I saw a German Shepherd dog today – his step mum had rung me up last week, as he\’d not been able to jump into the back of the ute any more, and was even having trouble with the steps. What\’s more, he wasn\’t wanting to play with his ball, normally his glorious obsession. It was a beautiful day for driving, sweeping through the ranks of tall trees, all bedecked with the fresh vibrant greens of new leaves springing onto their branches. My beloved decided to come out for the day with me, and the miles dissolved into conversation.
We pulled up into the driveway, way out in the gentle clamour of the bush- cicadas ringing, birds singing, the odd car off in the distance, a quiet growl. The dogs owner had his dog on a lead – he was intensely chewing on his ball, but when he saw me he rushed at me, jumped up and bloody well nipped me on the hand – not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough to make me jump. His dad reeled him back in with a swift tug on his neck, and gave him a gentle clip around the ears.
\”You bugger, behave yourself,\” he said. \”Are you ok mate? He\’s never done that before, maybe it\’s because he\’s on the lead. I now he won\’t let anyone near the truck, he\’s pretty fierce then…\”
\”No, I\’m ok,\” I replied. \”What\’s up with him?\”
\”Well- he yelped when he jumped in the truck about 3 weeks ago, then he jumped in again, and collapsed , and wet himself, and he hasn\’t been able to jump in the back of the truck for weeks, but he did jump in this morning…\”
He let the dog off the lead, and he went back to obsessively chewing the ball, and dropping at his dad\’s feet, urging him to throw it again and again for him. His eyes were dilated, and a bit crazed. He was full on, all drive, no brakes. I knew had to have a look at him, and I was going to be extra cautious, as I knew he\’d nip if he didn\’t like what I did, even though he wasn\’t really a nasty dog. I gently palpated along his back, and when I reached about half way along his lower back, he suddenly turned around in protest and tried to nip me. He was quick, but I had my hands just where he couldn\’t reach me. His dad got him by the collar, and I went to work, gently easing into and releasing the pain and tension. He was good for about 30 seconds, then he realised that he wasn\’t actually chasing the ball. So we wrestled with him for a bit – then I let him go. He was just too big and strong to hold.
\”We might have to do this in little bits between him chasing the ball,\” I explained.
We tried that for a bit, until I asked his dad to take all the balls away. Then I collared him in a nice strong grip with one hand, wedged the side closest to me with a gentle knee, and used my free hand to hold him against me and work along the other side of his spine at the same time. It was still quite a wrestling match, but now I had him in such a hold that he could struggle all he liked, or try to nip, but all to no avail. I had to flow with him, keeping hold of his collar, and gently restraining him when he lunged to get away, like a human rubber band. Over the next 15 minutes he gradually relaxed, bit by bit, until he even forgot about his ball, and though he never actually relaxed enough to lie down, and I wasn\’t game to let go of his collar, he did go softer and heavier in his body. Little by little, I could feel the tight bands of pan and tension ease out and relax away under my seeking fingers. I, on the other hand, was breathing heavily, and starting to sweat!
Finally, I got his dad to hold his head again, and palpated all long his back again. He was now comfortable where before the slightest pressure had him spinning around in pain to nip me in protest.
\”He\’d jinked his back badly,\” I explained, \”and even though he did jump in the ute today, and has been playing with the ball again, he was still very, very sore in there. I have released the pain and tension – best not throw the ball for him any more today, and don\’t let him be too crazy, so his body can have a bit of a rest. He should be fine from here on in, but give me a ring if he gets sore again.\”
\”I will mate, I will. He\’s a bit of a handful, but he\’s a great dog!\”
\”He sure is a handful,\” I agreed!