Ash

“Ash Weaver is my first Australian Shepherd and my joy! He is a happy, playful, active, crazy, sweet Aussie! We have been training for Utility level Obedience ompetition and have goals to return to Agility. We had finished up our AKC Graduate Open title when I noticed that he had a downward slope to his rear. I thought that perhaps Ash was just not enjoying the work, not ‘wagging’ his stub of a tail, so I resolved to put more fun into our training. Then, our Utility instructor and I started to notice that sometimes when Ash Weaver would jump he would hesitate or launch (too early) over the jump. It was recommended to have his eyes checked as that can cause those jumping problems, though Ash Weaver’s eyes were found to be good.

Being the typical Aussie, Ash Weaver would always fly up and down stairs at home, often skipping steps.
Then came the day when he was not outside my door when I got up in the morning. He had not come upstairs to greet me and had stayed downstairs in the family room. He would not walk up stairs (there are only 6 steps) and would just stand at the base of the stairs staring at them or would just walk away. I noticed that he was hunching and rounding his back more. Something was wrong.

I took Ash Weaver to the vet right away. He did a urine test, stool test, and complete blood work. The vet did a very thorough exam and could not find anything wrong. All tests came back within normal ranges. The vet recommended that we take some time off but I was still concerned. I felt that something had to be going on but did not know what to do.

A friend from my Obedience club gave me the number for Mary Kay, a Physical Therapist who works with dogs. That turned out to be the best recommendation!!

After speaking with Mary Kay, she contacted my vet and he gave her a referral for Ash to receive Physical Therapy. She evaluated him and discovered distinct areas in his back and spine that were very abnormal and painful as well as looking at his whole body and posture and movement. She saw that Ash was not able to move freely due to the abnormal areas and that he had a very weak core. Mary Kay treated Ash with her hands to free up the restrictions and performed exercises to strengthen his core and whole body with further exercises to improve his movement. Mary Kay taught me how to do massage and exercises for Ash to perform during the week to keep his improvements up.

Mary Kay also took the time to come by and observe Ash at our training club. She watched him move and take a series of jumps and noticed that his movement was staggered and inefficient and the way he approached the jumps was off. Mary Kay put together a program to help Ash lengthen out and improve his movement and use his body better.

As Mary Kay worked with Ash Weaver, he was able to move so much better and now holds his back straight and his rear does not slope down anymore. His tail is even up and wagging! He now moves freely and smoothly and he carries himself so much better when we train and every day! He is back to being outside my door when I get up in the morning. Best of all Ash Weaver is moving without pain!

It is so exciting to see the changes in him and Ash has actually enjoyed working his body to this better place!

Mary Kay has been such a great help. She constantly watches, listens and feels Ash Weaver’s muscles and body move. Ash is always happy to see Mary Kay arrive and he is a tired boy when she leaves! I am extremely thankful that Mary Kay came into our lives! I highly recommend her!!”

Fay S.