All the dogs we work with are special in one way or another. And they’re just as special when they come back after a while.
I met handsome senior boy Alfie last November after he’d given his Mum a scare with his rear leg wobbles and his inability to lift his rear feet. When his Mum took him to the vet originally she was told “He’s just getting old” – a statement which I’d like to ban as there always seems to be an unspoken appendix to that sentence of “So let’s just leave him as he is”.
His Mum continued to question that ‘diagnosis’ and discovered that it is more likely he has lumbar/sacral junction neuropathy and was treated with steroids. These made an almost immediate difference to Alfie. Originally, he was on 7.5 mg a day, which was gradually reduced to 2.5 mg before being put back to 5.0 mg as his symptoms worsened again very quickly.
Since my initial visit, his Mum has been doing all her homework with Alfie almost every day. She said "My massage skills aren’t like yours and he knows it, but he puts up with me as he knows he is going to do his stretches for treats afterwards”. Like me she has her own names for the massage moves. Myofascial release is the ‘sweater’ move as I always describe it as trying to loosen your sweater. She has also been monitoring the progress of his muscle tone using my simple chicken fillet analogy. She said “Look – he now has chicken fillets in his thighs” which indeed he did. Coming along nicely Alfie. Equally important his Mum knows that she is now doing everything that she can to help him and not just watching him “getting old”
Alfie went to the vets a few weeks ago for a routine check up of his medications and they are now reduced back down to 2.5 mg – with no ill effects which is great news. His Mum said “I was waiting for his legs to go but they haven’t. And he is so happy. He is a Steroid Kid”.
He’s doing all his stretching exercises very well – which is clear from how improved his back muscles are – but he didn’t like the mini obstacle course. Now that he can walk a bit further they go up the fields, there are lots and lots of tufty bits – small uneven rises and downs. When his Mum found a ball and put it in one of the small hills, she found he scampered to find the ball. In doing so he was going up and down his own real live assault course. And he loved it. This is now a game they play regularly giving Alfie the varied exercise to his legs that he needs while he thinks he is just having fun. His Mum said “I know it must be exercising his core muscles as when I go to place the ball, I can feel it working mine – double bonus. It is exercise for both of us”.
His Mum bought a set of wheels for him when he was at his weakest but they are sitting in the corner of the room not having been needed or used. When his Mum got them out to show me, Alfie’s expression was one of “Woah Mum….we don’t need those anymore”. And let’s hope that continues.
He has also been treated by Chris and started yawning and sighing almost immediately.
He still has his little niggles, as we all do, but now Mum is alerted to the issues and straight away puts the correct plan into action – reducing the walks, turning back when Alfie has had enough plus some extra massage.
He has clearly got the idea now of the power of physical therapy. Alfie loves it all and why not? And with an empowered Mum – can’t beat it!
Henry is a 2 and a half year old Boston Terrier who developed an occasional limp from his front legs. His Mum asked if we could come round and assess and treat.
Chris helped to ease out some of the tension in his back muscles and also worked with Henry’s tight shoulder. In the meantime, Henry had brought Chris all his toys to share and gave him kisses – which he apparently only ever does to his Mum. Ooops – happens all the time to us.
Chris noticed the lovely wooden floor in his house. The things we do and suggest come about from our own experiences. We know hands-on therapy can help to change a dog’s life…our Sarah has proven that and is our inspiration to share that with as many other dogs as possible. Flooring is another. When we moved in to our current house the carpets were probably the original carpets to when the house was built – 1949! So we put down shiny lush bamboo. It was environmental, ethical and lovely. But our house has loads of circular routes. The dogs used the floors as racetracks. The grooves that we now have in the wood confirm that. But that meant they slipped in their enjoyment.
