A little bit of progress with Cassi and the cart...

Working daily with Miss Cassi and the cart is beginning to pay off a little bit.  I try to think of things that will get her excited, like meeting up with other doggies or visiting the dog park (see photo at right) but I am running out of ideas.  She doesn't get excited for treats she normally would get excited about when she's in the cart, so that isn't an option.  The one thing that gets her excited...is people.  NEW people.  I call her our "Little Ambassador" because she is always wanting to meet people...no matter which side of the street they are on.  She'll see someone across the street and her tail will start wagging...and she will start pulling that direction!  Of course, both of them together are easy to handle (at least for me) because of their size.  She can't pull me into the street and she knows we have a rule about staying on the sidewalk.

In the last entry, I posted a link to a video of Cassi "walking" around the block.  Here's a link to the second part of video from that day showing us rounding the corner at the top of the hill and starting downhill.  She is scooting right along!  You may have seen this cross-posted on FaceBook if you are there also.  Here's another video from our progress a few days later in the back yard.  In this video, she decided to "poop" right after...or while...I was putting her in the cart.  Don't worry, I don't show it...only praise her for another accomplishment.

This leads to last night's video..."This just in...Cassi running!"  If you read the blurb associated with this video on the YouTube page, you might agree with me that Orion is probably the best "physical therapist" that Cassi has! (No offense, Juli :^})  When she "roughhouses" with her brother, I see three things I think are beneficial;  Her head is up which straightens out her back from the "up" curve; when she lunges at her brother both her legs are pumping from a "sit" position which, coupled with her head up, keeps her from "cheating" when standing; and lastly, when she does stand still coaxing her brother, she has great balance!  Yes, she does "fold" a bit when she gets tired, but I can see and feel the muscles on her spine strengthening.  Now, if she would just take to the cart...to get her straightened AND strengthened.

Here's the last link to a video from today showing even more pogress with the cart!  Read the blurb there for more details on our walk today.  Any suggestions on getting her moving would be extremely appreciated!  Thanks for checking in!

Moving ahead...

As you may or may not know, we have purchased and received a cart, or "wheelchair", for Miss Cassi based on the recommendation by the physical therapist at Animal Care Center in Rohnert Park, Juli Dell'Era which, at the time, seemed like a solid recommendation.  This was about 4 weeks ago and today it still seems like a solid recommendation except for one thing...Miss Cassi doesn't want to move when we put her in the cart!  

Yes, she did move when we first placed her in the cart at the ACC, but I fear that she was only trying to use them to high-tail it out the front door, figuring I would leave the scary torture device (her words) behind.  But that was not the case...it rode home with us.

And she did so well in the cart at the ACC.  It looked like we would have no problem getting her to go outside for "walkies", as she hadn't done this about 4 months and everytime we even mentioned going for a walk, she would perk up like she used to before the incident.

Something...and I am not sure what...made her think of this cart as a "punishment" rather than a good thing.  She did bump the doorjamb a couple times at the fitting, but she walked down the hall and out the door after that...even wagging her tail a bit when we praised her.  But she just flat-out won't budge now that we are home.  I am guessing she figures she can walk, or at least get around, better without the aid of the cart.

What do you think? This is a link to a video I took the other day while folowing the recommendation from Leslie at Eddie's Wheels, the fabricator of the cart.  She suggested taking Cassi out for a walk and, when she gets tired, offer her the cart as a benefit...that didn't work.  She is a stubborn little girl!  She did the same "laydown" thing she has been doing.  So I removed the cart and let her walk the rest of the way home. 

Ok, time for "tough love"...another suggestion was to place her in the cart and put her in the yard...and leave her there.  The photo at the left is the result of that...she did lay down, again, and when I came close to pick her up to bring her in the house she stood up...like I was going to take her out of the cart again...but I fooled her...I only picked her up and moved her inside...she hadn't won this round...

Once I got her inside, she did the same...stood frozen with a forlorn look on her little doggie face (see pic on the left...again)...but I wasn't budging this time.  She was going to take a few steps before I removed her from the cart this time.

I found one of our extendo-leashes and attached it to her collar...then I backed away from her the 16 feet the lead allowed...and sat down.  Calling her in my best "girlie voice", I told her that "daddy loves her and wants her to walk to him so he can take the cart off..." and gave a slight tug on the lead...she walked, with all four feet (and the cart...remember?) right over to me!  I backed off again after I turned her around...called her again...and she repeated the behavior!  Now, being the good daddy and honest person I am, I removed the cart after praising her highly for what she had accomplished!  A few steps!  It is better than NO STEPS, no?  We are trying again this evening...

More later...and sorry about the double FB posts with the videos...minor hiccup...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!