Dog Park Fun

Dog Park Day, Time for a Swim!

They love swimming, especially Abbey

once again, there she goes!

And what's a day at the dog park without familiar friends.

Sorry for the poor photo quality, these were taken with the iPhone because I forgot my camera.

Ball Breakthrough and Stretches

As promised, Abbey has been going on the exercise ball even on my busiest days. I come home from school, grab my treats, grab the ball and we have at it. What's absolutely great is that Abbey is always SO amped and excited to do her ball work, and I think I have become so obsessed with this style of therapy that I might just get a disc too. Now, we did our usual routine yesterday and today, but YESTERDAY we had a major breakthrough...Abbey knows how to orient her position so that she does not fall off the ball. That's a major step for great balance and better coordination. The ball got loose at one point while Abbey was standing on it and it started rolling and instead of jumping off (the reaction that I expected) she kept moving and moving repositioning herself so that she was always on top of the ball and she was STANDING at the same time. Well, well girlie...VERY impressive. I quickly grabbed the ball so that she didn't start looking like a circus monkey, she jumped off and I gave her plenty of praise and cookies. She is also able to perform her "sit pretty" without assistance...although from time to time she still demands some if she isn't in the right spot on the ball.

I usually massage Abbey gently after ball work and do a couple of stretches, this time we did a couple organized stretches and skipped the massage part. Hind leg stretches, back stretches, we also stretch her neck. She is actually quite flexie with those back stretches and she enjoyed doing those as well. Perhaps it's because she gets cookies. I wanted to thank Pam from Pam's Dog Academy for posting the video on constructive stretches to do with the dog to prevent a sport injury.

That's all for now! Thanks for keeping up with us, there's much more to come!

What A Workout!

This morning, after I came from the Doctor (follow-up post surgery), Abbey and I did some exercise on the ball. We previously had only 2 sessions and that was more to get Abbey used to jumping on the ball and orienting herself into different positions. Today we officially did a work-out. I had her jump onto the ball and do a series on sits, downs, stands, and sit prettys. Currently her sit pretty is a bit off-balance and she grasps at my arm for support, but that's alright in my opinion. As she becomes more and more comfortable and finds her "footing" she'll be able to perform that position independently. Funny enough, as we were working Abbey came up with a rather clever position...performing her handstand on the ball. I thought this was great for working on her hind end awareness and also strength and balance.

After all that work, which went for about 5 minutes maybe 8, we decided to take some pictures so that everyone could see. What better way to express the taxing effect of the workout than the dog, the ball, and a relaxed pose. Yes, my friends, the photo is a pose/trick of Abbey's called "on your side". I love this shot of her next to the ball, because in the beginning she was a bit wary of it and now not only is she overjoyed to work on it, but also comfortable enough to lie against it. We'll be doing sessions like this every day from now until the beginning of May, and then move to only 3-4 times a week. As she lays at my feet while I'm typing this blog all I can think is man WHAT A WORKOUT!

We'll be headed to the Dog Park this afternoon. Keep following us, there is more progress and pictures to come!