Broken Achilles tendon?

   Harald is a little over a year old greyhound boy, who is supposed to become a hobby friend for greyhound track running. There are also other greyhounds in Harald's family that have successfully started their racing careers. He had a nasty accident in October and as a result, Harald underwent surgery for some broken blood vessels and a partially broken Achilles tendon. The recovery prognosis was very unclear, because tendon accidents in particular are treated with a worse than average percentage, and in Ireland, for example, a tendon accident almost automatically ends a dog's racing career. Tendons also have a slow metabolism which slows down the healing process, usually in racing dogs it takes about four months of rehabilitation depending on the severity of the injury. A partially torn tendon is always weaker after healing.
   Since I was aware of Black Balance, we immediately started an intensive course for Harald so that the inflammation subsides and the healing progresses. Harald had to be on cage rest and we went to the orthopedist every week to change splints and bandages.

I started moving Harald on the leash with short steps a few times a day, and the length of the journey was extended by a couple of hundred meters as the days increased. The rapid healing of Harald's leg and tendon meant that the splints could be dispensed with after three weeks and we were able to learn how to use the leg, at first Harald had to bend his toes due to splinting where the tendon was in a dormant state. Pretty soon, however, he learned to use his leg again, and the progress amazed the nurses and orthopedist during check-ups.

Last week we got permission to run Harald free for a short time in the stadium where I go to train runners in the winter. Harald was so happy to be free to run and didn't really know what to do. I believe that Black Balance helped Harald's recovery and rehabilitation because the progress in less than seven weeks has been amazing. This promises that Harald will still get to show his claws on the race tracks next year. 

Miska-Alexander Argillander
probably the only trainer at the moment who has won two World Championship golds in greyhound cross-country running with two different breeds :-)