Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Lawn Chair Agility

I try to get out every  day to work with Belle so that when I can stand on two feet again, she will be in tiptop condition.  I do a lot of tennis ball flinging for her--not an easy feat given how many trees are in the yard beyond the patio.  I actually managed to get a tennis ball stuck in not one, but two different trees.

Belle does really well when I try to do agility with her.  She's getting used to having to ignore all the conflicting body language and depend more on the verbals.  Here's a short video from yesterday.  I was very proud of Belle when she turned after the last jump and ran to the table.  Belle has also gotten very good about dragging my pillows from the bedroom to the living room so I can prop my ankle up.



Two more weeks before I go to see the orthopedist again. Hopefully, the x-rays will show I'm ready to start bearing weight on my left leg.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Getting Outside for an Agility Fix

I was hoping to be able to drive out to the agility field, but I settled on having Ed move a few jumps close to the house.  I've gone out with Belle a few times and worked on simple box exercises.  Today, I decided to have Ed set up the current Whatcom exercise in the space I'm using.  Since I'm limited to sitting in a chair, we had a lot of off-courses, but Belle and I managed to get the exercise right a couple of times.  More importantly, Belle got some exercise and I got an agility fix.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Progress Report

I went to the orthopedist yesterday for my first post-op visit.  The incision is healing well and the staples will probably be removed next week.  He also fitted me with a more rigid splint, which oddly enough has lessened the pain I was experiencing in my heel.  I'm off pain meds completely now.

Belle has learned to bring me a pillow and my small blanket.  This morning, the walker was too far away for me to reach it, and I was able to get her to push it to me.  

I've lost five pounds :-)  Hopefully, I can keep eating wisely for another five weeks and lose some more weight.

It looks like today is going to be a nice day, so I should be able to go outside and sit in the sunshine and enjoy the flowers blooming in my garden.