BHRR’s Apollo had another really good session at CWW today and other than one moment of tucking up both hind legs when he first got into the water; he really used both to swim. In fact, it was hard to keep him on the bench as he just wanted to swim after their stuffed soccer ball over and over and over again. I have been giving him some treats when he will put that foot down and I will say ‘good leg’ and ‘use your leg’ and I can now get him to weight bear on that leg at a very slow walk, anything faster up to a lope and he will go back to being a tripod BUT baby steps of success here! If he is loping or going faster, he will utilize it again but I do not want him going too fast for the pounding the other leg will take is not good for him. They took a video of him and I hope to see it posted and they also said they would send a copy to LAH. I also parked my car in the furthest spot I could find so that we could practise walking on pavement(it was hot today though and that is tough on his pads as we are a sand/grass foundation here; let alone on a foot that he has not really used since his surgery on July 2nd) yet mostly on the grass areas. BHRR’s Apollo could really use a ‘gift’ of the LIFE & ASSIST HARNESS – Large Size for the biggest harness they have at CWW really rubs under his arms and he has a bit of a ‘raw’ spot from today’s session. Should we have any excess funds from BHRR’s Ava Marie’s ONLINE AUCTION that is ending on Friday August 13th, 9 PM EST; then as posted previously; we shall have those funds go towards his bills at CWW and possibly to purchase this harness for him yet he honestly, could use the harness sooner rather than later for we do not know how many sessions he is going to require. I was asked today by the kind owners how many do they think I will need for BHRR’s Apollo and I said that between all of us; we shall work together to best determine this and BHRR’s Apollo shall call the pace. I will do what it takes for this boy to starting retraining his brain to USE that leg and I will continue to make the long drive out to CWW for as long as it takes. I committed to this boy and I even told the owners today that I was going to ‘well up in my deep gratefulness to them for being willing to come on board as part of his ASKING FOR APOLLO ANGELS Team to get him healthy to then be placed up for adoption and to go to a great matched home’. As so many know, I have lost much sleep over thinking of everything I could to get him to use that leg and what is now working best is my continued daily rehab work in the sand here, my hill work with him, small obstacle courses, treats/praise in very close word training with ‘good leg’ and ‘use your leg’ when working him in different paces of slow walking, faster walking, trotting etc., swimiming in our pool and adding sessions at CWW. I do not desire to ‘fail’ Apollo in having to remove that leg and I will work around the clock 24/7 if I have to in order to find what is going to make things ‘click’ for him. He is so well liked at CWW and they treat him so wonderfully and he just soaks up all their attention with the biggest tail wags and yes, some drool too! LOL He knows the word ‘swim’ and he gets so excited so his new forever loving adoptive home might want to know that he is a swim demon now! LOL The comments I was receiving today about how strong of a swimmer he is and even from last week to this week; he was just that much more comfortable, happy and he could not get enough! He is now associating the swimming not with being uncomfortable or unsure of his balance and swimming skills but with actual more fun involved, which keeps his brain off NOT using the leg and hence he uses the leg and WOOHOO! He was even doing some tight turns in their pool and his balance was really not too bad. I AM SO proud of you Apollo! After his swim and treat session for he loves that too at CWW; we dropped by LAH as I needed to drop off a file there and though I was did not get to see Dr. Liston for he was just stepping into an appointment; I did get to see one of their techs and she noticed how much muscle wasting he has had but also noted that he is FINALLY using that foot/leg more consistently now! The other thing that I have noted about Apollo at last weeks swim session and then today’s is that if a strange dog approaches him calmly and does not bark, growl, lunge or act in any manner remotely to give Apollo the impression that they might be aggressive; he is superb! BUT, if a dog acts in a manner that is inappropriate; Apollo will back up, keep wagging his tail a mile a minute yet will make a ‘whine’ or a bit of a bark back and what he is relaying to me in body/verbal communication is that he is unsure of the other dogs body language/communication and is thinking about possibly needing to feel a bit defensive. Calming words/touch works fantastic to ‘ease’ his tension and then he appears very sad that the other dog does not like him or want to play. Most of the dogs that we have encountered at CWW are older dogs, very arthritic and have no interest playing with a 2 year old Great Dane pup! He has been just amazing with the daycare doggies that hang out there and I just say ‘be nice’ ‘be gentle’ so as to not ‘splat’ the other dogs there! If Apollo gets too excited, those paws of his can fly and that tail….the welts! We also dropped by today at the home of the GD pup that we have been temp fostering here for a visit as that GD pup’s mom is back from CR this past week and so her pup went to her mom’s house as she was staying there for a visit. The GD pup was very happy to see me and especially Apollo as she likes to ‘push’ the big boyz around and Apollo is happy to be pushed and sat on and almost layed upon. He had a very busy social day today and had a treatie on our way home. He is going to make someone an awesome addition with his temperament, personality and as long as people ensure proper integration so that he does not become too excited(we do not want those cruciates hurt!) or feels worried about other dogs that bark/lunge/growl at him; he is going to mature/develop into a fantastic boy fit for Therapy work etc.