Minor Toe Injury

 

 

 

 

 

Monday evening I took Stetson for a herding lesson. I was wired up from a crazy work day and he was wired up from having been crated for the day.  Between the two of us, we had a good deal to work out in the pen, but we were doing pretty well.  At some point, the rope was dropped and he began to chase.  It took a long time to catch him.  Thankfully he didn't harm any livestock, he gets over excited, but his intention is never harmful.  Once caught he happily went back to work and actually did some of the best work on sheep that he's ever done.

When we got home much later that evening, I noticed his right front foot was swollen.  I began to work over his legs and the foreleg behind his wrist was really hot to the touch.  I hoped a day of rest on Tuesday would give him time to fully restore but during our obedience class on Wednesday my good friend and Vet noted he was not fully weight bearing on the foot, so we agreed to have him checked out.

Dave took him for evaluation Friday.  Dr. Castle found the outside digit on the right foot to be very sore and it seems his nail is split.  Thankfully, the injury is minor, but it will keep him away from herding and running for most of this coming week.  He received some meds, a laser treatment and his first chiropractic adjustment.  I was told he was a very good dog.  I have been fortunate through the years of performance and running to have very few toe injuries, but know of others whose dogs have not fared so well.  I'm sighing with relief and making some adjustments to the way I pursue herding in the future.  I will focus on getting my adrenaline under control - that's going to be a huge challenge because I'm a junkie.  Probably the most important thing I'll do differently is make sure he has worked off that crazed, been crated and glad to see me energy before we head off to a lesson. 

Looking back, it really wasn't a fair situation and I should probably be grateful we just have a sore toe...I should have worked some of both of our energy off before we began, but I was rushing.   So I'm running solo this weekend and most of next week.  He is cleared to go for walks and work on his obedience exercises, but no herding and no running until Thursday.  Giving up time on the road with my best running partner is a pretty good trade in order to have a solid dog next to me for the long haul.

Catching some Z's with my slippers as a pillow