Taking it all in stride
Comments(2) 
ho hum
One of the things that stays in my mind throughout this whole process is, will I still have the same dog that I started out with? Part of what makes Kess, Kess is her large and in charge attitude. Her confidence is a defining characteristic of her personality. Will she feel weak or intimidated about her leg?
Lately the pergo in the house has been a big problem. True to Kess’s border collie nature she likes to keep things orderly, and rough housing inside is strictly against Kess’s rules. If she hears a commotion in the other room she’s up like a shot, and comes charging in to put a stop to all the shenanigans. Now however, when she comes charging into the room she usually ends up splayed out and scrambling on the pergo. She always immediately gets very meek and then skulks off after such an incident. It has come to the point now, that she does not like to walk on the pergo and is very tentative, and in some cases refuses to walk on it.
At 7 years old I don’t have much hope of eliminating this sort of behavior. I thought at least if she had some traction she wouldn’t fall down, so I put several throw rugs out. Now the problem is that she’s usually going so fast that the rugs slip out of place (and really you can only have so many throw rugs out). I got her a ruff wear bootie for her back leg, the skyliner in xxs. The width is right, but the bootie isn’t long enough to fit her foot properly. I did e-mail them to see if they had any suggestions. I just want to do everything possible to make Kess feel confident and strong and back to her old self.
Since the amputation many things have changed for the better. Several people at thanksgiving remarked that she seemed much happier, and were impressed with her enthusiastic greetings at the door. Kess has also started to wrestle with Suki again. She hasn’t done this for years and I just thought she’d outgrown it. Kess also hangs out with us a lot more. For the last 2 years, while the vets tried to properly diagnose Kess, she spent most of her time hanging out in our rarely used front room.
Each day continues to bring challenges, but also brings to light just how much poor Kess has suffered the last few years. I’m so glad she’s feeling happy, safe, and strong again.
Hey, Kess! It’s great to hear you’re feeling good enough to check out any commotions in the house! I think you can get non-slip pads at Bed, Bath & Beyond (and probably other places too) to put under your throw rugs so they don’t slip when she comes charging. We used that with some luck after Holly’s amputation. We also have floors that prove a little slippery to a tripawd (but wood, not pergo – not sure if pergo is even slipperier). Holly’s now almost 11 months past her amputation and she doesn’t need all the throw rugs anymore – she maneuvers just fine. It just took her some time to get used to it all.
Best wishes!
Hugs,
Holly, Zuzu and Susan
All things in perspective, it sounds like Kess is doing fantastic! Wow, did it really take 2 years to find what was wrong? I guess I no longer feel alone in it taking a long time finding out what was wrong with my dog! Like your Kess, my dog fears slipping, so my wood floors are almost completely covered with rubber backed throw rugs. It was a real struggle to get her thru one section of my house after she did slip a couple of times. The fear is still there a little bit at times when she is feeling off balance/weak but has improved with of course, putting rugs down but also clicker training her to not be so fearful thru that room.
When I’m in a place where throw rugs aren’t possible, I use the Pawz rubber bootie on Maggie’s remaining rear paw. They are sorta like balloons…not a permanent fix for a bootie but are re-useable for a long time. She has yet to wear one out but I don’t use them often. Maybe that would be better for Kess?
Tracy, Maggie’s Mom