Flying Poodles

Physical Therapy

Elly is five and a half now. She has a bad shoulder, hip dysplasia, irritable bowel disease, and food allergies. Last May I retired her from most agility competition because she’d limp the next day if she took too many jumps. I’ve entered her in NADAC tunnelers and hoopers and weavers because no contacts were involved and no jumps, but only one run a day, and not always that.

But in the last month or so, I’ve noticed that Elly is significantly faster and limps way less often than she used to. She made qualifying time in her weavers run at the last trial and seemed to love running.

So today I finally figured out why she’s doing so much better. I got her a new harness a while back–the Walkeez–and for a while she didn’t pull, but then she figured out how to put her shoulders into the harness and REALLY pull, using her front legs to pull and her back legs to push. She looks like an ox trying to pull a plow through hard soil. She does this every single time I walk her. She pulls along, in a constant serpentine back and forth across the sidewalk, while Dancer trots nicely with me. After a few blocks, Elly is panting and Dancer is still barely warmed up.

And Elly is getting stronger and stronger and stronger. She rarely limps, and she runs almost as fast as Dancer when they’re off-leash at the puppy park. Another few months, and I might be able to start entering her in trials again.