Kyah Update
Kyah continues to improve rapidly. She now can get up to her feet by herself most of the time (started Friday morning when I found her standing in her ex-pen calmly getting a drink) and can often walk without the sling under her belly. I even took off the leash for a few minutes today!
Kyah swam for the first time on Friday afternoon. She definitely wanted in the water and was convinced she could still swim. Her head points off to the left and tilts to the right (a very cute look, but I'll be happy if it disappears), so she ended up swimming with her right ear in the water. Amazingly, this didn't seem to bother her. Her form was still ragged (left front leg was coming completely out of the water which was completely atypical), and she needed support to be safe, but she swam.
Since her swim, I see some improvements in the walking and standing. I took her to the CPE trial at Clark County which was a mixed bag for her. Fewer people she knows at CPE trials, but she still managed to mooch some food. I think there was a bit more stimulus than her nervous system was really ready to handle. I did ask Peggy O. to massage Kyah, especially around her neck and head. She turns her head to the left and tilts it to the right. Even though her brain is telling her that's correct, her muscles aren't trained for it and have got to be tight from the abnormal twist. There are times when it's all I can do to not grab her head and twist it to the conventional position. I know untrained hands doing that would be a very bad thing, but the urge to do it while saying, "Here. This is how your head should sit" is soooo strong.
I suspect Kyah thinks Rory is responsible for this turn of events. She and Rory were jostling in the bathroom, where I was, when this happened, so she may have made a connection. She's not very friendly to Rory (granted, Rory would like to lie outside Kyah's ex-pen and stare at her sometimes) and has growled at her a few times. Kyah's love of testosterone continues unabated, and she wants to flirt with intact males she meets on her walks.
In other good news, Rory passed her CERF exam this morning and allowed the vet to handle her. She considered it an invasion of her sovereign person, but she didn't object loudly or sharply.
Kyah swam for the first time on Friday afternoon. She definitely wanted in the water and was convinced she could still swim. Her head points off to the left and tilts to the right (a very cute look, but I'll be happy if it disappears), so she ended up swimming with her right ear in the water. Amazingly, this didn't seem to bother her. Her form was still ragged (left front leg was coming completely out of the water which was completely atypical), and she needed support to be safe, but she swam.
Since her swim, I see some improvements in the walking and standing. I took her to the CPE trial at Clark County which was a mixed bag for her. Fewer people she knows at CPE trials, but she still managed to mooch some food. I think there was a bit more stimulus than her nervous system was really ready to handle. I did ask Peggy O. to massage Kyah, especially around her neck and head. She turns her head to the left and tilts it to the right. Even though her brain is telling her that's correct, her muscles aren't trained for it and have got to be tight from the abnormal twist. There are times when it's all I can do to not grab her head and twist it to the conventional position. I know untrained hands doing that would be a very bad thing, but the urge to do it while saying, "Here. This is how your head should sit" is soooo strong.
I suspect Kyah thinks Rory is responsible for this turn of events. She and Rory were jostling in the bathroom, where I was, when this happened, so she may have made a connection. She's not very friendly to Rory (granted, Rory would like to lie outside Kyah's ex-pen and stare at her sometimes) and has growled at her a few times. Kyah's love of testosterone continues unabated, and she wants to flirt with intact males she meets on her walks.
In other good news, Rory passed her CERF exam this morning and allowed the vet to handle her. She considered it an invasion of her sovereign person, but she didn't object loudly or sharply.