February 2005 - Ivan is going for longer walks, but his front legs are starting to bother him.
Ivan is doing great with his cart. We’ve had a few issues with fitting the “saddle” properly…and when he had diarrhea, it was real fun washing the saddle a couple times a day.
The people at Doggon Wheels have been very helpful in adjusting and fitting Ivan, although I am still thinking we may need to have his next saddle modified a bit in the rear…perhaps it is because he is (as they call him) stout.
At one point I had him adjusted too high and he really had trouble urinating in the cart, as the saddle pressed on his urethra…..he still has trouble once in a while if he ends up with his legs in a rut. He has found a spot in the yard he likes to go where he is on a slight mound, with the wheels just an inch or two lower…it reduces the pressure on his urethra and he can urinate freely. He has a bit of trouble in the deep snow, and has tipped over a few times when trying to climb snow mounds where the snow has been plowed…he just waits for me to help him up.
We’ve also had a couple of the clips that hold the saddle in place break…in part due to the extreme cold in Minnesota at times….and I’m sure his weight doesn’t help any (the Doggon wheels people sent replacements and spares ASAP!)
He is having a bit more trouble with his front elbows..I suppose they are carrying more weight now. I don’t remember if I mentioned Ivan was given a belly strap (band) to help support his weight and back better…but unfortunately that puts more with on the front legs. I think we’ll try another acupuncture treatment focusing on the front elbows.
As for the shockwave therapy…it seems the results are often not really noticeable until 3 to 4 months later (Dr. Ott went to a conference that covered recent developments with shockwave therapy…it seems one or two initial treatments are often all that is needed to see results…it just takes a while). The other day Ivan actually made it from the living room into to kitchen up on all four! I was quite surprised. He hasn’t been able to do that for 2 1/2 months.
Ivan has learned how to get around with his cart even better. He now walks down the wider aisles at the store and backs out of them (he knows he can’t turn around in some of them). Unfortunately he has found out he fits down the aisle with the pig ears and he has been stealing them again (he used to do this before the cart) and then he backs out the aisle and goes right to the front door and pushes it to get outside…unfortunately for him, the wheelchair catches on the door jam and he can’t sneak out (like he used to before the cart) and eat the pigs ear without us realizing he has taken one (he thinks we don’t know!).
Ivan can go for much longer walks than he has been able to in quite some time..and he is much faster than he used to be….had I known how well the wheels would work, I would have gotten the cart just to help him for his knees, even though he could get around quite well before. His arthritis just slowed him down a lot. The cart takes so much weight off his knees that her can really move! And you should see Ivan gallop when he gets excited and playing with the other dogs!
Today Ivan had a friend bring him shamrock garland ..now his cart is decorated for St. Patrick’s day. Ivan always has been the party animal!
I’ll get you more photos…especially once he gets his summer shave..than you should really be able to see how the saddle and harness fits him.