It is no secret that I have absolutely no affiliation with the sea (or the sand for that matter). My wife on the other hand, claims the ocean runs through her veins: a testament to growing up in bayside Melbourne and embracing the seaside. Consequently, our holiday destinations usually involve the sea.

Our dogs, like ourselves, experience the seaside holidays in different ways. The old Jack Russell, much like myself, totters along the sand and will only get his feet wet if it’s hot enough. Far better, to lie in the sun, enjoying the view from a grassy embankment, sand-free.
The KelpieX associates the joy of the ‘ball’ with the beach; chasing it into waves, along the sand, or across the sand dunes. He digs like a maniac in the sand and frolics along the shoreline with the passing parade of dogs. He watches intensely at the shoreline when my wife does her ‘iceberger’ dawn swim thing in the cold Victorian waters.

The Smithfield is slowing down with age but enjoys the evening strolls along the beach when surf fisherman are throwing their lines into the waves, and the setting sun streaks the clouds to the east. She knows the drill at our regular holiday spot: beach walks or strolls along the grassy tracks near the Great Ocean walk tracks, coffee in town, a rest on the verandah, where she mentors the other dogs on the rules of caravan parks.

Social media, for all its faults, shares the joy (and pitfalls) of travelling with dogs, including local dog sitters who mind your dogs while you travel to nearby National Parks. Travel Australia with Dogs is one of many current FB pages – over 120,000 followers.

Our Border Collie pup Louis (Louie) was a bit lame on and off. It was so subtle it was barely noticeable, but it was persistent so we got it X-rayed. Our fears were realised and Louie was diagnosed with Osteochondritis dissecans . Surgery was recommended and so that was the start of our journey. Specialist orthopedic surgeons visit our local vet but we couldn’t get in for several months and it was just too long to keep Louie restricted. He is still a pup and wants to play.  Our first lesson, was to check the cost of operations. We had been quoted $2,500 with our local vet. A spot was available in Geelong the following week so we booked it. We thought we better check the price and it was $4,500! Oops that was just too much. The next nearest spot was in Tullamarine about 2 hours from home so we booked that and were quoted $3,200 which we accepted as we wanted it done so Louie’s rehab could start. The vet clinic we used was excellent and provided thorough care. The discharge notes were comprehensive, but like human surgery, post op you feel like you are on your own.

Essentially exercise is to be restricted for at least 8 weeks. Try telling that to a young dog. Fortunately Louie was already pretty well crate trained and he has been amazingly well behaved.

The discharge notes warned that ‘If your pet is doing too much activity in the first several weeks following surgery she will likely develop a seroma (fluid swelling) at the level of the shoulder. The best way to avoid and treat this is to heavily
limit activity’. We were so careful, but Louie did develop a seroma, which resolved in about a week.

We have started Hydrotherapy with Louie, and so far it has been an amazing experience to have help from a rehabilitation specialist. I am sure it is good for the dog, and particularly good for moral and practical support for the owners! We were worried that Louie would stress out too much, but the professional and caring approach from our provider made his first visit a completely positive experience for Louie.