To Drag or Not to Drag: What’s the Best Option for Your Down IVDD Dog?

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“Should my dog with IVDD be allowed to drag?”

I often get this exact questions from pet parents just like you. Your dog unfortunately had an episode of IVDD and is paralyzed in the back legs. You are scared and worried if he or she will ever walk again. Regardless of you choosing to manage your pup conservatively or undergo surgery, this blog article is for you!

You probably already know that your pup should be on crate rest for the next 8 weeks to allow for healing. When your pup is allowed out of the crate, he will likely try to drag himself around with his front legs. This seems good right? You want him to be moving and he likely enjoys the freedom! Should you allow your IVDD dog to drag?

In my experience, dogs that are allowed to drag, especially when they have no use of their hind legs, either take much longer to walk or don’t walk again. See, dogs adapt pretty darn quick to their situation. If they find out that they can get around by dragging, they will! And they can live a very happy life motoring around like this. However, if the ultimate goal is for your pup to walk again, and he has the potential to, it is best to not allow him to drag. If dogs learn that dragging is a reliable way to get around, it is unlikely for them to work harder to relearn to walk. “If you don’t use it, you lose it” is true in this situation and dogs that aren’t encouraged to use their hind legs to walk will likely lose the ability to do so.

After the initial 8 weeks of crate rest, if you dog is still unable to use his hind legs, some dogs will still regain the ability to walk over the next few months. If you pup has deep pain sensation, can control his bladder/bowels, and can wag his tail, it is likely for your pup to walk again. But, it’s very difficult to say when! That’s why I like to err on the side of caution with allowing dogs to drag. 

Now, if after the initial 8 weeks of crate rest, your pup has no deep pain, is unable to control his bladder/bowels, and has not show a tail wag, it is less likely for him to walk. This does not mean it is impossible, just less likely than the situation described above. If you are working with a qualified rehab professional, he or she will be able to give you better indicators of your specific dog’s probability of walking again. 

I have seen pups with no deep pain, no bladder control, and no tail wag walk again, however this can take up to a year with consistent rehab and acupuncture. Yes, that is a long time, and yes that can get very expensive. Are you a terrible pet parent if you are unable to provide these services for this amount of time? Absolutely not. Dogs can live very happy lives motoring around by dragging and in a wheelchair. It’s all about what you want for you pup and what you are able to do. Regardless, you can still provide your dog with the best life possible!

If you do allow your dog to drag, it is very important that you frequently check him all over for signs of hair loss, abrasion, scratches, redness or anything out of the norm, which can indicate that dragging is causing damage. Because your dog doesn’t have sensation, or very good sensation, he doesn’t know when something is hurting! So, it’s up to you to make sure that he is not accidentally injuring himself. Drag bags are a great option to help prevent this. Just like with a diaper, you will have to frequently check the drag bag and your pup to make sure he didn’t urinate or defecate in the bag and is clean, which helps to prevent urine scald and urinary tract infections (you can use the diaper with the drag bag). 

Wheelchairs/carts are great options for dogs that are unlikely to walk again because they can be safer suspended in the wheelchair and still enjoy walks with the family. More to come on WHEN is a good time to purchase a wheelchair in coming blogs.

Interested in finding out more about how you can help your dog with IVDD at home? 

Download our Free Report Here

All About Hydrotherapy, Underwater Treadmill – IVDD Edition

Posted on by inpawsuitrehab
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Your dog has been diagnosed with IVDD. Maybe your pup underwent surgery or maybe you have chosen to conservatively manage this condition. Your vet or someone you know has recommended hydrotherapy, underwater treadmill to help your pet.

You have called around to a few places that have hydrotherapy and they want your to come in 2-3 times a week for 30mins. Maybe the commute to this clinic is up to 1 hour (or more)! Or maybe you don’t have one close by.

PLUS they don’t allow you to come back to observe the treatment (I mean who wouldn’t want to see that cuteness overload?!)

I’m sure you have many questions and concerns about this type of treatment: Why is it so expensive for such a short treatment? Why do I have to take my dog so often? It’s so far! Is this really going to help my dog? What am I going to be able to do at HOME to help my dog?

