Elbow Dysplasia and Home / Exercise Adaptations
Elbow dysplasia is hereditary but is also associated with rapid growth and high energy diet. Large breed dogs tend to be affected. Examples are: German Shepherds Basset Hounds Saint Bernhards Bernese Mountain Dogs Labrador Retrievers Newfoundlands Australian Shepherds However, elbow dysplasia could be seen on rare occasions in smaller breeds. In this condition, the elbow suffers structural defects related to the cartilage. First starts with gradual degradation of the joint...
Osteoarthritis in Dogs
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis in dogs, affecting approximately a quarter of the population. It is a chronic joint disease characterized by loss of joint cartilage, thickening of the joint capsule and new bone formation around the joint (osteophytosis) and ultimately leading to pain and limb dysfunction. Majority of OA in dog occur secondarily to developmental orthopedic disease, such as cranial cruciate ligament disease, hip dysplasia,...
Reversing Osteoarthritis
This is a repurposed blog. I wrote this for https://caninearthritis.co.uk/, but I like it, and I've wanted to use if here for a while now. So here it is! Not too long ago, I received a request from a medical journal editor asking if I would like to contribute an article on the topic of ‘Can Osteoarthritis be Reversed?’. Now, before you get excited thinking that I might be an expert...
Can Small Dogs Get Hip Dysplasia?
The unfortunate answer to this question is yes, small dogs can get hip dysplasia. While it’s certainly more common in large and giant breed dogs, certain breeds of small and medium sized dogs are also prone to developing the disease. In ascending order from most affected (Pugs) to least affected (Tibetan Terrier) Small dogs that are affected by hip dysplasia include: Pugs Norfolk Terrier French Bulldog Shih Tzu Affenpinscher Cavalier King...
Muscle Actions of Canine Locomotion
Dogs have a great capacity for assisting their human counterparts in their daily lives and are very excited and willing to perform these tasks. This assistance can be in many forms, which include, but are not limited to, physical assistance dogs, guide dogs, detection dogs, military and police dogs, search and rescue dogs and hunting dogs. In the human world, there has been a great deal of research in developing programs...
Benefits of Rehabilitation After Your Dog’s TPLO
A knee surgery for your dog is a pretty penny, no doubt about it. (What is a TPLO?) And yet veterinarians agree that NOT doing surgery is a guarantee of ongoing arthritis problems, expenses and pain for your dog. Then why would you spend another pretty penny for rehabilitation? Simple answer: Protect your TPLO surgery investment. Look at it this way. If you put a new deck on your...
Arthritis Management
MANAGING OSTEOARTHRITIS Osteoarthritis is common amongst both dogs and people—it’s one of the things about which we can commiserate with our furry companions. Put simply, “osteoarthritis” means “bony joint inflammation.” That’s an oversimplified representation of a complex degenerative process, but that’s the basic idea. Just like in people, arthritis is the result of bony changes within joints; once the cartilaginous “brake pads” have worn down, bone grinds on bone, resulting...
Recognizing Soft Tissue Injuries in the Dog from an Integrative Perspective – part 2
Applying rehab and physiotherapy techniques to a dog with a soft tissue injury should be preceded by a proper consideration of how the injury developed and progressed, and how it affects the health and function of the entire body. The care of the canine athlete in performance and working disciplines is finally getting much-needed attention and awareness. With the recent growth of agility, flyball, obedience, herding, sled racing and nose-work as competitive...