On 6/23/09 14:32 , Christi wrote:
>
> Putting him in an x-pen didn't give him too much room to move around? I was
thinking he would need to be crated the entire recovery period.
>

It was ok. He'd go in, circle once or twice, then laid down. Since he
was in the X-pen only while we were there watching we were able to
control his activity. The sleeping crate was one size smaller than our
normal house crates. This way we avoided a lot of movement while we were
asleep. He could get in and lie down. He could stand up, turn around,
and lie down. Very limited.


>
> So, maybe my dreams of agility and rally-o aren't completely shot? :o) I would
certainly be happy with just giving Conner the ability to run and play again,
but it would be absolutely wonderful if we could one day play agility together
too.


Absolutely! Conner will be able to do whatever you had wanted to do with
him once he's fully healed and recovered. You're looking at about 4
months beginning to end. They loose a lot of muscle mass during the
recovery period because they're so inactive. Building that back up takes
anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks depending on what's available to you. Leo now
races up and down the farm hills with our other GSD, plays fetch, does
15 minutes of lap swimming in our pool every day, and the best part? He
can jmp into our very high bed at night!

We will do large flock sheep herding with him beginning in the autumn
when he's 15 months old. This involves an hour's woth of running,
trotting, very fast changes in direction. I'm also looking at some basic
agility training. There is no limit. There is no pain, no limping, no
buny hopping, no tiredness. Sometimes, ever more seldom, he sort of
throws that right leg, especially when he's tired from playing with our
other GSD.

You WILL play agility together!

Anka