Banged Up Poodle

Perri had her visit to the chiropractor today, and it is a very good thing.  We are fresh off of three days of camping, as well as a short hike before our appointment.  Perri was struggling to eat her food on our trip, as she often does when we go away.  We did have a really great time though, and probably logged 13-15 miles hiked between our two days there.  My kind of trip!

However, when the chiro felt Perri and adjusted her, I felt nothing but concern and guilt.   Right shoulder out and sprained.   Multiple ribs out.  "Horribly misaligned" in the thoracic spine, right in between Perri's scapulas.  The chiro said it was like Perri had been t-boned.   I know the problem is Molly and Perri's rough housing.  Molly is very hard on Perri and things are going to have to change.  Perri's body simply cannot handle rough bully play!

I will admit that I am very surprised at how normally Perri has been acting in spite of how painful her shoulder must have been.  At the beginning of our session Perri was very resistant to having her shoulder and elbow gently extended and by the end of the adjustment her range of motion was increased.  I may still take Perri hiking with me next weekend (not this weekend.) as I had planned.  We will certainly not be working on weave poles for a few more weeks.   It's hard to say "depending how she looks", because Perri has not shown any symptoms of shoulder pain.   I think it is interesting that during Perri's energy massage, the troublesome area was the shoulder/thoracic area.  I am very glad that I had Perri adjusted and evaluated.   I already feel horrible for "pushing" her, I would feel even worse if If had not had her checked when I did.

Another thing that was discussed this evening was Perri's weight.  And I have quite honestly been concerned about how thin Perri is.   She has not lost any weight on the scale - she came in at an even 40 pounds tonight.  But her bones are sticking out, especially her pelvis.  I feel like she is losing muscle.   We discussed diet, supplements, and the possibility of an absorption problem.  These are things I have been concerned about.  To have somebody who just met Perri for the first time share my concern was a little bit alarming for me.  Perri eats more than both Ein (of course), and Molly (Molly is 25 pounds heavier!).  Her poops (dog lady talk here!) are very bulky.   Vince even said one time a few months ago that he wondered if she had a malabsorption issue.

My head in spinning.   We are going to try probiotics and increasing the amount of food, more than likely going to a different formula for Perri.  Poor Perri.  I am glad she would not weave, it was the only way that she showed me that she wasn't feeling good.