Dave & Teds Most Excellent Adventures 2013

[CyncySpyder]

[CyncySpyder]

IMG_20110426_203220.jpg

[PrairieSpyder]

Test Results:

Only the even numbered test posts are appearing!

[CyncySpyder]

So I had a follow up with my GP (General Practitioner (Dr.) yesterday & I was a little shocked at what she had to say. I openly & honestly explained the situation that I've had with the Hand Specialist I've been seeing & that he finally has ordered the nerve test for me tomorrow & I asked her opinion of how I should handle his seeming lack of competancy or listening skills.

After explaining everything to her, she actually agreed with his approach thus far. But, she went a step further & explained in detail why, a step he never took & maybe I'm guilty myself for not pushing him to explain himself futher.

She first stated that she's just a GP and not a Specialist, but that the nerve running from the elbow to the index finger also branches out at the knuckle and leads to both the thumb & middle finger. So, with this knowledge, it would seem logical that if a person presents with a traumatic soft tissue injury at the elbow, (like mine) then there could definately be signs of issues leading from there to the thumb, index & middle fingers, but highly unlikely to present itself in the manner that mine has, only presenting in the index finger alone, without some other underlying issue that may be yet unknown.

Then, as she thought about it more, she as well had the same perplexed (dumbfounded) look as the Specialist did when he just stared at me for about a minute after proclaiming, "I just don't get the corelation between the elbow injury & the index finger." Well let me tell you, I felt a bit like the fool

She proceeded to explain, with my work (manufacturing) and me doing the same repetitve motions over and over again, day in day out, that I may have had early signs of Carple Tunnal & not even known it yet, and this traumatic injury could have just made it progressively & immedeatly (sp?) worse. Also, and this is the sobering thing, while she mentioned possible therapies, she also mentioned that sometimes, with soft tissue damage like I'm presenting, their are no remidies & a person just has to learn to live with it the best they can I shudder at that thought

But I'm putting the carriage WAY before the horse here, as the EMG test is tomorrow & hopefully that will shed alot more light on what is actually going on here. Just thought I'd share ..................

[CyncySpyder]

Many of you that follow along with Teddy's Adventures are probably already well aware of his medical conditions. Being born the runt out of the litter, its very common for the runts to have many health issues & that's a major reason most respectable breeders wont even entertain the thought of breeding a runt, as their goal is the betterment of the breed, not the possible deteriation of it.

And our poor lil guy has had his share of health issues, that's for sure. Many common health issues in smaller breeds are a Luxating Patella (where the tendon 'pops' out of the knee cap) which Teddy had to have surgery for right after injuring himself at the 2011 SpyderFest.

Another common ailment is called a callapsing trachea (windpipe caves in on itself when excited or overheated) and causes the dog to 'cough' insesantly until oftentimes they actually 'spit up' a little, and that helps to coat the windpipe & helps the inflamation to settle down a bit to where they can once again regain their composure. Teddy also has this issue & I have to give him a syringe of liquid medicine every day to help keep this under control. His vet didn't recommend surgery, as she confinded that its usually only about 50% effective & can lead to more complications, so the med route was the most preferred method & seems to continue working well, as Teddy will turn 5 years old on April 20th

The reason I bring the above topics up, is that its getting to be Spring time (believe it or not-I know I know) and the temps are starting to rise (sometimes going right back down tho) and with his half winter coat still on him, he's been getting overheated more often, to the point where everytime I come home from work, he's so excited to see me, after a few jumps and licks, he goes into his coughing fits something terrible. I tell ya, I hate seeing the lil guy suffering like that, so the first thing I do after I get home is to give him his medicine, and within a couple of minutes, he's once again better. But then, if we'd start playing fetch or chase or anything with him getting excited, same thing, cough cough cough cough cough cough

So I figured it was TIME & began to shave off Teddy's Winter Coat for good (at least til next winter) Well, in the past I had always used a small pair of clippers made by Wahl called "The Peanut" & for the past 3 years, it worked, but let me tell you, IT WAS ALOT OF WORK. He may be a small dog weighing in at only 10 pounds ............

TBC.... work work work

[otter28169]

So I had a follow up with my GP (General Practitioner (Dr.) yesterday & I was a little shocked at what she had to say. I openly & honestly explained the situation that I've had with the Hand Specialist I've been seeing & that he finally has ordered the nerve test for me tomorrow & I asked her opinion of how I should handle his seeming lack of competancy or listening skills.

