McLean Puppy Chronicles: Strange Thing about Physical Therapy

About a month and half ago, perhaps more, I sprained my ankle letting Jam out to busy one dark morning. For the past 4 weeks I have been going to physical therapy to retrain my ankle to recognize when it is falling so it can correct itself and I won't hurt myself again.

Usually, all this occurs on a Tuesday. Usually. Last week, was, unusual.

I had Jam on a Tuesday. I don't know why, but I did and that meant that he had to come to PT with me. I hadn't thought it out, but the day was over and it was time to go to PT and there was just no choice.

We had to go.

Of course, they loved him. To start. He was very good. To start. Megan, my PT, started me on the treadmill. 6 minutes of me walking sideways: two on one side, two on the other and two backwards. Jam was fascinated with the treadmill. The big open room filled with physical therapists and their patients were fascinated with me and Jam.

I was sweating and it wasn't because of the treadmill.

"Jam. Sit." He sat. "Down." He went down. "Stay." He stayed ... up he popped. I'm on the treadmill remember.

I leaned a little over the treadmill.

"Jam. Sit." He sat. "Down." He went down. "Stay." He stayed.....up he popped.

Criminy how much longer on this torture device? 4 minutes! OMG. I will never make it.

JAM! SIT! He sat. DOWN. He went down. For 2:25. Up he popped. Now I am walking backwards and try to attempt a sit, my PT Megan races over and stops the machine as she waits for me to get Jam down. I must have looked a bit tipsy. Hmmmm.

Now we are on the balance board. Jam likes that. He watches and he watches through the weight machine. But when she walked me over to the place where you stand on one foot and throw a ball at a trampoline, I just looked at her.

"Oh. Perhaps we should skip that one for this week."

"I would really appreciate it!" Jam was giving me the evil eye. He knew something was up. So she set me up on a weird stretcher pulling thing and I started to do some exercises while standing and attached to a post in the middle of the room. Jam was attached to a table as seen below.

Jam sitting by a Physical Therapy table.

Jam did not like my being so far away and gave a preemptive come over here bark. Everyone got very quiet as they watched to see what I would do. I went hot and then I went cold. Oh poo.

"No noise, Jam."

BARK! (Read, Come here right now, I mean it!) This was followed up with a little back pedalling because he knew he wasn't supposed to do that.

"No noise." I waited a few moments for the quiet to sink in and then unhooked myself and went over to where he was and got him. Then took him back to where I was. I was really tense, but I could tell Jam was too. So when I got him next to me, I put my hand on his head and in a really calm voice I said, "SHHHHHHHH."

We both calmed down. I finished the set.

Then we went back to the table.