#carpetmills

[mandana-the-service-pup]

[sonomacountycarpets]

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[devilsdenbullies]

Ranger Danger @devilsdenbullies ........................... #designerpuppy #devilsden #devilsdenbullies #gotbully #bullypit #rednosepitbull #bulliesofinstagram #instapits #pitsofinstagram #instapitbulls #treadmillworkout #tredmill #tredmil #carpetmill #flirtpole #springpole (at The Dog House)

[mandana-the-service-pup]

She must be feeling good!

Mandana gets to choose how fast she goes on the carpetmill (a self-powered treadmill for dogs which provides incline/resistance for exercise & strength training). I also do 10 minute check-ins to see if she wants to keep going or get off. Today she was happy to volunteer 35 minutes!

That may not seem like a lot, but when she was sick last year she would run away from me if I moved towards the carpetmill or reached for her harness. For months I worked with her to overcome that association of being sick with her harness, longline and treadmill. It took a lot of high value treats and medication for her to reluctantly walk for 10 minutes. Today she is running to the carpetmill, getting on and putting her head in the harness before I even get over there. She is progressively increasing the time and effort she puts into exercise and as someone who is disabled I’m so happy for her recovery.

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Mandana has been doing a lot better on Thyroxine. She is more enthusiastic about play & exercise. This morning she pulled me to the treadmill before I could even put her harness on. Her back pain seems to be under control as long as I’m consistently doing the at-home therapies (especially after activities). Hopefully she will heal over the next few months and won’t need as much help to stay sound.

[mandana-the-service-pup]

We went to the post office today. I had the scooter in the back blocking the crate door. We have the Ruffland (F/L) so I was able to get her in and out from the drivers side without too much fuss. She was 100% good girl inside. On the way out I had her sit/stay in the shade while I put away my rollator and got the crate open. It was a quick trip and the concrete wasn’t super hot but I didn’t want her standing out in the sun waiting for me. She was so polite and didn’t move an inch even with people walking by and talking to her. Afterwards we went to the park for a 1 mile scooter run (she had shoes). She is not really pulling my weight or running faster than a light jog but we’re working on her overall health and endurance so regular exercise is a must. Besides the scooter she’s been going on jogs with Hubbins, volunteering to use her carpetmill, swimming and hiking at Sniffspots and longline decompression walks. Our next round of Canine Conditioning classes start this Friday and I finally switched her to a weight management kibble. She needs to lose about 5 lbs and keep it off.

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Mandana is feeling great!

Over this last year she has had a lot of fatigue and soreness and we have been to the vet a lot.

She couldn’t exercise without her back hurting.

I took her swimming at the lake a few times but we had to stop because she would be so sore afterwards.

I had to stop taking her on scooter rides.

We had to stop running on the carpetmill

I couldn’t even let her run in off leash areas unabated because she would come up lame from back pain.

We were at the vet a lot. We did a course of antibiotics. We trialed pain medication. We started a muscle supplement, joint supplement, anti-inflammatory supplement. Did chiropractor, aquapuncture, red laser therapy, canine conditioning stretches/exercises and we recently started low dose naltrexone. Every new thing we tried was a little more effective and eventually we were able to put together a program that works really well for her.

Even after all of that I was still really concerned yesterday when we took her to the 10 acre Sniffspot. The last time she ran in a field she came to a sudden stop because her back hurt so much and then she ran to me and sat in my lap so I could massage it for her. In theory we have gone through the rehabilitation process and she should be ready for self-paced activity but seeing her sprinting across an open field made me cringe.

But she did it. She flew across that field. Climbed steep trails. Swam laps in the pond and leapt off the dock. She didn’t show any signs of soreness or injury. No hesitation. No fatigue. The nap she took in the car was enough to recharge her body and she was ready for more play when we got home. I’ve checked her multiple times today and can’t find any signs of soreness or tenderness in her back or any other part of her body.

She is doing great. We have a car. Spring is here and we are ready for more adventures. 🥹🥲🥰

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Looks like I need to take in her girth strap (finally!)