After explaining everything to her, she actually agreed with his approach thus far. But, she went a step further & explained in detail why, a step he never took & maybe I'm guilty myself for not pushing him to explain himself futher.

She first stated that she's just a GP and not a Specialist, but that the nerve running from the elbow to the index finger also branches out at the knuckle and leads to both the thumb & middle finger. So, with this knowledge, it would seem logical that if a person presents with a traumatic soft tissue injury at the elbow, (like mine) then there could definately be signs of issues leading from there to the thumb, index & middle fingers, but highly unlikely to present itself in the manner that mine has, only presenting in the index finger alone, without some other underlying issue that may be yet unknown.

Then, as she thought about it more, she as well had the same perplexed (dumbfounded) look as the Specialist did when he just stared at me for about a minute after proclaiming, "I just don't get the corelation between the elbow injury & the index finger." Well let me tell you, I felt a bit like the fool

She proceeded to explain, with my work (manufacturing) and me doing the same repetitve motions over and over again, day in day out, that I may have had early signs of Carple Tunnal & not even known it yet, and this traumatic injury could have just made it progressively & immedeatly (sp?) worse. Also, and this is the sobering thing, while she mentioned possible therapies, she also mentioned that sometimes, with soft tissue damage like I'm presenting, their are no remidies & a person just has to learn to live with it the best they can I shudder at that thought

But I'm putting the carriage WAY before the horse here, as the EMG test is tomorrow & hopefully that will shed alot more light on what is actually going on here. Just thought I'd share ..................

I had open release surgery done on my right hand on January 11th for severe carpal tunnel issues I had been unwittingly ignoring. My hand was so bad my thumb, index, and middle fingers would go numb during highway portions of my rides. The doctor was amazed at how young I was because my condition was so severe. When he looked at my nerve study he told me that therapy was not even an option, and that surgery might not lead to a complete recovery, but it was the only option I had.
That being said I am now two months post op, and life is grand. The strength is returning in my hand, and the pain is decreasing daily. I rode highway miles on monday before the storm hit and there was no numbness in my hands. I won't be going back to carpentry as a career anytime soon, but at least I can use my right hand to do things now. The only issue I have with the surgery is that I now see how bad my left hand is, and I need to find the time to get that one repaired too. Do not fear the surgery if that is the route you need to go. Good luck with your recovery, we will be praying for you.

[oldbaldguy]

I too have had carpal tunnel surgery (done with deep local anesthesia-that worried me more than the surgery). All turned out well, with a short recovery. Good luck, if it comes to that

[CyncySpyder]

So we've been using the 'Peanut' clipper for the past 3 years of Spyder Ryding. Some may wonder why I shave Teddy to begin with. Well, when we first got our 2010 RT-S Spyder & we both started learning to ryde, we'd have a heck of a time with his coat after every ryde. Poms have a thick soft undrcoat but also a long overcoat as well, being derived originally from Very Cold climate dogs, makes for a beautifull coat, but put that coat on the back of a Spyder & do a few miles at highway speeds & see what the end result is for yourself.

TBC again, sorry.........

[bhfromme]

So we've been using the 'Peanut' clipper for the past 3 years of Spyder Ryding. Some may wonder why I shave Teddy to begin with. Well, when we first got our 2010 RT-S Spyder & we both started learning to ryde, we'd have a heck of a time with his coat after every ryde. Poms have a thick soft undrcoat but also a long overcoat as well, being derived originally from Very Cold climate dogs, makes for a beautifull coat, but put that coat on the back of a Spyder & do a few miles at highway speeds & see what the end result is for yourself.

TBC again, sorry.........

Hey Dave. You should see my girlfriend's hair after riding - she calls it uncombable hair syndrome.

And she thinks Teddy is gaining weight. Better watch those bedtime snacks!

Bill

[CyncySpyder]

So way back when we first started learning to ryde (May of 2010-lol) Teddy was eager to go, but then the fight was on after each ryde. We'd come home and I'd have to fight with him, literally pulling out his hair to get his coat brushed back out like it should be, as I didn't want to leave it a tangled mess and risk him getting matted.