We started with a few scattered mats – but they slipped too despite anti-slip tape. We went to bigger rugs. But they had areas between which were still lethal to wobbly dog legs. Last year we bit the bullet. We went to a local carpet store and bought a large offcut. Armed with our precise measurements, the store cut several bits for us which made a joining jigsaw of offcut carpets. They even bound all the edges. For less than a couple of hundred £ we had carpeted all downstairs. No more slipping from our dogs or visitors to the therapy room.
Cartoon leg spinning might make people smile on YouTube videos (not me, by the way, they make me Grrrr). Think about how you feel when you slip on a wet floor. That suddenly becomes not funny.
When Henry was outside on a flat surface, it was clear his back was straight. But when he was on the wooden floor you could see his back was hunched slightly. His mind was probably thinking “OK…I can usually negotiate this floor but with my funny leg it’s rather awkward now”. The simplest solution was to lay down Yoga Mat Islands for him. They’re ideal as a runway when he’s rushing about and can be taken up when he’s chilling. Hopefully, they can help speed up his healing.
Many people who follow our suggestion find their dog quickly gets used to the idea and then they find them looking for it if it’s been forgotten to be put down.
Offering advice and suggestions on simple, practical, cheap, yet effective household adaptations has always been part of the overall service we give during a therapy session.
Meet Tino and his SFL.
Tino (Valentino) is Bruce’s brother. When he was 8 he developed a hunched back with prominent spine in the mid spine area. At the time his vets suggested an MRI with a possible operation which they said might extend his life by 2 years. That was 6 years ago! He has no obvious mobility issues now and, at the time, he was treated with massage and physiotherapy. He hasn’t had any physical therapy recently, so we were asked to work with him at the same as Bruce as they are now 12.
Luckily, we now have two members in the AchyPaw team. Bruce decided that Chris was his and I worked with Tino at the same time.
Tino wants everyone to be happy and gets worried if they are not, or if he thinks they are not. He has his security blanket which he brings to anyone who comes to the door and then lies sucking and chewing it until he realises you are a good person. Although Tino does not really lie – he squats like a greyhound. He has very long legs and neck. His Mum describes him as Giraffe neck.
As well as his stiff back, the way he sits means that his thighs and adductors are also a lot tighter than his brother – who lies quite happily thank you, farting away during the massage session.
One of the things we bring with us in our canine physical therapy is skill and expertise from human massage. That morning, Chris had read a paper from the JING website entitled “Tight Jaw? Tight Hips!” which stated that many patients experience jaw pain or teeth grinding related to muscle tension in the jaw. The article suggested that just working in that area might be looking in the wrong place. The author said look at the whole body, the gait, and their hip alignment.
They referred to work by Tom Myers, the structural integration expert (read his books if you’re interested by fascia – I love his work). He describes the Superficial Front Line in his book Anatomy Train which is one of 12 myofascial chains. The SFL starts at the top of the feet and travels up to behind the ear and jaw.
Hmmm…..let’s try massaging Tino’s jaw and see if his tight hips relax. Oh. My. Gosh. Within minutes his whole body relaxed and his previously reactive hip and thigh muscles loosened allowing me to start working with them.
He ended the session completely soft and pliable. And happy. And he had stopped using his security blanket. A big success.
The JING article concludes with “…all these pieces of information can be used to…..design a better treatment plan” We’d add….don’t just stop with canine massage techniques and treatment plans but look at combining them with research and methods used in human massage. We’ve had so much fusion and cross-overs in the past 6 years between human and canine massage. But Tino doesn’t care – he’s just happy we’ve found, and helped, the problem. And that is #RESULT.
In a single treatment session, we offer many things. As well as therapy, we give advice on household adaptations, exercise advice and appropriate homework. Now that we have two members in the AchyPaw team, we have a new time-saving service to offer – multi-dog households treated simultaneously.
The internet is full of ways to manage more than one dog in the house. Indeed, one behaviourist refused us entry to their class when ours were puppies and was very rude about our choice of having siblings. We set out to prove them wrong and now we’ve had 12 wonderful fun filled years of experience working with two dogs and wouldn’t change one moment of it. Our Sam & Sarah have always had equal Dad time.