Mandana walked for 20 minutes on the carpetmill before breakfast and later trotted 2 miles with the scooter. She wasn’t even exhausted afterwards which is great! It’s warmed up enough to melt the ice but there are still some snow drifts that were fun for her to run through.

[mandana-the-service-pup]

This is the video I’m going to show the vet and chiropractor. This was after 10 minutes of walking at a slow pace. The carpetmill is on its lowest incline. Surely she was warmed up enough for a short trot. However, you can see there’s some sort of pain that is causing her to stumble a bit in the back and subsequently slow down. In the video it looks kind of like a hip or leg issue but it’s much more pronounced when she is running (either on the treadmill or in a field) and if she goes fast enough she’ll stop and fuss over her lower back for a few seconds. Of course I’m not going to ask her to run when she is in pain so I don’t have a video of that but hopefully this will be enough to help.

Critique welcome.

I know her structure isn’t the best but she shouldn’t be having this much trouble moving IMO. She had PennHip done at 6 months (scored pretty well, average for her breed and one was better than average) and OFAs done at 2yr (normal elbows & good hips). State Vet school put hands on her a couple months ago and didn’t think she was injured but I’m taking her in to see both my vet & the chiropractor at the same time to troubleshoot the problem.

[irisavivi]

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A post shared by Iris Cohn-Avivi (@irisavivi)

Repost @dk9team1 Power House 🔥👊 #dk9simba #cookiefitness #runyourdognotyourmouth @firepaw_dog_treadmills #slatmill #apbtlife #conditioning #fitdogs #workingdogs #workoutmotivation #dogtraining #dogtrainer #fitness #workout #fitdognation #pitbullsofinstagram #pitbulls #pitbulladvocate #carpetmill #dankroftk9 #dk9team #ontario #bullybreeds https://www.instagram.com/p/CRE7RC8pzm2/?utm_medium=tumblr

[mandana-the-service-pup]

I think I’m going to ease back into posting again.

I didn’t want to post so many negative things in a row. I want more happy content on my page, so here’s a quick summary.

I’ve been very weak from the last couple of health crisis that even the bare minimum self care is not really achievable. I’m losing weight because I’m too tired to eat more than once a day (what to speak of actually preparing the food). I’m so out of breath that I find my self huffing and puffing while lying in bed doing nothing at all. I fall asleep sitting at my desk and I got stuck in a room because I’m so weak that even with two hands I couldn’t turn the door knob. I have a couple doctor apts lined up and I’ve started a new medication on the off chance that it could help but yeah things are rough right now.

Hubbins is working longer hours and I can’t drive like this even if the car was available. I’ve been trying to get out of the house on short walks but the cool weather has brought out all the irresponsible dog owners and their off leash dogs. We’ve been accosted so many times while taking her potty that now I loudly cuss people out whenever they come near me with their unruly dogs because it’s such a liability in my current physical state.

Mandana is doing amazing though. She is a bit more on guard since we’ve had so many bad experiences in a row, but she is still super eager to please me and willing to work through her unease while I keep the dogs away from us. It doesn’t seem to have affected her public access training yet which is good. Hubbins took us to Target and we were barked at by an off leash doodle in a cart. We didn’t know they were there and had to pass them when we turned the corner. The dog was only a couple of feet away from her and very reactive but she wasn’t bothered at all and just politely followed her commands.

I know I haven’t been able to meet her needs lately but she’s not complaining at all. I give her as much enrichment as I can and she is responding well to the supplements I have her on. I’ve been using the carpetmill a little bit each day to give her body a chance to move. She is still showing signs of back pain when she runs (despite the state vet clinic saying they didn’t think she was injured) so our vet & chiropractor are both going to check her over on the 23rd at the same time and make sure she’s ok. Other than that she is looking good and feeling good.

[mandana-the-service-pup]

We’ve recently been getting into bikejoring and Mandana is already addicted to it :)

I can’t use an actual bike because it would be hard to get it up & down the stairs and I feel it would be really unsafe if I lost my balance. Luckily I’m small enough to use a kids scooter and that has been working great for us.