So I inquired with his vet, if there was some type of conditioner or something that would help? That's when she confided, that she could suggest many diffeent things, but in the end, I'd just be wasting alot of money for poor results, being open and honest, and I thank her for that.

So I asked if she had any other suggestions and that's when she exclaimed, "Well, you know Poms have a double coat, right? I think your best bet, if you intend for him to ride regularly, would be to shave his top coat down and just leave the bottom coat. I think that's what I would do if I were in your situation. You just want to make sure and keep him covered and protected from direct sunlight, as he'll be more suseptable to burning, and of course keep a sweater or jacket on him to help protect from wind burn and possible flying debris." This lady was good, and thinking things thru. She then added, "Don't forget doggles to protect his eyes also." Huh??? Up to this point, I hadn't ever heard of "Doggles." - lol - shades for dogs, who knew -lol

TBC. . . .

[CyncySpyder]

So, for those of you wondering, that's a bit of history to help explain why I have chosen to shave Teddy. Some may think I do it for attention or cosmetic reasonings, but that's just not the case, its a practical solution to a real life issue & with him being shaved, we're both much happier.

Now I will admit, the red mowhawk, yup, that's 100% vanity and attention getting right there But I think it suits the lil guys personality to a T like as in Mr. T, you know, from the A TeamWoW!!! Blast from the past.... 'I pitty the fool'

So back to present day. With him still having half his winter coat, but without his Spyder to ryde, we've been pretty much confined indoors where its nice and warm. He still needs his exercise, and he loves playing fetch, especially outside with a stick (that he tries to eat) but will settle nicely for one of his mini tennis balls bouncing off the walls and down the hall. But he's been getting overheated within about 10 minutes of play, and his collapsing trachea would kick in and the hacking wouldn't stop. So yup, its Spring time and time for his winter coat to be sent to the cleaners til next season.

It would usually take us a good 2 days for me to get him totally complete with using the 'Peanut' as they were regular clippers, you know, like for us humans. Like many things in life, much of what I get into is relatively new for me, as when I tell ppl that I grew up sheltered, I really don't think most of them get the jist of just how sheltered I was. I mean, like growing up under a rock sheltered, but hey, I'm at least eager to learn.

Not knowing any better and seeing the place where I get my own hair cut using clippers and then seeing the groomers place at Pets Mart using clippers there as well, I never knew they were using a different type of clipper. Heck, clippers were clippers I used to think and thought they were all the same, right??? Just recently did I find out just how wrong I was.

You see, they actually make a special line of clippers meant specifically for animals, especially for animals that have a much thicker coat than humans hair, just like a Pomeranian...... Go figure Like I've said many times before and I'm sure I will many times in the future, 'I'm learn'n & live'n every day'

TBC... work work work

[CyncySpyder]

When i had asked the stylist that cuts my own hair about her suggestions concerning cutting Teddy's hair, she gave me alot of good info about regularly cleaning the slippers, how to oil and when, but never did she mention a word about a special type designed specification for animals. So for the past almost 3 years, we've been using these regular clippers to do Teddy's hair, and trust me, its not been an easy nor pretty process. With Teddy's thick undercoat, I'd make maybe 2 passes thru his coat, then had to stop, take off the guide, grab the little brush and clear the hair that would get stuck under the guide and blade just about every time. Well you can imagine how tedius this would become in a manner of just a few minutes. Now Teddy, he's a good dog and very compliant for most anything, but even he has his limits. After about 15 minutes of this start and stop and start and stop, Nope, I've. Had ENOUGH!!! and off he'd run. I'd get them cleaned and call him to return and he'd give me a little look, but would return as requested and once again assume the position. This would continue for a couple of hours til finally, we had both had ENOUGH and I'd give in for the night and then I would reward him by playing fetch for the next half hour or so, just to do it all again the following day til he was completely done....... Tedius to say the least, but he's worth it to me.

TBC..........

