can get nervous in unfamiliar situations but mostly it's when strangers start poking and prodding me and forcing me to do things.  I get uncomfortable with this just a little. I have always been a bit of a touch-me-not girl unless it's with certain people and even then I only prefer to be cuddled and touched at certain times. Plus, Mom thinks the tile floors and vibrations from concrete vet buildings spook me on top of everything else.  Anyway, I suppose I could work on that a bit. ;)

Just wanted to update all of my blog buddies...thanks for keeping me in your thoughts.  I will try to catch up with you all soon!

Love,
Nala

20 comments:

Remi said...

OMG!! I am SOOOOOOOO... relieved that it is nothing requiring surgery! Mom has had tendonitis before and it went away with the heat/icing thing (and rest). And good for you for the vomit! I sent you some stuff to help keep you occupied, but not get you riled up. Take care and remember, all great athletes need recovery days.

MurphyDog said...

phew!! So glad to hear its nothing serious! Too bad you have to slow down for a bit, but that's MUCH better than the surgeries!

Maybe you can sucker your Mom & Dad into feelin bad for you so they give you lots of foodables!?!

just a thought :)

wags, wiggles & slobbers
Murphydog

Lacy said...

w00fs, while tenndienitis is bad, at least it wasnt more serious and u will have a chance to recover..rest and u will b running around soon..

b safe,
~rocky~

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Great news. Tendonitis is no fun, lots of pain, but at least it can be managed. We hope you are doing much better soon, Nala. We don't blame you at all for being nervous with all those new faces and sounds and tests. Thanks for the update and good luck with the improvement.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Thank dog and praise cheeses fur that!

What great news - given all the stuffs it khould have been -

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

Anonymous said...

OMD Nala that is the Bestest news ever!!!! Yeah!! woo woo!!!

We are ever so happy for you!

woo woos, Tessa

mayziegal said...

Oh, Nala! That is some of the best news I've heard...maybe ever! Gosh, the power of the paw really works! I'm so happy for you and hopefully before long you'll be running around doing zoomies again. Within reason, of course.

Oh, and I don't blame you for getting nervous at that place. I would get nervous, too. And I bet my mom would get nervous, too. They'd prolly have to sedate her too and she might even throw up like you did (and really, is there anything worse than human throw up?). So it's nothing to be ashamed of!

Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie

Sagira said...

Glad that you don't have to have surgery and hope that you feel better soon.

The Army of Four said...

What a huge relief!!! I mean, I know it will be hard to not do zoomies and stuff for a while, but "no surgery needed" is always SO GOOD to hear!!!
That "ice" thing sounds mighty good to me right about now. Really.
I had to be sedated at the vet's for my x-rays one time. I wish I had thought about horking on them. Ha roo roo roo!
Play bows!
Zim

Molly the Airedale said...

This is wonderful news, Nala! Take good care of yourself so you can heal up 100%!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Anonymous said...

Great news!!! You'll be back to chasing rabbits in no time! Oh wait, not rabbits, you wouldn't chase rabbits would you! LOL. What a wonderful report!

brooke said...

woo hoo! that's great news! So glad you dont have to get surgery and its not a joint disorder!
Darwin's not a fan of being touched and handled much either... we've been trying to work on a "let me look" command where we can touch her and she has to take it without resisting too much. It's helped a little.
When Darwin was on her rest period we'd let her off leash too... seems so mean to not!
Hope you heal up quickly!

Dexter said...

Thanks for the update. I am so relieved that you are feeling better.

About that dog playing stuff. I know what you mean. When I play with PeeWee he runs in circles and I just can't help myself from spinning and bouncing and doing the tough moves and momma is always like "oh Mango! Be careful." And I never ever listen to her and lots of times I fall down and twist my leg and and cry.

But what can I do? I always forget that I hurt myself and do it all over again. Sigh.

Slobbers,
Mango

Sapphire said...

good news. now i have to *give* you treats rather than *throwing* them to you ;)

Puggle Preston said...

phew..that is a relief. After what you and your parents've gone through the past couple of weeks, this is a great news. We hope you get plenty rest and have a speedy recovery.
wags,
Preston
ps. that is an AWESOME picture!

Unknown said...

Hey Nala!
Phew! Your humans must be so relieved!!
I'm glad it wasn't as serious as we imagined and hope you get better soon :) You'll always be in our thoughts!

Unknown said...

Oh Nala! I'm so glad it's not a serious sickie but I'm sorry you can't run and play like you used to anymore (at least, not for a while!) - I've got exactly the same thing, you know! I told you we're "sisters"!! I've got tendonitis too in one of my front paws - from playing too rough when I was younger and it always flares up from time to time. People always think now - because of my age - that it must be arthritis but the vet has checked it and said it's definitely soft tissue damage/inflammation from injury - when I'm bouncing and jumping around and twisting and turning - it's like an old war wound now and I just keep hurting it every so often. My humans don't know what to do coz if they let me play and run, chances are, I'll start it up again - but if they don't let me be free, they feel really guilty - coz I just love playing and runnign rough so much!

Anyway, so I really sympathise with you (and my humans sympathise with yours!) - it's hard when you've got something that is caused by the very thing you love doing the most!

Am keeping all my paws crossed for your rehab and recovery and sending lots of healign slobbers!

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

The Oceanside Animals said...

We're so happy you don't have that awful disease!

Anonymous said...

Oh, sweet girl! I had no idea! I've been so busy. I just left word with Remi that my rhodie friends were interested in your blogs (duh) ... Let me keep reading.
Twink

claire said...

i hope nala feels better soon!!!