Mr. Wild Dingo is due home tomorrow. Hopefully he'll either note that Juno and Loki have lost a little weight and he won't be tempted to give them too many treats or he'll note that Juno and Loki have not lost a little weight and he won't be tempted to give them too many treats. I'm so blaming their weight gain on him. He's not here to defend himself, so it's only fair.
Over the ten days he's been gone I got started on Juno's PT even though it doesn't start until next Thursday. I bike-jogged both dogs five times--separately. While I'm waiting for the Walky Dog to arrive, I take each dog separately, holding his/her leash gingerly while I ride, ready to let go if either dog gets a bad idea. Two fingers on the brake, and two fingers holding the leash and handle bar, ready to abandon dog. Juno took to it perfectly. One word and she knows to either slow down or speed up. After one word, she's learned not to cross my front wheel. With Loki our starts go a little like this:
"Loki phoos."
Loki crosses the front wheel.
"NO! Phoos!"
He heels for 5 seconds then pulls.
"NO! Phoos!"
He responds, "Arrgghh, Arrgghh," while he jumps up on my left side then crosses my front wheel. I stop.
"Phoos!"
He gets into the heel position, I start again.
Same sequence repeats 2 more times. Then he falls into a perfect run next to my bike.
Once he gets going he's pretty fun to bike with. He actually gives me a work out. I have to pedal to keep up with him. With Juno I go fairly slow so she's not over-doing it and she's trotting not running.
It's actually beautiful watching Juno. She's tempted to run but trotting is what's required for her to use the forward and back motion of her legs and tummy muscles. She'll start off slowly but at the end she gets into a zone, with her nose forward, eyes squinting and she's working like a sled dog. It's stunning to watch, even at a trot. We started at 10 minutes with some breaks and she's up to 15 minutes already with one or two breaks.
It's only been a little over a week and already it's helping her with pain. She's so full of herself that the other night she bitey-faced Loki until he couldn't take it anymore and ran away. Then she chased him across the room, mounted him from the back and bit into his back, much to his surprise. He stumbled over to me, in shock and picked up a toy to console himself. She promptly marched over and literally punched it out of his mouth. If my mouth wasn't open from shock, I would have cried from pride. Pay-back's bitch.
I'm thrilled that she is "too good" (surgeon's words) for surgery and really happy to see exercise is the answer. The gold beads helped a lot in acute pain, but did nothing to help her move properly and build muscle strength. I've heard a thousand times that walking is the best form of exercise, and in Juno's case, that is just not so. In fact, that type of movement makes her more stiff. I realize now that she'll need specific exercises on a regular basis for life. Cycling with her is a lot of fun. Over the next few months I'm hoping to work her up to an hour of cycling a few times per week with rest days for long walks. I'm on a mission to get her fit!
Before we left California to move here, I told Mr. Wild Dingo to be sure to pack my VooDoo cyclocross bike because I wanted to put flat pedals on it and use it as a "cruiser" bike. All of our bikes are custom in one way or another: either the frame, the paint or the components. We have a lot of bikes. He has five bikes here alone, and I have three, and we still have more in California. We use them. The VoodDoo is not a particularly nice bike, it's old and heavy, so it would have been perfect to convert to a "cruiser."
Sigh. Nothing says "I told you so" like flat pedals on my custom-designed mountain bike.
"Hey Princess, did you see that bicycle that just went by? Maybe he'll let us run with him."
"Big Boy, the bikers are mine. Back off, or I'll give you more of what I dished out last night!"
That's such a great photo of Loki and Juno!
Isn't it wonderful that an exercise that will help Juno is also something she enjoys. Paws crossed for continued improvement.
Good luck with the weight gain or loss - we can't wait to hear what happens when Mr. Wild Dingo gets home.
Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara
If we lived in a flatter neighborhood (and I had a bike) I'd love to bike with Darwin. Running for me is out of the question cause I've got old lady knees.
