Spike: Negotiating Mountains together

A smiling Spike

It was with great trepidation that we decided to take Spike with us on our little family trip to North Wales.  Only weeks after major surgery on his hind leg and currently under very strict restrictions combined with the fact that he struggles to cope with new situations had us thinking that the best option would be to leave him at home.  

Life has been very stressful lately for our little “family” and we were concerned that our plans could potentially compound the situation.

A sad Spike

The three Siberian Huskies we have had since babies are very flexible and relaxed about their attitude towards change and new things.  They follow my lead and if I am cool about it, then so are they.  Spike has a completely different attitude and struggles with any form of change.  He needs to eat in the same place, sleep in the same place and keep his toys in the same place (neatly arranged in his sleeping quarters in the living room of our house).  “New” or “different” brings fear to Spike and brings about a very negative response, a responses that can be both unpredictable and hard to manage.

Spike’s recovery from surgery is very slow, fraught with worry and full of fear and there are many occasions when it feels like we have huge mountains to climb together.  Precipitous peaks that we fear will never be negotiated satisfactorily.

However, Spike is an integral part of our family and to leave him at home would have been both heart breaking and worrying.   We decided to take him and deal with come what may…

Scary sand, where paws sink

The good news is that we (okay me), over-thought the situation and Spike absolutely loved his little family holiday and thrived on the experience.  In the past three weeks he has not smiled much, but while we were away he smiled a lot.  He ate very little, but that is okay as food is not a priority to him and never has been.

Spike got to meet lovely people and watch the Snowdonia Marathon, where the love of his life (Ian) ran an amazing time of 2:56.  One of his ambitions in life was to run a sub 3 on Snowdonia Marathon and this year he totally nailed it!  I personally think that his 5 am very fast running with Siberian Huskies on muddy hills helped him a little bit. Ian believes that it was solely down to the beer and pizza that he consumed before the race at the awesome Gallt-y-Glyn.  The reality is that he works very hard and digs deeper than most when he needs to.

Spike went to the beach for the first time ever and his response was both heart-warming and heart-breaking.  He loved the waves as he watched them crescendo on the beach.  But he was petrified when his paws sunk into deep sand as we walked close to the surf.  He dropped to the sand, scared to walk further.  I tried to convince him that it was safe, but I failed and we had to return to the sanctuary of the other huskies and Ian that were waiting for us on the sand dunes.

Meeting a jelly fish... I try to help

Meeting a jelly fish

Spike also met a jelly fish.  Sadly it was a dead jelly fish left on the sea shore when the tide ebbed away to the ocean.  When he first saw it, Spike froze and tried to leap over it.  But I was determined to help him understand that although he needed to “respect” it, there was no imminent danger.  He hesitated and tried to approach it, appearing confused when he saw his reflection upon its shiny surface.  He stood staring at it for a very long time before slowly advancing forwards and “testing” it with his teeth.  

After that he decided that all was well and whenever we went near it he tried to pull me towards it!  I guess that must mean that Jelly Fish taste nice, perhaps a little like a jelly bean?

Meanwhile we took one of the other Huskies over to “meet” the Jelly Fish and he merely looked at the creature for a millisecond and tapped it with his paw before moving on to explore the rest of the beach.

I wonder if Spike dreams like I do...

We are home now and as I write, Spike is sleeping in his special place with his toys nestled against his back.  He is smiling and looks very content.  We made the right decision taking him with us, of that I am sure.

Spike: Stepping Stones to Success

It has been nearly three weeks since Spike had the surgery to repair his ruptured cruciate ligament.  Three weeks full of many ups and many downs.  The wound on his leg has almost fully healed and the fur is growing back on both his leg and the area of his spine that was shaved for the epidural.

Spike is putting weight on his leg, but is struggling to always fully weight bear as he has lost confidence using that leg. He hops on three legs given the opportunity as that is his preference.  Hopping is quicker that walking on a weakened leg and we all know that Spike likes to move as quickly as possible!

We are working hard to help him regain his confidence and leg strength, but recovery is long and slow and a process fraught with fear and worry.

Big stepping stone - scratching an ear with his injured leg

Spike is not allowed to play with his husky friends which makes him very sad.  He cannot go upstairs, mix freely with his pack or run around the garden.  He is confined to one room in the house on the rare occasions when neither of us humans are not home to take care of him.  Our lives revolve around his care and welfare, a situation that we are fully committed to and leaving him alone is very difficult.  

He has a big cage which has become his special place, it has his special beds and toys and treats in it and none of the other huskies ever venture inside.  We placed the cage in his favourite place in the living room, very close to where Ian does most of his work during the day.  This is a place where Spike feels happy and secure, close to his favourite human.  We have never had to close the door on the cage, for which I am extremely grateful as to force him to live in such a confined space would be heart-breaking.  Spike chooses to spend 90% of each day in his special place, with his toys and treats, resting and recovering.  Spike has little desire to eat and we have to tempt him with whatever we can.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.

Our dogs have not historically been given dog chews or dog treats.  They are fed raw and natural food and have never been trained using food as motivation.  Although the exception to this is probably the homemade flapjack that I make especially for them! Spike struggles with bones due to his deformed jaw and lack of strength and technique, so the option to use bones as a boredom reliever does not work.  We decided to get some raw hide treats for him to try….  I am pleased to report that our plan appears to be working as he likes the raw hide chews and they don’t upset his tummy.