[CyncySpyder]

I can't help myself, I'm already a little giddy

But i called the shop last night to inquire on the progress of Teds Red Sled and the shop manager told me all the parts were in, but that he still needed to get a special tool for one of the jobs & that he would be picking it up later that night after he got off from work and that if everything goes well, as they still needed to run some tests after all the replacement parts are put on, but that if all the tests go well, I may be able to pick it up tomorrowWhich is now today I know better than to get my hopes up but its too late i didn't sleep last night just thinking about it i won't publicly admit to opening my eyes this morning & looking at the clock & it reading 5:23am, when I have to get up at 3:45am nope, won't admit that at all

I now think I know how Teddy feels, when I have a treat for him, but I make him WAIT FOR IT! & he just looks at me with those big puppy dog eyes, while drool starts to slowly ooze out of the corner of his mouth, like someone turned the faucet on. Yup, that just about describes how I'm feeling right now

[CyncySpyder]

OK folks, Teds Red Sled should be back home from the shop either today or tomorrow if everything goes right. That means I can actually start finishing all the mods that we've been working on and eventually putting everything back together and dare I say it, THEN WE GET TO RYDE

Ok, so here's where I need some assistance, thinking thru A NEW MOD Yes, you read that right, another one

You see, right now as I type this, PitBull PowerSports has Teddy's new (to us) Limited Seat in their possesion and they are installing a fuel door on it for us You can probably imagine how happy this makes us & how much easier & more pleasurable this will make our long road trips.

You see, up til this point, everything concerning Teddy's area has had to be removable, due to the fact that every time we had to fuel up, the seat would have to be raised, therefore his carrier would have to be removed. This was a major stumbling point when I struggled to design his Sun-Canopy, but I was able to figure out how to make that work, tho its not a perfect design, it works well. Now with having a fuel door, we're given many more options that weren't viable before, like......

& this one (pictured below) really got me thinking about how I could possibly make one of these, similar in design, myself. So much so, that I even gave it half an attempt last year with using PVC tubing, but I wasn't happy with it & thought the tubing took up too much space and didn't really care for the looks of it & scrapped that idea.
Now with the new fuel door mod taking one henderence out of the equation, I'm back to tackling this issue once again, although now with new zest & ambition. Now is the time for me to do this, cause I've already got most of the byke apart, and we have a totally new Teddy-Cam system that needs to be installed, so I can get everything correct from the get go.

In starting my preliminary investigating, I happend upon some copper tubing at Lowes one day, and saw that they already have all the required fittings for the 45 & 90 degree bends that one may need in developing such a safety cage set-up for one small dog, namely Teddy. Much the same of what was available on my first attempt, but I was able to get a 10 foot section of the 1/2 inch copper tubing for about $15 & we picked up a bag of 45s & 90s along with a pipe cutter & their now sitting at the condo awaiting inspiration to make them into something usable for Teds Red Sled to provide not only safety but also style for the little guy as well

[arntufun]

Before you go that route with the bottom photo, you might want to think about some sort of flat floor for the seat. IMO I think it will be tiring for Teddy to constaintly apply pressure to a curved seat to remain upright.


I personally think your set-up you have now is much better than this bottom photo design.

[CyncySpyder]

Before you go that route with the bottom photo, you might want to think about some sort of flat floor for the seat. IMO I think it will be tiring for Teddy to constaintly apply pressure to a curved seat to remain upright.I personally think your set-up you have now is much better than this bottom photo design.

We'll still be using one of his cushy doggy beds with a pad as the base. That way, when its really hot, we can insert the modular ice pads underneath to help provide a bit of relief & in the winter, his electric heating pad will go underneath. So the base part should be good that way

[PrairieSpyder]

I'd be concerned about the heat from the copper in the sun. I like the PVC idea better.

Also, if you haven't already thought of it. Use the foamy pipe insulation around the parts that abut your Spyder.

[Hberninger]

I'd be concerned about the heat from the copper in the sun. I like the PVC idea better.

Also, if you haven't already thought of it. Use the foamy pipe insulation around the parts that abut your Spyder.

You might want the foamy pipe insulation around all the tubing as a protection for Teddy. If copper tubing is used, it would keep it from getting hot in the sun.

[RTVIPER]

You might want the foamy pipe insulation around all the tubing as a protection for Teddy. If copper tubing is used, it would keep it from getting hot in the sun.

I agree with the foam pipe insulation to keep it from getting hot. Without the foam pipe insulation, that could be harmful here in AZ when Temps get 110+.

[CyncySpyder]

best buyIMG_20110426_203220.jpg

[CyncySpyder]

ugh

[CyncySpyder]

image.jpgOmg, it worked

[CyncySpyder]

image.jpg

[CyncySpyder]

20130321_172807.jpgWorked but with issues

[CyncySpyder]

20130321_173147.jpgIt worked ok