Kratty

Nikita is out of the cast and has been in the new brace for almost 4 weeks now. With fingers crossed, things are progressing better than I expected. The first few weeks, the brace was looked down with very limited movement. Kinda of the adjustment period and letting the swelling come down still. Last week they gave her a little more movement to start on the rehabilitation phase to work on movement and strengthening. Her surgeon gave her a good thumbs up report and he sees no signs of stress on the other leg. Which was a big concern on our part. She goes for a weekly ultrasound therapy treatment on her leg as part of the recovery process.

We did get approval to restart walks again, but are pretty limited to only a 10 minute walk. I expect with the further movement we get in the brace, we can start going on longer walks. But let me tell you, this isn't slowing her down. She has adapted in the cast phase and now in the brace phase. In the cast phase, she would still try to run when she wanted. Can't put on hold of chasing deer away from the property line with a little tendon injury, can we. With the cast on, her backend movement ended up as a hopping movement when she ran. Now with the brace on, it changed again. It's kinda like a gallop. The hind legs are not in synch together but still move in rhythm with each other, if that makes sense. Its pretty graceful though and it allows her to move damn fast at times.

We are also back to down to her prednisone level she was at before the surgery. 10 mg every fourth day now. Now this is encouraging. We feel now that we have a good chance of weaning her down even further and may eventually get her completely off the stuff. She hasn't been back for an acupuncture treatment since the surgery and is showing no signs of needing it.

I'm not sure if its only Nikita or its this breed, but how adaptive she has been through this whole ordeal. At every phase of this, with the ventral slot surgery and the Achilles tendon injury, how she adapted it it and made it worked for her. We are definitely seeing the old Nikita return, which we thought we wouldn't ever see again. Things are very encouraging right now, and we hope it continues. Right now, May 18 is the estimate recovery time for the whole procedure, so we still have a way to go on this. But this is the first time I feel like taking out the camera's again.

So without further a do, here's a few shots of Nikita at her last few vet visits.

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Jenny

She looks good! Glad she's healing well. Hope she continues to improve.

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Jenny, Vader & Zannah

KCFilley

I am so happy to see Nikita doing so well. What a tough girl she is. It warms my heart to see her success. She's so lucky to be part of your family.

Anxious to see her continued success after all the hardware comes off.

(I've always loved to watch your videos of the girls. Hope you post more after the hardware success.)

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If ya git ta thinkin' yer a person of some influence, try orderin' my dogs around. Cowgirl wisdom.

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brw1982

I just love how Nikita always looks so happy and sweet in all her pictures. No matter what she's been through, she just shines!

Glad to hear she's doing so well!

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Old Drum's Crimson Crisp, "Fiona"
Old Drum's Fiery Rumors of Taliesin, "Tali"

Darkevs

Happy to hear and SEE that your Girl is doing so much better!

Hugz to you and yours.

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Thanks for making this signature for me Amelia!

DobieGal15

What a good girl, sitting there so bravely. Hope she continues to do well, good luck to you two

HarvestMoon

So happy to hear how well she is doing! Love that smile that she always seems to be wearing.

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MeadowCat

She looks great, and I'm glad to hear she's doing so well. Love that the brace is coordinated with her harness and leash!

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dobermansrule

a tear-jerker Kratty music video is long overdue....

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EmilyB

My she is stunning in purple! I agree, she always looks so happy and well loved.

Luvbirds

Hugs to you and Mrs. K~you guys are totally awesome! Nikita looks fantastic, she looks happy and pain free! Thank you for the update, I was close to sending you a email to find out how she was doing.

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Kratty

Thank you everyone for the well wishes. They are greatly appreciated. It has been a roller coaster ride for the last few years and pretty grim a few times, but its truly Nikita that has driven this effort. As you guys have mentioned about Nikita smiling in the pictures, she is one happy girl and really makes do with what she has to work with.

Yes, I was instructed early on from Mrs K, that I need to make sure I color coordinate her ensemble at all times. A female must always look her best no matter what. So the brace had to match the harness and leash.

A new music video has been in the works. It may not be a tear-jerker, but it should tug on your heart strings a bit and may bring a tear to your eye and it's gotta rock. I already have the appropriate song picked out. Just have to wait until we get out of the brace and get her back on her own four feet, and see where she is with the recovery. If it turns out with where we are at now and our hopes of where she could be at, its gonna be good.

Thanks again everyone...

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cuddlbug00

Awww, so sweet! Glad she is doing well!

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I have a Trans Am, a gun, and a Doberman. What more could a girl ask for?

robinb

She looks great Kratty, thanks for sharing and give her a hug from us.

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eegreen

Nikita looks great! Hope she continues to improve.

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Elaine



Dragon Slaying Doberman's Inc. Member #095

Reds

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The Brat Pack

dax0402

Thanks so much for the update. She looks so good. Also love her smile and her color coordinated "outfit"! She is a tribute to the Doberman spirit.

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Lois and Baron

dobes4us

So glad she is doing well.

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Sue & Crew
Kylee & Jinx
Forever in our hearts:
Nike, Kobi, Malley, Chessie and Riggs

GrdnDelite

Thanks for posting Nikita's progress, and especially for the photos. She does have a sweet and happy face.

Dogs can do so much, quite a lot of which I attribute to not wasting time on self-pity.

I'll sure look forward to the upcoming video!

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It should be good to be Dog.

avianantics

Bless her heart. Tell Nikita that I had surgery last year for a ruptured achilles tendon, complete with graft and it has been a resounding success. (of course Dogs aren't People, so not a good analogy -- but Nikita won't know that).

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Shelly Wing
AKC GCH/UKC CH Lyndobe's Wheel of Fortune, "Wheeler"
AKC Ptd Lyndobe's Loquacious Charm, "Lola"