Split

Split is back!

It occurred to me today that this weekend will be Split's first 2 day (almost all the runs) trial since 2/2011 when he was diagnosed with arthritis and an iliopsoas pull.  The doctors nor PT people were hopeful that he would ever be able to do agility again.  They just didn't think that he could come back strong enough.

It was really hard to come to terms with that news!

I set my mind on getting him rehab'ed with the goal that he would keep jogging with us and doing some "puppy" agility in the back yard for the rest of his life.  He needed to know that he was not forgotten or any less of a member in our house.

I think that this mind set was perfect for today's outcome!  I never envisioned that he would be as strong as he is today.

It wasn't until about 8 months ago that I realized that he really recovered well.  So I set my sights on getting him retrained and seeing were he could go.

While Split was injured but before I really realized it he began to develop some bad habits--mostly popping weave poles and wide turns.  Much like someone who has been limping for years, getting the problem fixed, you have to re-train the body/mind to stop compensating for a problem that no longer exists.

So, I believe that we have the weave pole issue much improved, his turns are much tighter for the most part, his AF has been converted to running, he has stopped (mostly) running a muck on course out of happiness and we are beginning to be a better team again.

He won't ever have a full trial schedule again, but really that is fine, I just want him healthy and happy. 

So, we will see what this weekend brings.  I don't care if we cue, I don't care if we place, I really don't care if he becomes a little too enthusiastic on course.  All I care about is that we can run together again and when the end of the day comes he still feels good and pain free.

I am happy to be running Split again and with a very conservative approach, hopefully we can continue for a long while!