Puppy rehab,.

Annabelle, our 7-year-old Labrador, recently had seven cute puppies. All big strong and healthy, or so we thought.

Two weeks in and six of the seven were showing good signs of starting to walk. Worryingly one, Beth (she was born on the day of the Queens’ funeral) was not. She had a splayed appearance and, despite being incredibly happy and extremely determined she could not lift herself onto her legs.

I booked an appointment at our Vets surgery and duly took Beth to meet Charlotte who told me that Beth was what is commonly known as a ‘swimmer’ because of the way she mimics a breaststroke motion, rather than a proper walking gait. The added complication it seemed was that Beth is a big puppy, not fat, but noticeably big, and this was likely to slow or, worst case scenario, stop her progress. Although Charlotte did not say as much, a dog that cannot walk………. well let’s not go there. I left agreeing to return a week later.

I work as a physical therapist and so in my mind there must be someway of me helping Beth. I researched, set about making some rehabilitation aids and set my alarm for regular intervals to work with Beth. Progress was slow at first. I concentrated on manipulating joints. stretching and strengthening muscle groups and massaging what had become a very flattened chest. I also replaced the usual bedding with rubber mats to enable better ‘paw-hold’ for the puppies. Beth gradually progressed and was able to stand, albeit with a wobble but despite her enthusiasm and determination she would fall after just a couple of steps. I devised a very simple technique of allowing her to partial weight bear as my concern was that, although Beth was showing real spirit, she was also growing bigger and getting heavier. Diet was not an option for us, puppies need to feed. Her siblings were becoming more boisterous and jostled her as she attempted to walk. It just meant we would have to do more work and include plenty of rest and recovery periods. And then, at last, progress. Beth was able to stand for longer periods and to walk a little more each time we worked together.

Yesterday Beth was back at the Vets for a progress report. Kath, my partner took a rubber mat along and Beth, bang on cue, was able to demonstrate a puppy waddle.

Today Beth is able to stand and walk about 3-4 foot. She play fights happily with her siblings and is as happy and loving as ever. The future looks good.