2 weeks without my wheelchair : 2011-03-31
Mom and Dad took Monkeybutt Sam and me to Eddies Wheels in Shelburne Falls, MA to look at my broken wheelchair. They are making me a new one (yea!) but it won’t be here for a few weeks.(boo!)
On the way there we stopped at a B and spent the night. (It used to be a B and B but they stopped serving breakfast so I guess its now just a B). The apartment was above the garage and mom wasnt too happy about carrying 80 lb Sam and 40 lb me up and down the stairs but it all worked out and now we are just waiting from my new and improved set of wheels to arrive.
Mom has taken advantage of the improving NY weather (as in not 24 inches of snow) and no wheels to do some strength training and balancing excercises with me. Guess what I did yesterday?? I stood up by myself to eat my breakfast without anyones help to hold me up!!!!. I was all wobblely side to side and my leg was shaking but I managed to keep my balance until I finished eating. After that I had to sit down and rest.
I still can’t walk without my chair without help but mom says we will keep practicing without it even when we get the new chair back next week.
I have a couple of questions:
1. Why did Samson need to be hauled up those stairs? Is he jealous of Daisy so he has to be carried, too? Typical monkeydog.
2. What is that feeding arrangement there? I see Samson drinking from a lovely pink bucket, but what exactly is Daisy eating from? It looks like a bowl nested into a bucket to elevate it. Is that what it is? I’m always looking for different feeding setups.
I hope the wheels arrive soon, but I also hope you keep on with the exercises and get stronger and stronger. Wouldn’t it be nifty if you suddenly didn’t need the wheels when they arrive? Hey, we can hope for anything we want to hope for, right?
Shari and Dakota
1. Samson is actually a quadpawd tripawd. He has very bad osteoartritis in his 2 front wrists and spine, hip dysplasia and old ACL injuries in his back legs. When he walks his 2 back legs line up directly underneath his body landing in the same spot so if you saw his tracks you would think he only had 3 legs. He’s managed for 13 yrs because he is super CAREFUL about moving around, like not going up and down stairs, not walking on slippery surfaces or jumping down from the car or bed without help. Which means I have to carry all 80 lbs of his big monkeybutt when he plants himself.
2. Raised bowls. I once had a Dobe with a slipped disc and the vet told me that large dogs should always eat from elevated surfaces. I tried the fancy dual raised feeders that you see in the stores but Samson is also a stone former and he needs LOTS of water to drink and he would always empty the small dish of water in the feeder- hence the horse water bucket. When we were picking up supplies from Tractor Supply, I notices that the dog dish fit in the water bucket. So thats their “raised” feeding dishes.
Doggone it Daisy!
Sorry to hear it is taking so long for your new chariot! I hope it is just perfect when it does arrive.
So proud of you for standing AND balancing! Keep up the good work!
I agree the bucket bowl idea….CLEVER!
Wonderful news. Maybe by the time your new chair is ready, you won’t even need it! 🙂
Daisy,
You keep workin’ on your strength!! Like “Admin” said, maybe you won’t even need that chair when it gets ready!
Do you rock her back and forth & side to side just a bit for a strengthening exercise? That’s a good one I do on Maggie.
Tracy, Maggie’s Mom
We practice with Daisy laying down on her “peanut” balance ball rocking back and forth. She is getting really good at the balance part but she still has a really hard time getting up off the floor. Her leg wants to kick out sideways. Hopefully, I will be able to get her into the swimming pool mid June and build up her back leg.
Hmmm…you’ve probably already done this but have you tried one of those Pawz rubber booties to put on her rear foot to help her gain traction possibly? Just a thought as I read your comment about her leg kicking out sideways..
Tracy, Maggie’s Mom
Yes, we have used Pawz and she does OK once she is up but its still the getting up part where she can’t figure out that her leg needs to be underneath her. I think she needs an old pair of golf shoes with metal spikes to get some traction 🙂 I am ordering a set of the four 5″ balance balls (on this site- geesh I cant think of the name of them) anyway, maybe it will help her figure out where her feet are.
Perhaps your thinking of the FitPAWS Paw Pods, though you might consider using a Balance Disc first for entry level exercises.
Oh cool! I think they’re called “pods” maybe? I can’t remember either but know what you’re talking about! Let me know how it goes with them….I’ve been looking at those too…
Tracy, Maggie’s Mom