It Never Rains ... Cookie's New Injury

Cookie's recovery from iliopsoas injury was going well. She was getting better and better, could go on longer walks, we started some functional exercises. Before Christmas, we discussed with her physical therapist how much walking she could safely do because we always celebrated Christmas with long special walks.


Cookie was cleared for moderate-lenght walks.

She did great with them even though there was a lot of excitement involved. We originally planned two medium walks on the Christmas day but because of all the enthusiasm we decided to do just one and the rest her "normal" rehab walks around the house, looking for critters.

Everything went well. And the New Year came with some more fresh snow.

Very fluffy snow, the kind Cookie loves the most. And that's when she lost it. Our walksies actually went well, she was busy looking for mice. Our New Year's special, longer walk went well too. Later that day she asked to go potty, so I took her. She did her business, did a quick check on the critters and then, between the fresh snow and cold air, the brain left the building.

She broke into full-blown zoomies.

Yes, she was on the leash. But I'm not sure if she'd actually been better off free. As much as I was trying to get her focus and calm down, she was flailing at the end of the leash like a kite in a hurricane. In the process she even fell. I'm not sure whether she lost her footing in the snow drift or whether there was something under the snow that caused it. It didn't slow her down, though.

Eventually I was able to get her to calm down and bring her back in the house.


Yes, she's still on the Trazodone.

And it has kept her sane throughout the recovery. In the house she does quite well. Until the fresh snow fall she was doing well. But the drug was no match for combination of very cold weather and fresh fluffy snow. At least not at the dose she's been on.

Apparently, the effect slowly decreases over time and dose needs adjusting. Which we did. But not enough. Not for that.

When she came in I noticed she was shifting weight off her hind left foot a little bit.

We checked the foot and didn't find anything. It was just ever so little so we didn't think too much of it.

After a bit of rest, though. she got up now fully lame on that leg.

Not again ...!

Yeah, again. We were most worried about her knee and about the recovering iliopsoas. Since the next day she had her laser appointment, I called to see if her vet could take a look at her as well. Fortunately, she was able to fit Cookie in.

The good news was that Cookie's joints seemed to check out and it appeared to be a different muscle all together - her quadricep. The bad news was that Cookie was back to strict rest.

It's been slow going.

I've put her back on the NSAIDs but her leg was very sore. It would get better some days just to get worse again. We've been at this for two weeks. Not a great start to the new year.

Finally, Cookie is showing some consistent improvement.

We resumed short walks. Hopefully things will keep going in the right direction now, with no more mishaps. If I never see a lame dog for the rest of my luck, it will make me very happy.

Related articles:
From The End Of A Lead Line To Casa Jasmine: Meet Cookie, Our New Adoptee
And So It Begins Again(?) Our First Health-Related Heart Attack With Cookie 
I Didn't Know I Could Fly: Why Cookie Wears A Harness Instead Of A Collar
C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Chews For Dogs CAN Be A Choking Hazzard 
Our First Health-Related Heart Attack With Cookie: The Knee Or The Foot? 
Creative Solutions And An Incidental Product Review
Too Young For Pot: Cookie's Snack With A Side Of Hydrogen Peroxide  
Taming Of The Wild Beast: Cookie's Transition To Civilization  
Staying On Top Of The Ears: Cookie Is Not Impressed  
Putting The Easy Back Into Walking
Cookie's Ears Are Still Not Happy 
The Threat Of The Bulge Is Always Lurking 
Today Is Cookie's Three-Months Adoptoversary  
Cookie Meets The Electric Horse Fence And Her First Chiropractic Adjustment  
Why Examine Your Dog's Vomit? 
Why Is That Leg Still Not Happy? Cookie's Leg Keeps Getting Sore 
Cookie Too Is Insured With Trupanion
Does Being Insured Mean Being Covered? Our First Claim With Trupanion
Is Cookie's Leg Finally Getting Better?
Is Cookie Going To Be Another Medical Challenge Or Are We Looking To Closely? 
The Project That Is Cookie: Pancreatitis Up Close And Personal  
Pancreatitis: Cookie’s Blood Work   
Another Belly Upset: Pancreatitis Again Or Not?  
Happy Birthday, Cookie 
Incontinence? Cookie's Mysterious Leaks 
Who's Training Whom? Stick And Treat 
Don't Just Stand There, Do Something? Cookie's Mysterious Bumps 
Cookie's Mysterious Bumps Update
One Vomit, No Vomit 
Happy One-Year Adoptoversary, Cookie!
Cookie's Leaks Are Back: Garden Variety Incontinence Or Not?
Cookie's Leaks Update 
Don't Panic, Don't Panic: Know What Your Job Is 
The Continuing Saga Of Cookie's Leeks: Trying Chiropractic Approach 
Cookie's Minor Eye Irritation
Regular Wellness Exam: Cookie's ALT Was Elevated 
Cookie's Plantar Paw Pad Injury 
How Far To Take It When The Dog Isn't Sick?
Cookie Has Tapeworm Infection 
Cookie's Elevated ALT: The Ultrasound and Cytology  
Cookie's ALT Update
The Importance of Observation: Cookie's Chiropractic Adjustment
Sometimes You Don't Even Know What You're Looking at: Cookie's Scary "We Have No Idea What that Was" 
Living with an Incontinent Dog 
Summer Dangers: Cookie Gets Stung by a Bald-faced Hornet 
To Breathe or Not To Breathe: Cookie's Hind Legs Transiently Fail to Work (Again)
Figuring out What Might Be Going on with Cookie's Legs: The Process 
Figuring out What Might Be Going on with Cookie's Legs: The Diagnosis 
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury Treatment: Trazodone  
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury Treatment: Other Medications 
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury Treatment: Laser, Hydrotherapy and Chiropractic 
Cookie's Recovery from Iliopsoas Injury: ToeGrips 


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Comments

  1. Oh no! Poor Cookie! I hope she feels better soon!

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    1. Thank you Lauren; yeah, she's not happy about that and needless to say we aren't either. At least finally there is some steady improvement. Watching it look the same day after day, regardless of pain meds, was very sad.

      Looks like that one is healing now, though, so hopefully we can get back to where we were before this new thing happened.

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  2. Sorry to hear. She was doing so well. Hope this heals fast and she can get back to some fun activities!

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  3. Sorry to hear! She was doing so well. Hope this heals fast and she can get back to some fun activities!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Penny. Yeah, she was doing really well. I hate she had such setback. Hopefully this will be healed up soon.

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