So we returned from the specialty show with not much to show for it. We weren't expecting much, as the show scene is so political. Sad to say, unless you hire a proffessional handler at $75 per day at a minimum, there isn't a whole lot of chance to win.
Kyler's chances drop dramatically due to an old injury she sustained as a 3 month old puppy.
At the time, no one was able to figure out what she did to herself, a few incidents happened within a short period of time and she was 3 legged lame for a couple months. After seeing several veterinarians and going to Tufts University, we still didn't have an answer. Radiographs showed nothing, medication didn't help at all, anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, etc, did not make a dent in her lameness. My final hope was a veterinary accupuncturist/chiropractor. We still didn't know what was wrong, but after a couple weeks she was dramatically better.
She became sound and had been fine for several years, (although I continue occasional chiropractic) until the end of this last bird season. The last week of season she came home fine, slept, and got up holding her hind leg in a funny angle, one that I hadn't seen before even in my daily work. I massaged her, rested her and she was fine the next morning. We took it easy for a bit, and she seemed mostly ok. She didn't appear to have any problems in the field. Her lameness only showed up after resting.
After a discussion with the surgeon at work we believe we have the answer for her original injury that seems to be coming back to haunt her, a groin pull. One of the incidents with her as a puppy, was being squashed frog leg style into the ground by another Vizsla, who happened to weigh 70#. This is a typical way for groin injuries to occur.
Groin injuries are not very common in dogs, but when they happen, they are usually severe, and can be a career ending injury. There is little that can be done to help, except accupuncture. We are hoping that by finding the right accupuncturist, that we will be able to allow Kyler to have as normal a hunting dog life as possible. Only time will tell...
Her life in the show ring, however, is likely done, as this injury affects her movement. I don't care that she doesn't have a CH in front of her name, I was hoping to get it just to add one more to her bloodlines, but it doesn't affect anything here. Her conformation is still excellent, her field ability is still the same, her personality is still the same and I love her just as much as I ever could have. It breaks my heart though, to know that she may not be able to do the same things that she has always enjoyed doing, without causing potentially painful consequences...
We hope to start seeing the new accupuncturist in May, as that is when she is accepting new clients, and we'll go from there!
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