Rose’s CCL Injury part1

This is intended to document a CCL (Cranial Cruciate Ligament) injury and its treatment in real time,  as the dog progresses through her injury and treatment.  The decisions we made may not be the decisions others will make for their dog.  Every owner and every dog differs in their needs, abilities, and expectations.  This only documents ours.
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We finally had a nice day after a hard winter.  We had four feet of snow on the ground, and a lot of ice.  My three young dogs were getting cabin fever, and we thought we’d let them run a bit on our first sunny day.  It would prove to be a fateful decision for our 7 1/2 month old puppy, Rose.   Poor little Rose hurt her knee playing with her sister, Dahlia, and older kennel-mate, Luna.  The three puppies shot from the kennel with a purpose.  In a full run, body slamming, slipping and sliding.  Rose got caught in a frenzy of Labrador energy, and paid the price.  She came up on three legs.  We knew immediately we were looking at a cranial cruciate ligament injury.  Immediately, plans for a wonderful show career for this girl evaporated.  We crated her, and called the vet.

Rose: Note the swelling in her left knee:

Our poor baby!  It breaks my heart to see her hurting.

She saw the vet a few  days later. Her diagnosis at the vet was inconclusive, where she is swollen and lame, x-ray and manipulation diagnostic for ligament injury didn’t reveal anything positive, and there is no fracture, so, the vet wants strict joint rest for the next 10 days.  He could not feel “drawer sign” in the knee, but the knee was quite swollen, and likely the swelling itself was splinting the knee from providing him with exam clues.  X-ray showed a great deal of effusion (swelling).  Rose will be living in a crate for the duration – rather like strict bedrest.   Since I’m sitting in the den, I lifted her into the couch with me (no jumping up or down allowed), as a seven month old needs physical contact, especially Rose, who is a lovebug!   He put her on an anti-inflammatory, and suggested we keep her on that for 10 days, then re-eval the knee.  In the meantime, she would be on strict crate rest.

We went home, suspecting that we were looking at knee surgery for our girl, and had decisions to make with respect to the type of surgery we wished to do.

Click here for a Description of CCL injury and treatment

This is Rose on day two of her CCL Injury treatment with anti-inflammatories and crate rest only.   She is trying to use the leg, but clearly it is swollen and painful.

Ingrid Newkirk (PETA) is at it again

Ingrid (of PETA which is married to HSUS) doesn’t care one hoot about the dogs at Westminster or anywhere else, as her article (below) infers.. Her agenda is to deny anyone (attention pet owners!) from owning *any* animal, and In fact, thinks your kids are no different from dogs, rats and pigs (“A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Is a Boy”). PETA KILLS 97.3% of the animals they “shelter”!!
https://www.petakillsanimals.com/proof-peta-kills/#petakills

In this article she mentions breed-linked genetic diseases. Remember, cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and sickle cell disease are race-linked diseases. Rather than breed against untoward diseases, which requires genetic testing, (which breeders do to the extreme), I guess she believes people of the involved race-specific genetic diseases should be eliminated as well.

On Dec. 19 I had DNA tests done on 5 puppies for:
Degenerative Myelopathy
Exercise-Induced Collapse
Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis
Progressive Retinal Atrophy, Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration
Retinal Dysplasia/Oculoskeletal Dysplasia 1 and Skeletal Dysplasia 2

Those tests will be followed at the appropriate age by OFA clearances of hip/elbow joints and color doppler ultrasound of the heart. Hardly willy-nilly breeding. I have never (nor do I know of any reputable breeder who has) bred mother/daughter/son, etc inbreeding.

Here is an example of my dogs during showing this weekend, having no life outside of a crate:
http://blueknightlabs.com/2017/02/20/dog-show-road-trip-day5/

Ingrid is a liar, dog killer, and knows NOTHING!