Im happy to hear Juno's loving her new work out! And that's she's getting back at Loki! hehehe
Well, Mr. Wild Dingo will likely be handing out treats no matter what. He's just drawn that way. As for the fitness program. Go, Juno, go!
Slobbers,
Mango
I think I just lost Morgan and my husband as hiking partners. He'll be all over this bike plan like white on rice! I'm really glad to hear that it's had so many benefits for Juno already. Loki might have a different opinion, though...
Ooh, lucky you! I've always been begging the moms to take me out bicycling, but they seem to think I will pull them right off the bicycles. WHO ME?! How presumptuous! I'll be nothing but a delicate angel. Unless I see cats of course. That's a different non-negotiable matter altogether.
Go Juno! Show Loki who's the big bitch boss from hell around the house. 😉 Girl powah!
Summer
Simple solution: buy an appropriate dog bike, instead of altering your mountain bike. Mr. WD 'forgot' yours so he ought to expect to replace it. Very logical.
Yeah, Juno! So glad they're both taking to the biking and that it's doing Juno so much good. Good for you, too 🙂
Jed & Abby
First, I'm a very big fan of blaming whoever is not around at the moment to defend him/herself. It makes things MUCH easier. Second, I'm too much of a chicken to attempt to ride/walk the dogs. I just see all sorts of bad thing happening. Finally, since Mr. Wild Dingo 'forgot' your cruiser-to-be, he TOTALLY needs to buy you a dog cruising bike. Because flat pedals on a custom mountain bike? That's sacrilegious. Gary Fisher is crying right now. I'm just saying. Speaking of bikes... I'm totally jealous about the riding thing. If it ever stops snowing, we're going to start riding in Salt Lake in the next couple of weeks. If it ever stops snowing.... (And I'm feeling quite inadequate at the moment; I've only got 4 bikes, and the husband has 5.... Of course I've got a super-bitchin' spinning bike (that hasn't been used as much as it should have been this winter....)). *ahem*
Happy riding!
-Dr. Liz (the doggies are settled in and snoozing)
I think if our human tried to bike with us she'd be minus a lot of skin.
I'm glad you are all enjoying it so much!
Holly
Glad its working out - and I agree, it is a thing of beauty to watch a husky glide over the ground like they were born to it, which they were! So graceful! It sounds like Juno is feeling MUCH better and acting like a feisty husky again. Yeah!
I wish I could ride my bike - but its too hard on my knees, so the dogs get to walk with "the old lady" instead.
~jack & moo's mom
Great news about Miss Juno! GladMr. WD is home soon -- we haven't seen any pictures of fancy schmancy meals lately! You're a great dog-mom.
I am so interested to hear about the Walky Dog. I would love to get back on my mountain bike. I feel guilty when I ride without my dogs. I feel like I should walk them instead of riding alone. I think this would be a great way to tire out our female shepherd. She's very high maintenance.
Mamma Heartbeat
Hey Juno- Girl Pawer! maybe we should team up on Loki and give him a propah beat down... (and then Nordude is next) just sayin':0
furry cool photo!
tula
I'm so happy the biking is helping so much! I'm amazed at the extent you've gone to help Juno and to find out what exactly it is she needs. You're such an amazing dog owner (mother?). Give Juno a big hug for me.
Storm does really well on the bike. I actually do let her pull me sometimes and I just hold her leash. I just make sure not to get it hung on the handlebars because I learned that lesson when I was a kid. Ouch!
Anyway I'm thrilled for Juno!
I absolutely cannot imagine trying to ride with a dog on leash. You must have amazing reflexes to manage it!
Some people around here are starting to claim that they don't believe in "clip in" pedals and think that flat pedals are better for the body. So, you might be cutting edge cool here! (I am not among those nuts - I love being attached to my bike).
Wooo so pleased to hear that Juno is taking to jogging next to the bike so well, I guess its what we love to do. I always jog, unless im off on a mission. I reckon Loki enjoys a game before he starts off. Another win for Juno in the bitey face game, way to go girl high paws to you 🙂