It seems that Darby is having back problems again. He started being a bit hesitant to do things last weekend and seemed to be walking very carefully. He could still lift his leg to pee, squat to poo and kick like a mule if you crowded him, but he was definitely off. He wasn't interested in carrying his ball around or chasing it at all so he went back on lockdown. Dr Cooper came on Tuesday and said that he was very tender but it was in a different place than last time She thinks this was a strain from overdoing the playing or jumping. She gave him an adjustment and was able to use the vibrating tool on him for the first time. I can't remember what it's called but it gives a really good adjustment that seems to hold for a long time. My chiro uses one on me and it's awesome.

After she left I took him in the bedroom and he went to sleep and slept for 3 hours. I think he felt much better. Now I'm doing alternating hot and cold packs on his back 3 times a day to keep the inflammation down. He's pretty good about it once we get past the first one.

He's a really hard dog to read. He's very "talky" and makes all sorts of strange sounds. I'm never sure whether it's just him complaining about having stuff done to him or having to be on a leash or whether he's really hurting. It kind of makes me crazy because I'm stressed all the time that something has hurt him even if it's just him turning over and making one of his noises. He yelped when I moved him over on the couch last night and then I got all stressed out but I was able to get some sleep last night. I woke up after I'd been asleep a couple hours and he was sleeping between the DH and I. I took one of his back feet and pushed it up towards his body. He kicked back really hard! That made me feel better because it was a strong kick and I felt like he was doing okay. He was walking much more confidently today so I think he is feeling better.

So if you have any spare please send them his way so he can get back to being His Imperial Darbiness really soon.