One Month Post-Op

June 18, 2008

We had our 4 week checkup with Dr. Conrad.

Good news!! She is doing so well, he said seeing her really made his day. Dr. Conrad told me that most of the swelling is gone in the knee, and that the short walks we've been taking are good. His exact words were that she looks (and acts) as though she is 6 weeks post-op, not 4! YES! So barring any unforeseen tragedies, we won't be seeing Dr. Conrad again. It is onward and upward from here! He said that we can start our swim therapy. On-leash for one more month, then we can let her off-leash for walking around the yard. No going crazy, no "contact sports" (aka, no bulldog playtime yet).

Dr. Pike, a younger vet at the clinic came into our room while we were waiting for Dr. Conrad. Dr. Pike is a resident vet at the clinic, Dr. Conrad is a specialist who travels to the clinic regularly for clients like myself. It was nice that he came in to check on us and see how Sophie was doing. Unfortunately, we got to talking about the work Sophie used to do. In my opinion, he was unprofessional as he started to go on about how he thought that Schutzhund was a bad thing-- teaching dogs to bite arms and what-not. I maintained my cool and told him that it wasn't a personal protection kind of training, it was a sport and dogs aren't biting an arm, they're biting the sleeve which looks nothing like a human arm. It's like a big 'ol tug toy. I asked him if he had ever seen Schutzhund before. He says "yes," I ask him if he's ever seen it in person or just on video.. His answer? "No... just video." YEAH, I thought so! If he had ever seen a Schutzhund in person he would know that the dogs are having the times of their lives.

If anything, I trust a well-trained Schutzhund dog more than any other house pet. They have more control and obedience than those dogs that are running around and barking at everything because they are insecure and unstable.


Anyway, back to the topic...

Sophie is doing well. I got the all-clear from Dr. Conrad to start letting her go up and down the stairs on her own. We're going to keep it slow and I'm making sure that she is going down the stairs SLOWLY, as opposed to her idea of making the stairs the luge. I don't think I've ever used the pinch on Sophie-- she really hasn't ever needed it. However, we're on pinch for every walk now. She's just getting too excited when she sees another dog and risking the integrity of her knees. She met an American Bulldog puppy on a walk a couple days ago. SUPER sweet little girl, but she's gonna be HUGE! I think she was almost as tall as Sophie, and she's only 5 months old! Then again, Sophie is a midget. =P I ran into a good friend of mine at the vet's who was there to see Dr. Conrad with her two dogs, too. Jack, her SchH II GSD was there for a checkup because of his arthritic elbow, and Tara was her Out Of the Pits rescue who unfortunately is joining the ranks of our bum-knee dogs. Tara and Sophie had a good time saying hello to each other. Tara is the model citizen, such a great breed ambassador for the APBT's out there. It was funny seeing our two bull-breeds socializing politely, I think some of the older women there with their foofy dogs thought we were crazy. =D

This is another angle of Sophie sleeping in the game chair. She's crazy about this chair because she can curl up like a little bean in it. She was sleeping with her body in the "seat" bit, and her legs elevated and leaning against the "back" part of the chair. Does that make any sense? LOL



Sophie, what's up? Can you play yet?


PSHEW! Never Mind! Your breath STINKS!