Does my dog REALLY need to do this treatment?

Is this the ONLY other treatment option for my pet?

When should I start this hydrotherapy, underwater treadmill?

You are reading this blog, so I know you treat your pet like a member of your family. And you want the absolute BEST for your pet. So this “fancy” piece of equipment MUST be the best option…Right?

I’ll help to clear a few of these questions up, but first I’ll explain what the underwater treadmill is.

Hydrotherapy, Underwater treadmill involves your pup walking on a treadmill that is inside a topless box. This box is then closed with your dog inside and sealed (again, the top is open). This way, water can be added to the tank at varying levels depending on the goal of the treatment. If your dog has a hard time walking, more water will be added to the tank to help place less pressure on your dog’s joints (the water helps to make your dog move easier in the water by making him lighter). If the goal is to strengthen your dog, less water will be added to create more difficulty for your dog to walk through the water (think walking through shin or knee height water). This is different than swimming and is much more controlled.

Hydrotherapy does provide some benefit including the ability to help your dog walk with less pressure on his legs/joints which aides in exercise for many different conditions. 

Underwater treadmill is good for pups with hind leg weakness from IVDD (intervertebral disc disease – back/neck problem in dogs), however if your dog is paralyzed, it is best for your dog to have SOME function of his back legs before starting this. If your pup has no function of his back legs, there is no reason sign him up for hydrotherapy. 

Think of it like this. When babies are learning to move around, they first learn to sit, crawl, then to stand up, then to walk while holding on to something, and THEN they start walking by themselves. If you start your pup immediately in the underwater treadmill, before they have any leg function, it is likely to maybe encourage spinal walking (reflexive walking). Which IS good because that means your pup can walk to some degree, however he is unlikely to go beyond and get better and to more “normal” walking. You have skipped all of the necessary developmental steps that he needs to take (sitting up, going from sitting to standing, and standing still on his own) to RELEARN how to walk. Following so far?

Hydrotherapy is a great tool once your dog is able to go between all of those transitions to improve his ability to walk. This “fancy” tool is absolutely not necessary to get your dog walking again. So, if you don’t have access to one or it’s just too far to travel, don’t fret. There are plenty of things that you can do at home to get your pup walking again (stay tuned for another blog post on this).

We don’t use hydrotherapy in most cases because we feel you and your dog’s time is better spent on land based exercises that you can perform at home (so eventually you don’t need to continue to have rehab). And, more importantly, we need to address the root cause of your pup’s problem FIRST before we can think about walking and/or building strength. In the case of IVDD, the problem is poor communication between the spinal cord and muscles.

After the root problem is addressed, we need to go through the developmental sequence to relearn how to sit, go from sit to stand, and stand independently. 

Unfortunately, hydrotherapy doesn’t address the communication between the muscles and spinal cord, and it doesn’t take your pet through the necessary developmental sequence he needs to get better. 

The other major problem with this device is that your pup will likely receive this treatment provided by a technician who may or may not be trained in canine rehabilitation. This means that your dog can be missing out on specialized and individualized treatment. Technicians often are not trained how to progress your pup or the techniques necessary to decrease pain or improve muscle/spinal cord communication. So, unfortunately, many dogs that come to me AFTER wasting valuable time (and money) because they were not appropriately progressed during the treatment. This ends up being very costly in terms of time and money. Not to mention that you want your dog better…FAST.

We also want pet parents to participate in the treatment. Our aim as rehab professionals is to give you all the tools and knowledge so that eventually you don’t need us! We teach pet parents exactly how to help your pet and the best way to do it so that we get your pet moving and back to normal as soon as possible.

The truth is, most dogs can recover faster WITHOUT the use of an underwater treadmill in their rehabilitation program. If you were trying to lose weight and you decided to eat healthy only 1-2 days out of the week, you are unlikely to lose weight! Dogs with IVDD benefit from frequent and short bouts of targeted exercises (that we teach you how to provide) that improve their mobility and get them moving easier.

