I realized that it might be helpful for some of you out there (if you are out there) to know our PT regimen for Otis. You might want to start it immediately after your puppy gets clearance, regardless of whether you take him/her to PT him/herself. But this is just what we do, so don't ever do anything you think might hurt your puppy...when it doubt, ask your vet if this is okay.
1. Massage: We give each hip a daily massage. Starting with long strokes down each back/hip/leg. Then strong circular motions. Then we do the "deep" massage. Each hamstring and quadriceps gets a deep kneading motion (like if you put the muscle between the forefinger and thumb and gently squeeze the tension out). Get to know your dog's muscles--know his hip (which is in the middle of the side, not on the backbone), know his quad/thigh, his hamstring, his calf muscle and his achilles. Know his knee from his ankle, etc. It'll help you to diagnose issues.
2. Stretches: We gently manipulate each affected joint. When his knee was tight, we would force him to extend his knee. For his hips, we support his knee (NEVER put pressure on the joint itself!!) and push on his thigh, backwards (like if he had his leg extended out behind him). He hates it and fights us, but we stay firm and reward him greatly. He gets very agitated with the stretching, but it's super important. If he doesn't get back his range of motion, he won't be able to jump up on the couch or into the car, or go up/down the steps normally. He needs to be able to extend his back legs at 165 degrees each. Or so we're told.
3. Exercises, Easy: Sit/stand. He sits and then stands. Voila. Pretty simple, but works those back thighs. Just like if you or I were doing squats.
4. Exercises, Easy: Walk in circles/figure 8s. When he goes on his daily 5-15 minute walks, we walk him in circles (counter and clockwise) or in figure 8s. The inside leg's muscles work harder that way.
5. Exercises, Easy: Balancing. I support him under his belly and lift each back leg. He is supposed to get 7-10 seconds on each leg. Right now he has 7 on the right and 2 on the left.
6. Exercises, Harder: Walking backwards. I mean, it might be easy for some, but Otis hates walking backwards. We're supposed to be walking him backwards up hills.
7. Exercises, Harder: Obstacle course. Put pvc pipes on aluminum cans to raise them up a little bit, about 2 feet apart. He walks over one pipe, then another, etc. This helps him to pick up the back legs. Eventually you raise up the pipes, narrow the pipes, etc. Haven't tried this yet. :-)
8. Exercises, Harder: Water walk. The physical therapist uses a water treadmill, but we can't afford that. :-) So we take him to the lake. Walk him through the surf up to his shoulders back and forth. Let him swim a little in between. The resistance is good for his muscles but easy on the joints.
There ya go. :-)
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteWe have a 7 month old goldie Summer, who is in the midst of being diagnosed with hip dysplasia.. She has all the signs and symptoms and the vet has done his exam, but we have yet to schedule the xrays due to the cost and the risk involved in general anasthesia.. She had a plain film taken some time back which showed normal hips, but looking at her its hard to believe. The vet wants more detailed ones taken.
Otis is look great! and we only wish Summer will have a happy ending too.. Just wondering, do you know if the PT regimen would work on a dog pre-surgery? or any idea if it would make it worse?
Did you try any non-surgical interventions? Our vet recommended injections of Cartrophen, which sounds good but we are looking for first hand experience, both positive and negative..
How did you actually manage to keep all Otis' puppy energy at bay? Summer is strictly on leash walks, 10 minutes at a time. Its hard to keep her from going nuts due to boredom, and sometimes in the house (where she used to be perfectly behaved) she goes crazy and starts dashing around till we manage to catch her. I cringe when I imagine what goes on in her joints at those moments.
Look forward to hearing from you.
crazy me:
ReplyDeleteI'm glad someone found the site. :-)
Sorry to hear about Summer. It's a real blow, I know. Although general anesthesia always has risks, I think that it's worth it to get the proper x-rays. They really do have to get the dog in an uncomfortable position to see for sure. And better to know now, then to have Summer suffer later. Like you, we saw the symptoms early...and we knew something was up with our boy. And you have to trust your instincts, you know?
I don't know if the PT would work before surgery, but I imagine that building muscle tone in those thighs can only help. Otis favored his back legs for his whole life, and it caused some major muscle atrophy. The stronger the muscles, seems to me that it would help keep those hips in line, you know? Also, get some glucosomine/MSM and Chondroitin supplements as soon as you can. Any pet food store should have them. Otis gets two a day. My husband's mom's 11 year old golden with bad hips showed a vast improvement on the supplements in just a week or two.
We were lucky to be in a position to help Otis with surgery. It's just not feasible for everyone, and we know that. I think most vets are sympathetic to that and will give you good alternatives. You might ask about pain meds like tramadol that you could give daily with a little peanut butter with her supplements. That might (a) give her the leeway to do the muscle building exercises (if you choose to do that) and (b) allow her to move more freely.
Otis was a really mellow puppy...he has his moments, but he's pretty good. We crate trained from day 1, and to be honest, he had to be in his crate most of the time. We got lots of rawhide-type treats that took him hours to chew. Like beef trachea (yuk, but great for a puppy), etc. Cow ears are great too. I don't think rawhide is good for puppies, but the other parts? Well, Otis would chew for hours and hours. He has to have the strongest jaws ever. haha!
We would also do a lot of training for mental exercise. A lot of "leave it" and "drop it" and "stay" and such. That burnt some energy. Or he'd sit there and I'd toss the ball at him and he'd catch it in his mouth. Otis does that crazy dog thing too, though, sometimes! He gets to running in circles like a maniac. Sometimes their puppy instincts just overwhelm any pain they feel, I guess. But it isn't good on her joints, I know. Our Physical Therapist would cringe if she knew how he would run sometimes!!
It really took discipline from us to keep him calm. We had to tell ourselves it was for his own good. And luckily, puppies have short memories. He's so completely happy and well balanced you'd never know he had surgery 6 months ago.
Oh, one more thing, I'd put her on a very very strict diet. Whatever her "normal" weight is, go 5 pounds less. Seriously. The weight thing is HUGE. I was told that 5 pounds for a dog is like 15 for us...and the extra weight is a surefire way to put stress on her joints. Otis is on a diet. He gained a couple pounds last month when we switched his food, and now he's been cut back. If we give him lots of treats, we take a 1/2 cup of food off of breakfast/dinner. It's just not worth it, you know??
Good luck with Summer. Feel free to keep in touch if you want to chat. I know how difficult it is with such a young puppy!!!