The fun part of our trip was the obedience trial, but the real reason we drove 12 hours (each way) was to take the dogs to our very favorite rehab vet and especially for Viktor (click here for our last update). We’re supposed to go back in a few months but I’m scared to make this trip in the winter!
Viktor: We are especially interested in how much his toes rotate from straight/normal. He showed improvement from our previous visit. How much is from our exercises and how much is from growth/development – we don’t know. But we’re happy he’s making improvements. Best of all, no pain! We made some modifications to his exercises – one now involves wearing a theraband and tieing him up like a present. He doesn’t like getting it on but then he doesn’t mind.
He’s still on restricted activity. I had broken some of the recommendations and had let him run/play fetch a little on non-slip, soft surfaces and only for a few minutes each day. We’ve been given permission to continue this. He’s been doing better at home since we started this little bit of activity and while it may be a compromise with his physical health, it’s a compromise I’m willing to take.
Tonks: We had a puppy check to potentially identify any challenges. Nothing abnormal noted, she doesn’t have to go back until she’s 24 months.
Blaze: He’s now 14.5+ and still able to get into a lot of trouble! The best thing about his somewhat reduced mobility is that he’s currently the only dog who can be contained behind a gate. He hasn’t had an appointment since the spring and we made quite a few changes for him. His mobility is about the same as it was then but he has lost a lot of weight and there was more pain than noted in the past. He now has new pain meds to try, modified exercises, and diet changes. Additional food, soaking his food, and increased carbs and fat in his diet. 
Viktor is supposed to go back in a few months – we’ll have to see if that can happen. I’m scared of driving in the snow and the Minnesota winter lasts a really long time!