As we pointed out, underwater treadmill does not address the root cause of the problem, which is the communication from the spinal cord to the muscles. Without improving this communication and connection FIRST, the underwater treadmill will do little to help your pup.

Some dogs do benefit from the hydrotherapy, underwater treadmill, however in my experience, it is not the best way to help dogs help dogs with IVDD.

I hope this blog post helped to answer some of your questions about hydrotherapy, underwater treadmill and help you better decide if it’s the right treatment for your pet.

Da Heck is IVDD?

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What the heck is IVDD?

Over the next few weeks, I will be blogging about this exact topic so you have all of the information that you need in case this happens to your pet and even better, how to prevent it!

Let’s get started…

IVDD stands for intervertebral disc disease and it is the most common spinal cord problem in dogs. Your dog’s spine (as well as ours) is made up of many bones called vertebrae. In between the vertebrae sits a cushion called a disc. Think of this cushion like a jelly donut. There is a jelly type material on the inside of the disc that is surrounded by a harder exterior that keeps the jelly inside. The spinal cord runs in a hole inside the bones of the spine, located behind the disc. Your dog has nerves that exit the spinal cord, between the bones and also behind the disc, to communication with the rest of the body.

What happens in IVDD is the jelly like substance in the middle of the disc can come out and become hardened. This pushes on the spinal cord and nerves and can cause muscle weakness to complete inability to use the back or front legs. If the dog suffers from IVDD in the neck region, more of his body will be impacted.

This type of disc problem is sudden in onset meaning the dog will suddenly be unable to use his back legs or progressive weakness over a short period of time (think the weekend).

  • It is very painful and happens to younger dogs.
  • It has a good prognosis with surgery.
  • More likely to happen in short legged, long bodied dogs: Dachshunds, Basset Hounds, Beagles, Corgis, English Bulldogs, French bulldogs, Shitzus and mixes of these breeds.

The outer layer of the disc can also become thickened over time. This will eventually push on the spinal cord and/or nerves and cause progressive weakness over time.

  • This is more common in larger and older dogs
  • Tends to be less painful,
  • And has less of a full recovery.

If your dog has been diagnosed with IVDD, click the button below to check out our Free Report on how to help your dog recover

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How To Crate Rest Your Dog The RIGHT Way

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After your dog has some type of injury, your vet will typically recommend that you “crate rest” your dog. What exactly does this mean? Is it necessary? And how the heck do you this so that you AND your pup are both happy?

We get these questions many many times, so you are not alone!

Crate rest simply means keeping your pet confined and low key for a duration of time, which is specified by your vet, to allow your dog to heal properly. Crate rest is prescribed for a variety of different injuries including CCL tears (similar to human ACL tears) and back/neck injuries. 

The best kind of set up that you can provide your dog is a crate, cage, or enclosed area that is large enough that they can stand up and turn around comfortably, but small enough that they are unable to walk or jump around in. This allows your pup to stay low key and limits movement to allow for proper healing. You can place comfortable, but firm bedding in the cage to make your pup comfortable. The softer the bedding, the harder it is for your dog to move around and get comfortable, so stick on the firmer side for bedding materials. 

Crate rest is 110% necessary for your dog to heal from most injuries. Dog’s don’t have the capacity to realize “I’m hurt and/or in pain, I should not run, jump or play right now or I might hurt myself!” We as pet parents need to be adjusting for these circumstances to best help our pets and crate rest really is the best way to do that. 

Most pet parents keep the crate in a family room so that the pet can still see what is going on, stay mentally stimulated and continue to be part of the family. If you place your pet in a separate room, alone, they might become scared and have a negative association with the crate, which will make this whole process very difficult. 

The best way to get your pup used to the crate is feeding him in the crate or placing his favorite toy or treat inside. You can also place a blanket over the crate so that your pup feels like this is his safe and quiet place. 

The next part of crate rest is when your dog is not in the crate! Yes they do get to come out. When your dog has to potty, he or she should be on a leash and under control at all times. Let your pup sniff around, but do not let them chase squirrels, play with other household pets or children, and do not allow them to jump up. Depending on the pet’s stage of injury, you may be able to start them on short 5-10min walks. Speak to your rehab therapist about this. 

