Sorry for the long pause between posts! Rigby has begun her doggie physical therapy. We have a local vet who is also a certified pet rehabilitator come once a week to work with us to get Rigs back to tip top shape.
So far we have her doing a couple five minute walks per day on the road, her range of motion exercises, as well as a couple of interesting ones.
The first one is a contralateral hip exercise. Basically we take a treat and put it near her backside and she then has to twist to get it. We like this one because she doesn't cheat much.
The next exercise we do is making her sit square. Now with this one, Rigby is a pro at cheating. Whether it be leaning against the wall, leaning on her good leg, or just flat out sitting on her butt, she really can find a way out of doing this exercise. Another one that only works for a minute is putting a hair tie around her good paw. She really doesn't like it and it forces her to put weight on the bad leg.
Another exercise we do is lovingly referred to by our vet as happy butt. Basically you get her riled up so she's trying to play, and you push down on the top of her hind end, forcing her to put weight on it. We have to do this one last because she gets too riled up.
The last exercise is my personal favorite. We call it the circus elephant. Basically we take this little side table and put the dog up on it. The platform is so small that she's forced to sit on it correctly.