We are only doing very short excursions while I train her how to do it properly and ease her into the exercise. We were jogging together for a while but this is much safer for my disabled body and allows me to give her more exercise than running together would. I keep her at a slow trot for most of the route and about midway I might let her run a little if she’s interested. I occasionally allow her to put a little pressure into the harness just so she knows she doesn’t have to stay in heel unless cued, but I don’t want to do anything strenuous until she is cleared by the vet in May and can build up her fitness to a safe level.

We’ve only done it a few times with the scooter but she’s a fast learner. She already has directional cues from service dog training and I’m using the same harness she uses for her carpetmill (which we also limit her time on) so transitioning to the scooter has been super easy.

The first time we went out she assumed I was allowing her to run towards things she wanted (sticks, goose poop, etc) but I just kept redirecting her and after a while she figured out that we’re just out there to move forward together. I still let her set the pace and stop as much as she wants but not having to redirect her all the time has made it more enjoyable for both of us.

I store the scooter on or next to her carpet mill and every morning she goes straight to it and wants to take it out for a spin. When we get back I ask her “scooter good? / scooter bad?” and she’s always VERY enthusiastic to show how much she loves it. As far as she’s concerned it’s her favorite activity, right up there with greeting Hubbins when he comes home from work. I can’t wait until she finds out we can actually ride the scooter to his work and visit him there!

And for anyone wondering, yes my thigh is still injured but it doesn’t seem to affect my ability to use the scooter as long as I don’t switch which leg I’m using.

[mandana-the-service-pup]

3 Month Progress

We are just getting back into using the carpetmill a little bit since it’s been too hot to exercise outside. We have also expanded the gentle conditioning exercises we’ve been doing and I can tell she is feeling better and moving more fluidly. We will be starting mobility training soon which is exciting!

She is currently taking a joint supplement, probiotics and a bladder supplement. We are going to start a muscle supplement now and trial a supplement that helps with inflammation/recovery soon.

We also have an appointment with a physiotherapist who is going to give me some instruction on things I can do to maintain a mobility service dog (exercises, massage, stretches, etc) and how to spot injuries or warning signs related to mobility tasks. She’s also going to check her over and give her a chiropractic adjustment if needed.

The 3 month results aren’t drastic. They aren’t supposed to be. I’m not doing food bowl conditioning or running her into the ground. The goal is to build up her physical condition slowly and correctly so she can have a long and healthy career as a mobility service dog.

NOT LOOKING FOR ADVICE OR CRITICAL COMMENTS. Thxs

It’s been two weeks since we started making diet changes so I wanted to compare a few pictures. I didn’t think to get stacked pics before we started but I found the best comparisons I could. You can’t expect much in two weeks but I see some slight improvements.

During the first week I discovered one of her food triggers and completely removed it from her diet. I also chose replacements for her food & treats that have a better protein/fat ratio.

I don’t want to push her too much while her tummy is adjusting but we also added a few minutes of what she knows as “exercise”. I got her some balance pods (the people kind) and I’ve been using shaping to get her to put her front paws on them and do light stretches. We’ve started to add some back paws (she knows them as “feet”) but I’ve never been able to prioritize hind-end awareness so we’ve got a long way to go with that.

Muscle conditioning will come later. My main goal for now is to make sure she feels good with the ingredients she’s on, help her lose a little fat and work on getting her more fluid & comfortable with moving her body appropriately.

(I also don’t want to tackle any major training goals until she feels better)

[devilsdenbullies]

No means No @devilsdenbullies .............................. #devilsden #devilsdenbullies #dogmil #carpetmill #fitdog #fitdogs #musclepups #muscledog #muscledogs (at Appalachian Trail Water Gap Point)

[devilsdenbullies]

The kids love being a part of everything Ranger does 🤩 🤩🤩 when the Instagram police show up please let them know we are not working the puppy to hard, these are clips of him doing several 30 second walks @devilsdenbullies ................................ #tredmillworkout #dogmil #dogworkout #puppywork #carpetmill #pitbullworld #bullyworld #bullieslife™ #bulliesofig #pitbullsofinsta #instabullies #instapuppys #instapups #puppiesandbabies #kidsandpits #dogtrainers #devilsden #devilsdenbullies #devilsdenranger #gotbully #springpole #bullypups #bullypuppy #pitpup (at Murders & Executions)