Tbis is the article of lies:

http://www.theledger.com/opinion/20170217/another-perspective-dog-shows-ugly-business

Dog Show Road Trip-Day7

12 hour drive to Klamath falls, spend the night, then 11 hours or so back to Idaho.  We’re all tired.  The girls (dogs) are being very good.  Mariah and Rumble both asked for a bit of one-on-one cuddle time when we first got in our room.  Now they’re both fast asleep.  FYI, The Shilo inn in Klamath is dog friendly, and very nice.   We stopped about four times for the girls today, to stretch and potty.  The baby is being stubborn about going potty.  I hate it when they hold it too long.

 

Goofy Marian wanting some snuggle time:

Their dorm rooms:

Posted in fun

Dog Show Road Trip-Day5&6

3/9/17 –  Dahlia did very well today.  She had more competition, and still pulled out a 1st.  We got a very nice comment from the judge.  Mariah simply did not want to move, and that was sad, since she was doing well free-stacking.  Shine seemed “done” today also.  It’s wet, raining and cold.  The club worked so hard on the specialty, that it’s sad when your show gets so much rain that everything turns to mud.  The winners were lovely.  We’re cold and tired, and did not stay for best of breed, as we just had no energy.   We found a dog park for the girls to get out and stretch their legs.   An early bedtime for all of us seems the thing to do.

Here are a few images from the day:

 


2/20/17  – After we all got a very good night sleep,  we took off for home.  We drove about three hours, and realized we were simply exhausted.  Another storm is headed in, and we decided that fatigue and bad weather is a bad combo.  This evolved into an idea to just lay low one more day at our daughter’s house, and set out tomorrow for our trip home to Idaho.  The girls were very happy to find themselves being let out in our daughter’s back yard, and ran themselves silly.  Tomorrow will be a long day for all of us.  We hope to make it to Klamath Falls, Oregon, then home the next day (which is a 10 hour push if it is good driving).

Posted in fun

Dog Show Road Trip-Day4

Last night, the storm named “Lucifer” hit the So. Cal area.  We were lucky that all we got was a downpour of rain, and exciting, and sometimes tragic, news to watch on the TV.

2/18/17. 8:00am

We’re on the show grounds.  The girls are doing great, although none of them wanted to potty in the downpour.

Practice stacking for the baby:

Dahlia and her brother, Chase, went first in their sweepstakes classes.  That was easy for Dahlia, as she was the only one in her sweeps class.   She’s a little nervous, as this is her first time out of the kennel and on leash.  She did well.

A dog we bred (GCH Blue Knight Silent Alarm  “Andy”, owned by J.Jace  went best in Veteran sweeps.  So our morning has gone well.  We have a full day ahead of us!


Mariah.  For  her very first time out, she did well.

 

Rumble was pretty rusty today, but we had fun:

Dahlia went Best Op-Sex Puppy.

“Chase”, bred by us, and owned by Julie and Kim, went 1st in his sweeps class:

Rictor got back in the ring with Joe.  Both of them are a bit rusty.

We had fun today, and the rain stayed away all day, making it a much better experience for all.   The dogs had fun, and now most of them are snoring.

Posted in fun

Dog Show Road Trip-Day3

2/17/17  7am -12pm  – last night and this morning,  the dogs were able to stretch their legs and shake off the cobwebs, at the home of our family in Palmdale, CA!   Baby Dalhia is doing great!  She’s such a good girl.  


12 noon, we’re on the road to San Diego again.  The weather is awful.  Travel is very slow.

 

 

Posted in fun

Dog Show Road Trip-day2

Up before the sun.  Potty and food for the three dogs.  They’re doing very well, especially the baby!  14 hours to go!   We’re headed into more rain.  Pottying dogs in the rain is way too much fun (I need a sarcasm icon).

Potty stops are the most important parts of a road trip with dogs.  It prevents accidents in the crate, which are lengthy to clean up, thus adding time on your trip, and can result in having to find somewhere to re-bathe the dog and clean out a crate. Urinary tract infections are also a risk of waiting too long between breaks.   So, successful/frequent potty stops are good for owner and dogs.

With that in mind… 10:00 2/16/17:

Rumble knows the drill:

Dahlia notices the grass is greener on the other side of the fence:

Yay, baby Dahlia!!  Potty on command!

Dan and Mariah


1:00

Sometimes, the owners of the dogs have to treat themselves!  Leave the dogs alone in the car?  Nope! Pizza  in the car!

