Well you are all just lovely. Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. It makes all the difference in the world.

Michelle, thanks for watching. And yes, I agree. It does seem to be moving more easily now. Amazing how just a couple of tweaks (under guidance from an expert eye) can make such a difference. I'm sure there will be further tweaks, but yes, the MegaWheels will soon be spinning so fast there'll be sparks flying off them.

Petra, you're right welcome, lass. Thank you for all your fantastic support. We can hear you cheering us on, seriously, and Super Stewie roaring louder than anyone.

Jackie, that is such a kind post, and immensely encouraging to feel that Meg does know that we are doing all this to help her. I bet you are right about her using different muscles and this being tiring. It will be interesting to see what her rehab vet says when she sees her in about ten days time. She knows Meg's body very well from regular acupuncture etc., and will be able to tell if there are different areas of tension etc. I'm SO pleased you are trying the liver cake. Though waiting like an anxious chef, to see what Mr Mitchell makes of it! Do please let us know!

Sally, I cannot BELIEVE that we now have THREE pics of SIMON COWELL on this thread???? How???? Why???? You crack me up! Thank you for everything. Meg does play full out, it's true and I'm sure she always will do. But she is EXTREMELY good at masking pain, so I guess it's just trying to stay one step ahead. Thankfully, she loves water so much, and can get masses of exercise and enjoyment in the river, without putting strain on her joints. The plan is for her to use the wheels some of the time, but not all of it, so I guess we'll have to see how that goes. I really hate the thought of that arthritis in her front paw, because I can't see how that can be anything other than painful with all her weight going down on it. Still at 2 1/4 years post amp, for a dog they said could never manage on three, I guess we're not doing badly.

Teresa, thank you. I'm sure Angels Pie and Eurydice, are picnicking together on liver cake and having a good old laugh at the MegaWheels spectacle down below. Kisses and cuddles backatcha!

Rene, yes, of course, please do turn it into a news blog, or anything you like. I'd love to think that our experience might be helpful to somebody else. Eddies Wheels have been quite superb. I'm going to email Claire the video below tomorrow just to see if they have any further fine tuning suggestions. It is so reassuring that they are so responsive and involved. The wheels aren't cheap, no, but as vets bills go (certainly the MegaStar's MegaBill) they are not as much as you might think. Meg's came to around $500. That's considerably less than a scan, for example. Of course, the problem is it isn't either or, it's one thing on top of another. And the bigger the dog, the more they cost. Meg is (just) within the small size range.

Jackie..... is that liver cake out of the oven yet????

The MegaWheels Day 5

We didn't use the wheels this morning, instead I took Meg for a swim. She soon gets bored doing the same thing every day, and boredom means MegaMischief, so I took her to her favourite watering hole, and she had a good swim, and I took one of my favourite ever pictures of her, so all in all, a good morning.

When we got back, the MegaMuffin rested for a full five minutes before demanding further entertainment, and so... it was time for the wheels round 5.

She was quite resistant to going into them again, but, courtesy of several chunks of liver cake, we got there in the end. She is clearly moving much more easily now, and with far fewer stops and starts. I wanted to focus particularly on turning and steering, as she needs to learn to steer with her back legs instead of her front one. She seems to be picking this up very quickly. I'm a bit concerned that she's tending to bunny hop in the wheels – not all the time, but some of it – she moves much more smoothly when she walks with her back legs, instead of trying to bounce along. I'm going to ask Claire at Eddies Wheels about this and see what else I can do to help her, but by and large I'm pretty pleased with how things are progressing, and super pleased with the Megsta for being such a star.