Lastly, when your pet is out of the crate, he or she should not be allowed to jump, run, play, or roughhouse at all. This is the best way to ensure that your pet will fully recover and not re-injure himself. If your pet re-injures himself, you might have to start this process all over again!

If your pet is not a rest and relax kind of guy or gal, you can make or buy low key interactive games. By allowing your pet to use his nose to find treats, for example in a muffin tin with large objects, toys on top to cover the holes, he is engaging his mind which expends energy for those energetic dogs. You can also create a “snuffle mat” by sprinkling dog food/treats on a towel and rolling it up so that your pup has to nose and scratch to get the food. These are easy games that you can have your pup do in the crate to keep his mind engaged and release some energy!

Have you ever played interactive games with your pup? Post in the comments below!

They Have Physical Therapy For DOGS?!

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TESTED ON HUMANS FIRST:

Yes! There is such a thing as physical therapy for dogs! I’m a Physical Therapist with specialized training on how to apply physical therapy principles to help your pet!

PTs are in a prime position to be able to help your dog with their mobility concerns because we do it for people, so why not apply those same tried and true techniques to your furry best friend! This services HAS been tested on people first!

And I’ll let you in on a little secret…animals get better FASTER than people do!

That’s why they are so amazing and fun to help. If we apply the right type and amount of techniques, pets DO get better.

Just like PTs help humans, PTs trained in dog rehabilitation use:

  • Massage to ease achy muscles
  • Specialized stretching techniques to improve flexibility
  • Progressive resistance exercises to increase strength
  • Neurodevelopmental sequencing to improve the communication between muscles and spinal cord
  • Joint mobilizations to improve joint range of motion
  • And many other specialized techniques to help your pet

And that stuff is great and all, but what exactly does that mean for your pup?

It means giving your dog the best chance at a full recovery if he or she has injured themselves such as tearing a CCL (compared to ACL in humans) or if she has had any type of muscle/tendon/bone surgery

It means getting your dog walking again if they have become paralyzed from a spine problem (IVDD)

And most importantly it means giving you more TIME with your pet, because what can be better than that? Ultimately, we seek treatments for our loved ones, just like our pets, to help them live their best lives, keep them comfortable and active, as well as give us more TIME with them. 

Simply put, animal physical therapy and rehabilitation acts as a guide to help you help your pet thrive while staying happy, healthy, and mobile.

At In Pawsuit Rehab, we specialize in helping dogs get walking again with a variety of spinal disorders as well as helping senior pets thrive with arthritis.

If you have any questions or concerns about how to help your pet, please contact us. We would love to hear from you =).

 

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Is My Dog The F Word?

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 Is your dog fat?

Or as I like to call it “fluffy.”

We can all get a little touchy when it comes to this topic, however the good thing about it is most of us are in the same boat and we don’t know what a “fluffy” dog or an ideal body weight dog looks like.

So, how can you change something when you don’t know what is best?

Once you know better, THEN you are able to DO better for your furry family member. 

Of course, we love to give those extra treats to our best friend because that shows how much we love them…right? 

However, we are accidentally hurting them in the long run and I know that is the absolute last thing that you want.

So I’d like to set the record straight for you and tell you how it is and more importantly how to fix it.

But first…

What does an overweight dog look like?

The easiest way for you to keep an eye on you dog’s weight is by how they look!

This is thePurina-Body-Condition-System that your vet uses to assess if you pet is too heavy or just right. Take a look at the descriptions and pictures and see which number your pet most resembles. 

Love handles and dimples might be cute, but it means your dog is too heavy and can be placing them at risk for many health problems down the road.

No one likes expensive vet bills plus specialized pet food because of a chronic illness that can be all together prevented by keeping your pet at a healthy weight.

I know, I can hear some of you now…”C’mon Amy, is it REALLY that bad for my pet to be overweight?”

Well, simply and straightforwardly put, YES!

What is the problem with an overweight dog?

