Crash ...

So how often do you expect your dogs to literally run into each other, at nearly full speed? I know, you think they would be watching where they are going and not be so inclined to try to destroy themselves. Well, the other day, a couple of weeks ago now, Gata and Tor did just that.

We had just finished up some obedience work in the back yard and I was giving them a few free throws, as I usually do to increase the likelihood that they will relax for the evening. It was just before the sun went down on a Saturday late afternoon.

As usual, I threw the the first bumper from the back of the yard to the right side of the house and threw the second bumper to the left side of the house. Normally, Tor goes for the first bumper I throw and Gata goes for the second. Somehow, Tor missed the first throw and started for the second. Gata started for the first and then both seemed to change their mind at almost the same instant and start for the other bumper, while still looking at the bumper that they were originally headed for. They slammed into each other at roughly 3/4 speed, which doesn't sound that bad but is.

They both yelped. Gata hobbled over to me holding up her right front leg. Tor seemed fine at that point. So, I turned my attention to Gata - checked out her leg gently and gave her a little reassurance. I moved her around a little to see if she would put it back down. Thankfully, she did.

Then I turned and with horror saw that Tor was standing in 1 spot with his back roached as high as it could possibly go and his back legs trembling and fumbling underneath him. He was trying to come to me but could not coordinate his movements. It really looked like a serious spine injury.

I went to him and tried to calm him a little, in the vain hope that he might relax out of it as Gata frequently does. It helped his mental state a little but not his physical state. I had no choice but to carry him inside. Though Tor is quite thin, he is still a big dog and with the trembling in all the muscles supporting his back end this wasn't a particularly easy task. But I got him inside and tried to lay him on his side but he wasn't having any of that. So rather than risk injuring him further, I simply stood him up in the middle of the living room and grabbled my cell phone and iPad.

I quickly looked up the nearest emergency vet - VCA in Gaithersburg, about 25 minutes away. Gave them a call to give them a heads up. By this time, Tor seemed quite a bit better and was able to start moving on his own again. By the time I had loaded Gata into the car, he seemed perfectly normal. I elected to take him anyway, as I was pretty sure that he had suffered a traumatic shock to his spine and I wanted to make sure that they didn't see anything in spinal radiographs.

Got there and registered. Brought him in and got his weight, etc. He was really cool with the vet tech, though all the smells on her scrubs certainly got him aroused, as normal with Tor. She just chatted with me a bit and then got his temp, etc. By that time he was leaning against her legs getting petted.

Unfortunately, the vet was not nearly as comfortable with him as the tech was. There is no question that he is an extremely dominant dog that could be dangerous if handled the wrong way. But he isn't dangerous, just pushy. And honestly, though he may have bumped her hand with his nose when it was near his head, he did nothing more obnoxious than that. But the vet was not having any part of him and wanted him sedated before she would examine him. Since I knew they would have to sedate him to get x-rays anyway I complied with her request.

Anyway, the x-rays turned out fine. And Tor certainly seems fully recovered. But I definitely need to do more with him in terms of socialization. In particular, socializing him with people that smell like other animals. The smells definitely bring him to a higher state of arousal. I guess I'll have to talk to the folks at my friendly local vet clinic and see if I can convince them to help. They actually like my dogs, especially the owner of the clinic :-)  I wish they would have been open that Saturday late afternoon/evening ... 

I decided not to get Gata checked out. After we finished with Tor, I got her out and moved her around in the parking lot. She has one of the most beautiful trots I have ever seen and displayed it for me there. So, I elected not to leave more of my money there. They both got a few days off and seem no worse for wear at this point.