This was the big week for Stirling, she is officially without symptoms of her hip dysplasia, and is now on a once a week physiotherapy and swimming regimen, and on top of that all, she has achieved her swimming distance target ahead of time, and in a somewhat unexpected manner. When Stirling started swimming, we were warned that we would never be able to push her as hard as one could a dog that had no hip problems, for fear of damaging the joints. This has always been our guiding principle, and even when it seemed that she could do more than she was doing, we held of so as to protect her hips and safeguard all the good work that has been done. When Wallace started swimming however, that was an entirely different kettle of fish. The only thing that limits him is his level of fitness, and since he progressed very quickly indeed, it seemed logical that he would surpass Stirlings distance record in a very short time. I have my doubts that he will ever be able to swim at the same speed as Stirling swims, but Stirlings physiotherapist is fairly sure that he will get there quite soon as well. Stirling obviously does not agree with any of the above, and proved the point quite forcefully this last week. Both of the dogs are now swimming twenty eight laps of twenty five metres in four groups of seven. Since they are both back on leads, Stirling so that the physiotherapist can keep the pace very high, and Wallace so that I can encourage him to turn at the end of each lap. Since Wallace takes a lot longer to swim his laps than Stirling does to swim hers, and since Stirling has a physiotherapy and red lamp session before she swims, I start Wallace swimming before Stirling. This way, we can get through the first set of seven laps before Stirling comes out to the pool. I must add here that the twenty eight laps is just two short of the target that we set for Stirling all those months ago when she first started therapy. This weekend would have seen her graduate to doing the full thirty laps for the first time, a huge accomplishment. We are all so please with how well things have gone, and what a star Stirling is, but I think that we might have been underestimating her determination and competitive spirit. When Wallace is in the pool, and Stirling is not, she runs around the edge of the pool, really excited, and obviously feeling that she should also be in the water. When they are both in the pool, and Wallace is ahead of Stirling, Stirling will push herself to get past Wallace, no matter how many laps she has already swum. She obviously feels somewhat competitive about the whole swimming thing. As is usually the case, Stirling got through her laps in no time at all, and by the time Wallace had finished his third set of seven laps, Stirling was completely finished with her laps, and had been taken of the lead and was free to run about as she pleased. It was obvious that she was not in the slightest bit tired or sore after swimming the best part of a mile, and she was more agitated than usual about Wallace swimming and her not when he went back into the pool for his last set of seven laps. Her agitation was so obvious, in fact, that by the time Wallace had completed half a lap, the physiotherapist said to Stirling that she could go in and swim with Wallace if she wanted to. She obviously understood, and needed no second invitation. The next thing we knew, she was down the ramp and into the pool, and swimming as though all the fiends from hell were behind her in an attempt to catch and pass Wallace. This she did, before the end of Wallaces lap! She then gracefully turned, swept past him again, and proceeded to do another three laps, all on her own, at full speed. At the end of these laps, she was called out of the pool by the physiotherapist, who was concerned that she should not overdo things, but she managed a record (for her) thirty two laps, has surpassed her target, and has proved that Wallace is not going to easily surpass her with regards to swimming.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 15:02:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015