Meeting new friends

Following on from the success of the chew treats, we decided today to take Spike out for the morning as a special treat and to break the monotony and boredom of his current situation.  We took him to a parkrun event in Bath where there would be lots of people and lots of trees to sniff.  His friend Krofti came too.  Krofti at 14 years of age no longer runs further than once around the block, is completely deaf and a big bit senile, but loves being with people and going on little adventures.

A pre run cuddle and promise for the future

I am pleased to report that Spike and Krofti loved today’s little adventure.  For the first time in nearly three weeks Spike smiled.  That very special smile that we have all come to love was on display for most of the morning.  He tried to jump around every time a person came to say hello, his enthusiasm was delightful to witness but quite hazardous for me to experience.  Trying to restrain an over enthusiastic young dog with my broken foot in a special boot and in the mud requires a great deal of concentration!  Fracture boots do not provide the same grip or control that Salomon shoes do!!

When we returned home both Spike and Krofti were very tired, but they looked content as they lay down on their special beds.  Both were soundly asleep and dreaming within minutes of walking through the front door.

Watching and waiting.  One day we will run again....

Spike and I both have a long road ahead of us before we will be able to run again, but days like today are amazing stepping stones in our adventure.  

Spike: born to be a Champion

I get a boot, Spike gets just a sticky plaster....

A couple of weeks ago I set a challenge for Spike and I.  The challenge sounds like a simple one, with the winner being the first one to run without limping for a distance of one mile.  The hard part is that we both need to recover from having a few nuts and bolts and metal bits fitted to our bones first.

Last week Spike had the operation to repair his ruptured cruciate ligament.  Spike had an operation called Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), which basically means that they broke his leg, changed the angle of his tibial plateau and secured with a metal plate.  It sounds harsh but due to Spike’s chronic problems with hip and elbow dysplaysia it was the only viable option.  He needs all four legs to work and distribute the strain applied to his weakened joints, extra force on a weakened joint could ultimately spell disaster for Spike.  TPLO surgery would hopefully allow Spike to weight bear on his damaged leg within hours of surgery, or so we hoped.

Thanks to the wonderful support of the North Pole Marathon, Spike was able to have this very expensive surgery, which took place on 22^nd September.

Resting, and relaxing

When we picked Spike up from Anderson Moores after his operation we were prepared to see a very subdued and unhappy Spike having had to undergo another medical procedure and spend more time away from his family.  But we were not prepared for what we were told.

Spike had been more than just “unhappy” during the 24 hours he had been away from us and had reacted very badly to strange people handling him.  They had been very fearful of his aggression and had resorted to heavily sedating him.  This is the same Spike that we have come to love for his strength of character and determination, the dog that is bottom of our pack and allows us to do anything to him because he trusts us and respects us.  But he is a survivor and a fighter and he now has major issues with most veterinary people as he thinks they mean him harm.  While we are with him he accepts what must be done, when we are absent he trusts no one.  This breaks my heart as we cannot be with him every time he needs treatment. 

There is one exception to this, this only vet I have ever met that has my full and utmost trust and respect.  She knows Spike and sees the amazing little dude that we have all come to know and love.  Spike trusts her, probably only one of three people in this world that he now completely trusts.  She has diagnosed Spike’s condition right from the start.  I describe the symptoms and she knows what is happening inside his body.  Without her in his life Spike may well have had to experience far more exploratory procedures that would have caused him more emotional harm.  She is good, very good and we are so very grateful for that.

Huge progress - a post operative scratch with his bad leg

It is not yet two weeks since Spike’s operation, but already our worst fears have been dispelled.  He walked on his leg within 24 hours of the operation and today he tried to “do a zoomie” around the garden.  Thankfully I stopped him in time!  He is on very restricted exercise for the next 12 weeks, but he is refusing to accept that….

He requires lots of physiotherapy treatment and lots of tender loving care.  He has the determination and the attitude to recover from this minor setback and one day he will return to running one day, of that I am sure. 

The beer that was created with Spike in mind

Behind all the smiles and happy Facebook uploads lay countless hours of trying really hard to teach Spike to walk again.  Spike will only regain his proper conformation by learning to walk properly. This means that every time we work with him we have to go VERY slowly while desperately trying to curb his enthusiasm to leap around on three legs.  It tests our patience and we mutter bad words under our breath, but it is what he needs and we want the best for him.  We can manage our frustration by having a few beers while he sleeps.

The past two weeks have been very stressful as we worry about every move that Spike makes.  He did not eat for a couple of days which worried us lots.  But we tempted him with special treats and lovingly prepared dinners and it worked, eventually he started eating and has not looked back.  He hates his medicine, much like me!  I force it down his throat while refusing to take mine, which I agree is a little bit hypocritical.

Our combined drugs basket

I have not yet had my operation and continue to limp around under a dark cloud, feeling sorry for myself, meanwhile Spike sleeps a lot but when he is awake he acts just like a normal Husky.  He wants to run and wants to live life to the full.  At the moment he is definitely leading the way in our one mile running challenge.  I firmly believe he will run that mile before I do and he will so love his special prize.  He is the most worthy winner and deserves recognition for the fact that he has the right attitude and the right determination to succeed.  This boy deserves to be a Champion and one day he will be just that.