Posted in fun

Dog Show Road Trip-Day1

AKA – Xanax. I’ll take two, thank you!.

With luck, we’re leaving in the morning for a dog show.  Last minute issues could prevent us from leaving.  We’ll be driving from Idaho to San Diego, California.  What does it take to show a dog?   Initially training a dog to stack for examination is a good place to start, but our weather has been very bad, and with 4 feet of snow on the ground, there has been little place to train.  So, I am praying.

Entries made for Rumble, Mariah, and Dahlia.  Why them?  Rumble is easy to show.  She could do this dog show thing without me on the other end of the lead, and I love showing her.  Mariah is two now, and it’s time to get out there and see what she can do.  She has never set foot in a show ring before.  And then there is baby Dahlia.  Why her and not her sister?  Well, good question.  I did not want to take two babies, hoping someone could show one for me, and right now, I think Dahlia has the best topline of the two, but Rose has the best head.  I just decided to pick Dahlia.   Three is enough!

What’s involved?

  • Making entries – Fill out the entry form for the girls, with the pertinent information, select the classes they will go in, and pay the entry fee: $200
  • Examine and bathe the dogs.  That was fun… Dahlia had never had a bath or blow-dry.   it was a mildly traumatic event.
  • Pack
    • Three hard crates for travel
    • Three soft crates for ringside
    • exercise pens
    • food for three dogs
    • bowls for three dogs
    • toys for three dogs
    • show leashes and collars/ travel leashes and collars
    • blow dryer
    • brushes
    • show clothes
    • show shoes
    • casual after-show and travel wear
    • canopy
    • chairs
    • towels
    • rain gear and muck boots

This looks a lot like our truck once we’re packed <grin>:
Image result for over packed van

.,and now, today, the day before we leave,  the change filter light came on the truck after dealerships have closed.  We really don’t want to do four days driving with a filter alert.  I wonder if Dan can get it fixed. <sigh>

I will add to this fun-filled trip as we go..


2/15/17 – 11:30am  Day  1

with a ten hour drive ahead of us, the girls are finally packed, and a ton of gear loaded.  There is hardly room for the two of us humans in the car.   Driving conditions here in Idaho are ice, ice and more ice, so we’re slowly sliding out of town!   We hear we’ll be getting 2.5″ of rain in one day at the show grounds.  Dog shows are never cancelled for rain!

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Potty stop #1  Dalhia has no idea what we want her to do.  It is pouring rain of course!  “Go potty” means nothing to her (yet).  She’ll learn!

6:00pm:

Dahlia finally got the idea on this potty stop!  Success!   ONWARD.  We’re hoping to make it beyond Shasta.

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11:30 Klamath Falls, OR.

Done for the day.  A successful end to day 1.  Dahlia’s first experience in a hotel room.  She’s doing well on her first trip!

Lights out!  G’night all…

Memory Lane

Just when I think I have finished the website revamp, I change something.  I had settled on a template I liked, then, at the last moment, I found the one I settled on, and am very happy with it.  I hope you’ll give me feedback to assist me in knowing what works best for the general public.

In the rebuilding of this website, I took a trip through memory lane.  I revisited Cher, our first Labrador, who was an awful example of the breed, but taught me so much.  Most important, it was due to her, that I met Winnie Limbourne (Wingmaster), Donna Smith (Donally) and Barbara Davis (Boldcrest).  …and the greatest of them all, Champion Bold Aaron CD WC!  Aaron changed my life.  Aaron was the greatest of all Labradors (in my newbie mind), and today, with far more education in the breed still stands out as one of the most influential Labradors in Labrador history.   The day Barbara handed me his leash and asked me to hold him is fixed in my mind.  Had she had me grasp the hand of the most famous person in the world, it would not have had more impact on me.  Every dog at Blue Knight goes back to that dog.  So many generations ago, that I don’t know who has had the most influence on my dogs, him, or my increasing knowledge.  Probably both.