Let me paint a picture for you…you and your pup love to go on walks, after you get back from a long walk, you give your pup a cup of food. You sit down to watch some TV with bowl of popcorn and your dog sits in front of you looking all cute, so of course you give him a few pieces of popcorn. That can’t hurt, right? A month down the road, your pup continues to give you those puppy eyes asking for food, so you give him some table scraps, still not so bad right? Well your pup starts to pack on the pounds, slowly at first, but then you notice that he is having to rest more frequently on your walks, so you don’t go as far. You come home and feel bad that he didn’t get his long walk, so you make up for it by giving him a Puppacino from Starbucks the next day…I’m sure you can see where this downward spiral is going. 

For an overweight dog, arthritis progresses quicker, they have a harder time moving around, and they are more likely to develop other orthopedic conditions (like CCL tear which is the same thing as a person’s ACL in the knee). They can also develop more severe and life threatening issues like diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, and skin disease. And sadly decreased life expectancy which means we get less time with them =(.

If you have had any pets with these diseases, you will know that I’m being straight forward and honest when I say, it IS a big deal if your pet is overweight.

Hopefully, I’ve convinced you on the seriousness of this. Now, I’d like to show you how simple it is to help your pup lose weight and get him back to living his best life again. 

Firstly…Do you know how much you are really feeling your dog?

Do you have a regular drinking cup or coffee cup in the dog’s food bin and you scoop a whole cup a put it in the dish? That amount may be wayyyy more than your dog actually needs! The easiest suggestion that I give to clients is to use an actual measuring cup. 

The next question that I ask is: do you measure the food like you would flour with a flat top, even with the measuring cup? Or do you scoop a big ole’ overflowing scoop? Try simply measuring your dog’s kibble like you would flour, with a flat top. I bet you will see a difference in your dog’s weight in a few short weeks time.

Next, how much are you feeding? On the side of your dog’s food bag, there is a recommendation on how much food you should be feeding based on your dog’s weight. I would start there with the above 2 suggestions and see if your dog starts to lose weight. You should start seeing a difference in as little as 2-3 weeks. Once your pup STOPS losing weight, then you should weigh your pup and re-check the back. Is your dog getting the right amount of food for the new body weight? If he is getting too much food, adjust the portion again. This will take a little tweaking as your pup loses weight. Use the visual above as a guide for your dog’s progress. It is best to cut their food down a little at a time until you get to the ideal body weight (and ideal portion of food).

If you want to make this even better, talk with your vet about how many calories your dog should be getting based on his or her weight and activity level. Your vet can also recommend various diets if your pet seems excessively hungry between meals with the new portions.

Just keep in mind, just like people food, some dog food can be “McDonalds.” So talk with your vet about the best type of food for your specific pet.

Lastly, and maybe the most frequent area where we all mess up because our dogs have trained us so well to give them stuff when they give us those big puppy eyes…

What else is your dog getting? Is your dog getting table scraps, bones, treats, eating stuff outside? Do your kids or other family members feed your pup? All of these add extra calories (not love)! If you want to give your dog treats during the day make it something healthy like a piece of baby carrot, a green bean, or a low calorie dog treat.

You can also do fun stuff for your pet like freeze some kibble or boiled, unseasoned chicken and water in ice cube trays so your pup has to work at it to get to the treat. You can also get your pup a slow feeder bowl or hide their kibble in a towel so they take longer to eat their meals and have fun doing it!

I know you love your pet and your pet loves food so we feel that giving an abundance of what your pet loves (food!) will show how much you love them. However, food is not love! Giving your pet the best health so that they can live a long and happy, healthy life is the best love you can provide them (with the occasional treat of course!).

I hope these suggestions helped to set you on the right path to helping your pet. 

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Does My Dog REALLY Need Rehab?

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“I’ve already spent $5000+ for surgery for my dog…does he REALLY need rehab?”

 

Dear Pet Parent, 

I am so very sorry that both you and your pet are going through this difficult time. Maybe your pet tore his CCL (common knee condition in dogs, comparable to human ACL) and needed to have surgery. Maybe your dog was having a lot of hip pain and needed surgery. Or maybe your pup became paralyzed and needed to be rushed into emergency surgery for his spine. 

