Griffin has been on limited activity after being diagnosed with an iliopsoas injury in early June. He had seemed off for a few weeks before that and a trip to his regular veterinarian was unproductive. We saw a vet who specializes in physical rehabilitation and is a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner.
Griffin has had this injury two years ago and may not have fully healed. My training notes indicate he had some changes to his jumping style last fall.
We initially had a few weeks of no activity (crating, on a leash in the house, outside only to eliminate on leash) and since then have been gradually increasing his range of activities. Throughout this time we’ve been going to the clinic for cold laser therapy and time on an underwater treadmill, initially 3 times a week. Now we are doing periods of jogging and running (on leash) and more exercises and stretches.
A few dog motion and health resources:
This summer the American Kennel Club has run a “Canine Athlete Initiative” and has a series of podcasts that are relevant to almost all dog owners. The list includes conditioning, rehabilitation, osteoarthritis, pain management, and more.
The University of Minnesota has a website about “Gait and Footfalls” in dogs. It has animations showing how animals (mostly dogs) move and which feet are hitting the ground.
The Ohio State University has a game to label the skeletal system of the dog.
Here’s a “Canine Lameness Learning Module” that I absolutely love. You can look at three different dogs; a dog with hip dysplasia, a dog with a cranial cruciate ligament rupture (knee injury), and a normal dog. For each of these, you can speed up or slow down the motion and the dogs can be seen at a walk, at a trot, and on stairs. You can view the dogs from the top, front, back, or side. It’s a fabulous tool for learning how dogs move!
CleanRun sells a whole range of books and DVDs on canine fitness. I have especially found the DVD’s by Debbie Gross Saunders to be useful, even though some of the dogs in the videos look stressed.