Did you know that our four-legged friends can develop arthritis as they age? Just as humans get older and start to slow down, so can our furry friends. As we (and our pets) begin to age – our body and joints start to ache and feel tired more frequently. When our body is feeling run down and achy, we really don’t feel like moving – which is actually what we SHOULD be doing to feel better! Same thing with our fur babies. Losing mobility is a common part of a dog’s aging process. It’s important to keep them as mobile and active as possible and physical therapy can help. Interested in learning how? Fill out the short form above to speak with a member of our team!
What If My Dog Is Not Very Active?
There is significant research proving that regular physical activity in humans can help prevent chronic diseases and even premature death. Our dogs can also benefit from regular activity no matter how active or inactive a dog’s life has been up to this point! When we see our dogs starting to slow down, we may have the urge to start doing more things for them purely out of love and not wanting them to be in pain. However, the result may actually be the opposite of what we want. What happens when we help them more and more is that our dogs move less and less.
The good news here is that there’s hope! Your dog CAN get around better even if he/she already has arthritis! If you are interested in the cost and our availability, please click the Inquiry button below and complete our short form.
Dog Arthritis And Physical Therapy
So, what’s the best way to get your dog moving around again? Going on walks again? Going up and down the stairs or jumping onto the bed again? The answer is a tailored, progressive exercise program that can get them moving. Acupuncture and chiropractics can certainly be used to give your dog some short-term relief. However, keep in mind that these modalities don’t get to the root cause of the tight joint and/or muscles: movement dysfunction. One of the most important aspects of what we do here at Canine PT & Me is creating a prescription for a customized home exercise program. This is a long-term solution for arthritis/movement dysfunction required to keep your dog happy and healthy. We strongly believe in teaching pet parents the tools and skills they need to learn how to maintain their dog’s health as they age!
“What about underwater treadmill?“ We get this question a lot! Hydrotherapy (or underwater treadmill) is not always the solution for senior dogs. However, the buoyancy of the water actually decreases the effect of gravity and can assist with gait training. The water height can be adjusted for each dog—meaning the higher the water level, the less body weight the dog uses. While this can be useful for some, especially those dogs who have difficulty walking due to a neurological condition, there is no research showing that underwater treadmill is better than a land-based exercise program! The underwater treadmill also has one major issue: there is no PROGRESSIVE LOADING.
When it comes to human sports medicine, it is well known that we need to add strength. In order to generate muscle growth, the muscles and tendons need to be gradually loaded with progressive resistance over time. The buoyancy of the water in an underwater treadmill can take away the weight bearing/loading that is necessary to build strength.
What Pawrents Say
“Kelsey did a fantastic job evaluating my 6 year old German Shepherd, Bronson, who has developed leg pain after playing fetch. She did great connecting with my dog and keeping him at ease while she did her testing. She taught me a comprehensive exercise program to implement in improving his leg strength and spine mobility. Bronson has limped less and run faster over the past month with doing these exercises. He’s a happy pup and gives Kelsey all 4 paws up of approval.”
– Bronson’s dad
“Canine PT and Me was pivotal in helping our arthritic dog become active again. Kelsey designed a program that was effective and easy for me to implement in between sessions. She also made a recommendation for a specialist who was able to make an accurate diagnosis. She also fitted our princess for an ankle brace that she uses for some activities. If your dog ever needs a physical therapist, you could find no one better than Kelsey. Her programs are effective, and she is kind and patient. My dog loved her, and we can’t recommend her highly enough.”
–Toni’s mom
“I wish I could scream from the rooftops telling everyone to send your dogs to PT post surgery (specifically TPLO surgery). Instead I will do it here. Knowing our dog would be undergoing a major surgery, especially one that would hinder her mobility, there was no doubt in our minds that we would be doing physical therapy for our dog after our vet recommended it to us. When weighing out our options, it was a no brainer to work with Canine PT and Me. Kelsey made physical therapy so easy and convenient for us, working with our schedules. Our dog loves her and would be so excited every time and would be exhausted every time Kelsey was done a session. Now after completing our dog’s PT, she is back to her same old self, doing zoomies in the yard and getting to chase all the squirrels. Hopefully we will never have to go through PT again BUT if we do, we will immediately be giving Canine PT and Me a call! Kelsey we cannot thank you enough for helping bring Guinness back to being her good old self!”
–Natalie B, Guinness’ mom