First off, I’d like to say, you are not alone. And I’d like to congratulate you on making the right decision for your pet, well done.

You have made a very important decision for a family member who does not have a voice of his or her own. And the fact that you care enough about your pet to make these hard decisions speaks volumes on your love for your best friend. 

I understand the frustration, fear, and anxiety that you must be going through. You have just made a very difficult decision to put your pet through surgery, and now I am suggesting that your pet undergoes rehabilitation. 

You have just paid likely $5000+ for surgery and now I’m asking you to spend MORE money on your pet.

You might be wondering, does my pet REALLY need rehab? And that answer depends on what you want for your pet. 

If you want your pet to have the best chance at a full recovery and the best chance at avoiding re-injury in the future, then yes, your pet REALLY does need rehab. 

Imagine that you just spent $5000+ on the surgery, only to have your pet still in pain, or unable to play or walk again like he used to. Was that 5 grand really worth it? Is that the quality of life that you want for your fur-kid? You will have to answer that for yourself. I just ask you to consider all of your options.

I’d like to treat you and your pet like a member of my family, and tell you straight what I would tell a good friend asking me these same questions. I’d like to provide you with all of the information for the best options out there to get your pet back to full, unrestricted activity: running, jumping, playing, and living his best life again, as soon as possible. It’s up to you to choose how to get there. 

So what is rehab anyways and what does it do for you pet?

Simply put, rehab provides YOU with the guidance and comfort that you need to get you and your pet through this difficult time. We get your pet back to walking, jumping, playing, and living his best life. 

HOW we do that is 100% determined by you, your pet’s condition, and response to treatment. 

We use a variety of treatment techniques that were originally designed and used on people. We apply those tried and true treatments to animals. The best thing about animals undergoing rehabilitation is that they DO get better! As long as animals are provided with the right kind of individualized treatment and progressed appropriately, they adapt and overcome a wide variety of conditions. 

So if you are skeptical that rehab works, full disclosure, it often works better and faster on animals than it does on people.

If you or a loved one has had an orthopedic surgery, the doctor likely sent you to physical therapy to get better. Without guided care by a movement specialist, it is unlikely that you would have gained full range of motion of the joints, decreased pain and swelling after surgery, and increased muscle strength to support around the surgery to prevent further injury. Your pet will benefit from therapy in many of the same ways. 

Many people do like to “go it on their own” and try exercises that they saw on Youtube to get their dog better. 

And I respect that. You know what’s best for your dog. 

The difficulty with internet exercises is that, well, how the heck do you get your dog to DO that?

Your rehab therapist will teach your dog how to do the exercises first, and then teach you how to help your dog be successful. Your therapist will also be sure that is the best exercise for your dog and make any necessary adjustments to avoid over OR under working your dog. So you don’t have set backs and continue to make progress.

Put plainly, rehab is a direct line between where you are starting and where you want your dog to be. Also, a rehab therapist supports you along this entire journey and takes the time to treat your dog like a member of THEIR pack and answers any and all of your questions along the way. 

I don’t want you to have to go it alone. We all need some help and guidance sometimes, right? Especially when it comes to the health and happiness of a member of our family.

Ultimately, the decision is yours. I respect and support whatever choice that might be. You have already made the great decision of getting surgery to help your pet. Now, I’d like you to strongly consider where your pet is right now, what quality of life you want for your pet, and how quickly you want to get there.

If you are interested in discovering more about how to help your pet, please give us a call, we would love to hear from you. 

Give us a Call

Sincerely, 

Amy

Canine Rehab and Physical Therapist

Why this popular machine isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…

Posted on by inpawsuitrehab

Your dog has arthritis or has injured himself. Your vet or someone you know has recommended underwater treadmill, also known as hydrotherapy, to help your pet.

You have called around to a few places that have hydrotherapy and they want your to come in 2-3 times a week for 30mins. Maybe the commute to this clinic is up to 1 hour (or more)!

PLUS they don’t allow you to come back to observe the treatment (I mean who wouldn’t want to see that cuteness overload?!)

