about to give up?

[MPbandmom]

I took the dogs out last night for what I will admit is the first time in more than a week. We have been working on training and play activities in the yard. We went to the mixed use low distraction location as I knew they would be wound up and need some refreshing on their loose leash manners. Sky definately since we missed her agility class this past week due to thunder storms. For the most part the walk really went very well. I was really impressed with how Sky seems to be grasping the loose leash thing finally. There were a couple of times when she suddenly dodged sideways because we apparently passed something that just had to be smelled. I had to quickly catch myself with my right leg, and tell her to leave it and then we continued on our way. After the walk, everything seemed fine until I stood up after sitting at the computer for a little while, now I can barely walk as my right hip doesn't seem to want to support my weight in a normal manner.

I walk the dogs on a 8' double end leash. One end on their car harness and the handle end attached to their collar. I then put the middle crosswise over my shoulder to have hands free to click and treat. Sirius on the left and Sky on the right. Also if we happen to encounter something that is overstimulating for them I will take a hold of the leash handle attached to their collar to keep them closer to me.

Sirius has her issues, but is about 35 lbs and tends to walk naturally at heel. Sky is a total sweetheart, but she is also a high energy 50+ pound strong dog. Through just being a dog with a natural exuberance and zest for life, she can accidently injure me. My son who originally adopted the dogs has landed back home again, but still won't do anything with the dogs that is along the line of training/walking. If he walks Sky, he insists on using her collar only, and then shortens up the leash and strong arms/chokes her into staying by his side. He will also only walk them if there is a destination (like the ice cream shop) in mind. Otherwise he is quite content to let the dogs languish in the house or yard with about 5 minutes worth of fetch counting as Sky's exercise for the day. I tried to suggest that he take over being Sky's agility handler, but he wasn't interested in the least. Patience also isn't my son's strong point. He also tends to use punishment "training" methods.

We never had dogs when he was growing up. His wife introduced him to dog ownership, and when Sky was a puppy they took her everywhere, but scoffed at my recommendations to take her to puppy class. I believe my son is suffering from depression as a result of going through several life altering loss experiences in a few years time period. He won't go to counseling, and I think working with Sky could be a good alternative therapy for him. It would help me, help Sky and help him. I just don't know how to get him to take over meeting Sky's needs for exercise and mental stimulation and switch to positive methods.

Any suggestions on how to get him more involved, or does getting him more involved sound like a bad idea?

Without resorting back to the halti's and no pull harnesses, is there some way to reduce the chance of additional injury to me? She isn't really pulling to get ahead anymore, she can just be unpredictable with her distractibality, like last night where she suddenly dodged sideways to take a sniff of something.

[Fundog]

Trying to get your son more involved is a bad idea. It would be different if he had more patience with animals, and was not so stubborn. But I'm afraid that in this case, using Skye as a "therapy" dog for your son is only going to subject Skye to potential abuse and harsh treatment, which is not fair to her. If there is anything Skye could do for him, it would be for your son to become Skye's daily groomer: He can be in charge of brushing her every single day. That is something that could be pleasant and enjoyable for both of them, and your son is not likely to resort to treating Skye harshly, since brushing is such a laid back activity for most dogs.

As for you: I suggest you get in to see a doctor right away. There is a possibility you may have pulled your femur out of your hip socket just a smidge. I actually did that when I was a teen, while playing tag in the school yard! The dislocated leg was just a tad longer than the other, and it wouldn't work-- I had to literally pick my leg up and move it forward in order to take a step! My mom took me to a doctor, and he put my femur back in the socket.

[maximoo]

ITA that getting son involved at this time is not wise & I think the grooming is a good idea too. But lets look at this a little further into the future....
Expose your son to the world of therapy dogs --maybe gets some videos from the library or something. Or check youtube, Pups On Parole would be something good for him to see.
Also if you can train one or both of the dogs to fetch his keys or slippers or turn a light switch on he'll begin to see how cool dogs really are. Once one of them (or both) can do one of the above ask him if he would like them to learn something cooler (for example) like open the fridge & bring him a soda. Then ask him to help you train it.
Well just an idea off the top of my head...
Good Luck!

[MPbandmom]

Sky isn't a fan of grooming, but my son does play fetch some with her. He doesn't like to touch the slobbery ball though, so I think I may get another "chuck it" for his use. (my last one was given to someone else)

I could see Sky maybe learning to turn on the lights. Sky kind of gets stuck with my learning curve as well, since these two count as my first dogs too.

I think the injury was a strain or pull as with a little ibuprofin and time, things are feeling better and moving more normally.

Thanks for the input on the wiseness of enlisting my son for training. I think I probably knew it wasn't a particularly good idea, I just get overwhelmed, and tired of being in pain, so I get kind of desparate for relief/assistance sometimes.

[Mattie]

You are doing well so keep going, I have had a hip replaced and my other is going as well as both my knees, walking helps keep the muscles stronger so they can support the joints so the more you walk the better. I would walk them one at a time, you may not be able to go as far with them but they will be getting one to one attention and you will be able to spot things much earlier with only one dog to deal with.

If your dogs start to lung about, walk the other way, you are too near, you need to keep them at a distance where they don't react. You will find that this distance will gradually reduce until one day you can pass quite close but it does take time. There will be set backs, I have had loads in the past and still get them, sometimes we do feel like giving up, at times like this open a bottle of wine and chill so you can bounce back again.

Stay with us, when things are hard tell us, we may be able to help by giving other ideas but if we can't we can still give you lots of support to help you through.

[MPbandmom]

Thank you Mattie. I was just telling my daughter that I think I need to go back to walking them one at a time. Which will mean alternate days due the the crazy heat we have been having. I hope to build an agility jump soon for the yard and could work with the dog that doesn't get to go for a walk on jumping.

I also just learned that the UKC has added lure coursing to their available "mutt" activities. Sky absolutely adores lure coursing. I think Sirius would love it also, I just need to be sure things are in an enclosed ring for her. I don't feel totally confident with her recall yet and since she is fearful of people, I don't let her off leash unless in a secure location. Sky's recall is sometimes spotty, but I know she will enthusiasticaly go to anybody, so I don't worry so much about getting her back.

I also think I will work with Sky less hands free, so that if she dodges unexpectedly in some direction, she will have more length to go, giving me more time to react and call her back before she drags me in that direction.

[Mattie]

There is always a salution, the problem is finding it . It is easier to see a solution with someone else than ourselves because we are too close to our own dogs. When there are problems we need to take a step back but that is easy to say than do.

You are doing fine, you are working though the problems and you will be much better healthwise for it, walking is very good for strengthening the leg muscles which will help your hip problem.