Many of my first mentors in Labradors have now passed on.  I miss them terribly.  It’s probably the typical lamenting that all people do as time passes, but they all represent better days gone by – a more innocent time in Labs.  Those were the days when everyone laughed, everyone smiled, everyone cheered, everyone imparted knowledge freely, and they were generous with it.  I don’t recall any of them referencing a dog in the ring in anything but positive ways.  My friend and mentor, Winnie, told me “Never fault judge a Labrador [looking for the negative].   Always find the best features on the dog.  Anyone can fault Judge, it’s cheap and easy.  If you want to be a good judge of the dogs, find the positive, and the one with the most positives is the dog that should take the ribbon.”   I will never forget those words.  Every generation has “the greats” in the breed … people who have had an immeasurable impact on the breed.  Just over a week ago, we lost another of the ‘old’ guard.  I pray there are always those sorts in the breed.  I suppose their will be, but like every aging person, I sense the best are gone.   I pray the influence of each of them can be found on these pages.  I tried.

I revisited in my mind, Sugar – our first Champion.  I never got a puppy from her, and her only daughter (a singleton) was owed to a breeder for finishing her for me.  The sale of that girl to another country nearly killed me, I’d have sold my house to get her back, but the choice was not given to me.  That wound is well healed, and there are no bad feelings, but I guess there is a lingering lament.   Sugar taught me so much, and was such a wonderful girl.  When we lost her to cancer, her Veterinarian cried harder than I did.  So loved was our Sug!

Adam!  Ch. Blue Knight Classic Genesis.  When I think about him, I can still feel the coarse waves in his coat.  He was a silly, sometimes unruly, always sweet and tender with my grandkids.  Always.

Casey, the love bug.  His was the best temperament of any Lab I knew, and he passed it on to his many children.  He was a clone of his father, Ben (Wingmaster’s Just Another Fella), and best friend to our grandson, Aaron.  The relationship between those two was something quite special.

There were dogs we shared our lives with who did nothing in the ring, except shared our lives with us.  I can still sense what running my hands through their coats felt like and remember the sad last moments with them.   I could go through them all here on paper, or just lump them all together as memories of wagging tails, big-muddy feet, lots of shedding, silliness and love.  I do not regret a single moment of my time with them, except that their lives are never long enough, and each takes a piece of me with them, and each that comes into our lives, fills the void left by their predecessor.

I look at these pages, and I can smell newborn puppies.  That’s often how I remember each dog here.  I know them from their first breath.  Many go off to homes, and their families become family.  I just spoke to one today.  His family has had three of our dogs.  His first when he was single, the next to he and his wife, and now, with two children, he has his third Lab.   Another family, was a young Marine and his wife.  I get photos of their children, one who has been to her prom now.  They have had three of our dogs as well.  Another couple has also had three of our dogs.  I hear from them often.   Not long ago, I received a email from a couple who included photos of their still living 15 year old dog and their young children, thanking me for a lifetime of love.  Those emails make my heart jump for joy.  We have sold puppies to famous people, and just normal folks, and each of them bring memories of first kisses and ‘going home’.

Labrador Retrievers have filled the lives of my children, and their children.  Every one of our eight grandchildren have had a Labrador in their lives.    The impact of the Labrador on my family is immense.  Our family memories have, and always will, include Labradors.

I hope that you find, within these pages, a feel for the impact of these dogs on our lives, and that we have imparted some of the knowledge these dogs have given us, but mostly the love they freely give.   If I have missed the mark, and you don’t find those things in these pages, I want to know.

 

LEGAL STUFF

Website Built by Blue Knight. All graphics , photographs, and original articles are the property of Blue Knight.  Permission must be obtained for use on other sites or for other purposes.

 

In Hot Pursuit…

We received a update photo this week on Blue Knight In Hot Pursuit At Alibi (Chase) at 5.5 months. He is owned by Julie Oghigian (Montview Labradors) and Kim Jacobson (Alibi Labradors).  We’re excited to see how this boy performs in the ring.  Best wishes to Julie, Kim, and Chase.

Multi-BISS GCH Laurglen Ardent Rogue at HySpire JH RN CGC
X
Blue Knight Perfect Storm  (CH. Pointed)

Chase is a black who carries chocolate.