I’m sure you have many questions and concerns about this type of treatment: Why is it so expensive for such a short treatment? Why do I have to take my dog so often? It’s so far! Is this really going to help my dog? What am I going to be able to do at HOME to help my dog?

Does my dog REALLY need to do this treatment?

Is this the ONLY other treatment option for my pet?

You are reading this blog, so I know you treat your pet like a member of your family. And you want the absolute BEST for your pet. So this “fancy” piece of equipment MUST be the best option for your pet…Right?

I’ll help to clear a few of these questions up, but first I’ll explain what the underwater treadmill is.

Hydrotherapy involves your pup walking on a treadmill that is inside a topless box. This box is then closed with your dog inside and sealed (again, the top is open). This way, water can be added to the tank at varying levels depending on the goal of the treatment. If your dog has a hard time walking, more water will be added to the tank to help place less pressure on your dog’s joints (the water helps to make your dog move easier in the water by making him lighter). If the goal is to strengthen your dog, less water will be added to create more difficulty for your dog to walk through the water (think walking through shin or knee height water). This is different than swimming and is much more controlled.

Hydrotherapy does provide some benefit including the ability to help your dog walk with less pressure on his legs/joints which aides in exercise for many different conditions. This is best for large dogs with arthritis and/or smaller dogs with hind leg weakness from IVDD (intervertebral disc disease – back/neck problem in dogs). If your dog is paralyzed, it is best for your dog to have SOME function of his back legs before starting this. Additionally, it is best for your arthritis dog to have additional therapy, such as land based exercises that you can do at home.

As you can probably tell, walking on a treadmill underwater has a limited number of options to be able to progress your pet. 

We don’t use hydrotherapy in most cases because we feel you and your dog’s time is better spent on land based exercises that you can perform at home (so eventually you don’t need to continue to have rehab). And, more importantly, we need to address the root cause of your pup’s problem FIRST before we can think about walking and/or building strength. This might include joint pain, decreased muscle flexibility, or in the case of IVDD, poor communication between the muscles and spinal cord.

After the root problem is addressed, we need to build strength, which will help your dog walk and get up/down from the floor better. This means we need your dog to participate in a progressive overload program (the exercises are constantly assessed and progressed based on your dog’s ability).

Unfortunately, hydrotherapy doesn’t provide progressive overload to stimulate building of muscle tissue. It doesn’t address the flexibility and joint range of motion issues that many dogs with injuries have. And it doesn’t address the communication between the muscles and spinal cord. It’s literally like a hamster on a wheel. Sure, the hamster might gain some strength initially (if the hamster has appropriate spinal cord/muscle communication, no joint pain, and no flexibility issues), but will often plateau because there are only so many ways to progress and challenge muscles doing the same activity over and over again. Progressive overload of muscles is necessary to keep making progress!

The other major problem with this device is that your pup will likely receive this treatment provided by a technician who may or may not be trained in canine rehabilitation. This means that your dog can be missing out on specialized and individualized treatment. Technicians often are not trained how to progress your pup or the techniques necessary to decrease pain or improve muscle/spinal cord communication. So, unfortunately, many dogs that come to me AFTER wasting valuable time (and money) because they were not appropriately progressed during the treatment. This ends up being very costly in terms of time and money. Not to mention that you want your dog better…FAST.

We also want pet parents to participate in the treatment. Our aim as a rehab professionals is to give you all the tools and knowledge so that eventually you don’t need us! We will teach you exactly how to help your pet and the best way to do it so that we get your pet moving and back to normal as soon as possible.

The truth is, most dogs can recover faster WITHOUT the use of an underwater treadmill in their rehabilitation program. If you were trying to lose weight and you decided to eat healthy only 1-2 days out of the week, you are unlikely to lose weight! Dogs with arthritis and back problems benefit from frequent and short bouts of targeted exercises (that we teach you how to provide) that improve their mobility and get them moving easier.

If your dog has IVDD, hydrotherapy doesn’t address the root cause of the problem, which is the connection from the spinal cord to the muscles. Without improving this communication and connection FIRST, the underwater treadmill will do little to help your pup.

Some dogs do benefit from the underwater treadmill, however in my experience, it is not the best way to help dogs to thrive with arthritis or help dogs with IVDD.

Sure, you want the best possible treatment for their pet and there’s many ways that you can do that…

What pet parents that ask to work with us really want is a natural solution that gets their pup back to enjoy life again, and one that is completely FREE from any MEDICATION. 

And here’s how we do it:

We’ll start by seeing what your dog IS capable of and what areas need special attention.

NEXT, we’ll find the correct techniques to decrease pain and improve joint mobility and muscle flexibility so that when we begin strengthening exercises, they will actually work!

And then, we provide simple and easy to follow exercises that are PERSONALIZED so that your dog gets moving easier as soon as possible and gets back to being a dog!

Best of all – We come to YOU to help you and your dog. No need for car rides, traffic, or extra vet visits.

Most people start with a *FREE Discovery Visit* with one of our BEST therapists and it’s where we give away some of our BEST tips – and you get to find out how to help your pet.

There’s no forms to sign and no payment needed. We just want to help you make the right decision about your pet’s recovery. Just hit the button below and fill out the short form. We will give you a call to help you figure out how to best help your pet get back to being a dog again!

 

Click here to apply for a Discovery Visit

Should I get a back brace to help my dog with IVDD?

Posted on by inpawsuitrehab

Should I Get a Back Brace To Help My Dog With IVDD?

Woof. That is a great question. 

Of course we all want to do what’s best for our pups and get them better. In the face of expensive back surgeries, a back brace seems to be a more financially feasible (and easy) option. 

A dog’s back, much like ours, is composed of many (28 to be exact) individuals joints. So, a back brace on the outside of their body (ontop of fur and skin) that is a soft or semi-rigid device, must provide support to stabilize the joints of the spine.

Usually a dog will have an issue at one level, for example T10/T11. Because this joint is sandwiched between all of the joints above and all of the joints below it, the majority of the spine must be stabilized in order to stabilize this one section. Each spinal section both above and below the impacted area affects the movement of the injured segment.

If you break a bone, your doctor will put a hard cast around the bone to stabilize it and allow it to heal. If you break a bone on a weight bearing surface (like your knee), you will have the joint stabilized and likely not be able to place weight onto the joint for a period of time. If you have or know someone who has had a cast, you know that when you remove the cast, you have a very skinny body part left! This is because the muscles around the stabilized bone don’t have to work. Aka if you don’t use it, you lose it. The muscles atrophy, which means they shrink because you haven’t been using them!

The same thing would happen to a dog’s spine if we were able to find a brace to stabilize all of the joints in the back. If this muscle atrophy happened to both the back muscles and core muscles, your pup would be in a much worse position because when the brace comes off, there would be less muscle to support and control the spine! This would likely lead to further injury. Now this stabilization MAY be ideal in the short term (this IS performed on dogs with certain type of neck surgeries). 

Have you ever taken a pain pill for neck, shoulder or back pain? Did the pill mask the pain for a bit, but then come back? OR did you feel so great, that you went crazy doing stuff and were feeling it more later than night? That’s similar to what a back brace would do for your dog. It’s likely to make YOU feel better about it than your dog. 

The truth is that there is no solid research in people OR animals to support using a brace for any joint. If little evidence does suggest increased support it’s for a single joint, like a knee, which the brace stimulates muscle activation (through the device touching the skin). Or designed like a hard cast to completely limit movement. Unfortunately this “easy” fix, just can’t work like we hope.

It is safer to spend your money on a real solution to solve your pet’s problem. If surgery is not an option, rehabilitation is the next best option. A professional rehab therapist can properly assess your dog for what NEEDS to be done and then teach YOU how to best help your dog. No one wants to go through this difficult time alone and without any guidance. 

I don’t want you to have to figure this out on your own. And I’d like to help you make the best decision for your pet so you can get them back to enjoy life again as quickly as possible.

If you are interested in hearing more about how rehab can help your pet, but aren’t ready to schedule an appointment yet, please click the link below and you can talk directly with a rehab therapist.

 

Speak with a Therapist