That experience helps when working with other brothers and sisters. If I’m working with medium breeds, such as my spaniel brothers, treating one after the other is perfectly do-able. It takes 45 to 60 minutes each dog. But we now have two sets of bigger brothers. Working one after the other with them could take up to 3 hours which would involve considerable patience and waiting time for the dogs.
Solution? We work with one each simultaneously.
Thursday and Friday were Weimaraner brother days. With the first pair, the plan was for me to continue working with Bruce again, as he has been treated by me before, while Chris would start work on Tino. Well, that was the plan. Bruce eyed up Chris and decided he was his. No problem - we always let the dog direct the session. Unfortunately, Laura was unable to visit our other Weimaraner brothers this week, so Friday Luther decided he’d continue with me while Hugo laid down in front of Chris. Another pair of dogs but half the time. Working with two dogs at the same time also has the benefit that they pick up on each other's relaxation. Two sets of snores.
Success all round as the pictures show. If you’ve got a multi-dog household and want to take advantage of two professionally qualified therapists, give us a call.
Meet Minger
I know….there is a story behind the name. But she is actually quite a stunner. She is a Breton Spaniel, rescued by Mel Beck who fell in love with her and now has adopted her.
Minger was rescued from Spain having been discarded by a hunter when she had served her purpose. She was part of the Save Our Spaniels Rescue, an organisation who Rescue, rehabilitate, rehome Spaniels in need abroad. (We are offering a discount for any local SOS rescued Spaniels who need, or would benefit from, treatment – please ask us for details.)
When Minger arrived in the UK, she had developed a limp on her right rear leg which was diagnosed as a cruciate issue. She had an operation at the start of the year which was successful. But she was still preferring to lift the operated leg and walk using the left rear leg only. Due to the reduced exercise she had also developed a couple of extra ‘saddle bags’.
We have worked with Mel some years ago with the amazing Mr Khan and so offered our services for free to help Minger back to full balance and mobility.
Like many rescue dogs, her actual age is not known. She was said to be 8 but looks far younger at around 5. But with the wobbly back leg and saddle bags it is not too easy to tell. Her new Dad has plans for her to be his Cani-Cross partner when she is back to top health.
When they came over, it was evident she was carrying a stiff back, loose thigh muscles for the right and tight thigh muscles for the left. She needed therapy to make her symmetrical again.
Luckily, she adores touch and settled in to therapy immediately. In fact, she ended up doing the rounds – going from Chris, to me, to Dad, to Mum and back to Chris again. Not one to waste any therapy time.
With now informed eyes and our ‘homework’, her carers can now continue with the massage therapy and rehabilitation exercises to help her regain her confidence to use all 4 legs once more and get in shape for the Cani-Cross season.
Mel wrote up Minger’s story and messaged me “She’s doing really well. Andy has been giving her 15 mins of massage every night and she seems to be walking better. The dip in her back is variable, sometimes up, sometimes down. Loves the treats and walking across Andy’s legs fine. He’s been getting her to support her back end with right leg down only and left leg slightly raised. She’s limping a lot less and we’ve dared to let her potter about at the stables without a lead which has had a hugely positive effect on her psychologically. It’s lovely to see the bond building between them”
Appropriate early rehab and therapy for cruciate issues can make a big difference in quality of recovery. Add to that caregiver involvement, education and empowerment and you’re well on the road to successful rehabilitation. If you’ve got a dog with similar issues, give us a call.
Sometimes, on a first visit to a dog, it is apparent that they must have been in pain or uncomfortable for some time. The configuration of their body or the tension in their muscles didn’t just come on overnight. Spasms and strains in dogs do happen but they typically occur suddenly and, with appropriate help, ease off quickly. These are acute issues. Putting up with it is often a chronic issue.
Anyone who has ever had a dog knows how stoic they can be. They don’t seem to want to show their discomfort. When living with their humans, they just want to get on with being their best friend, accompanying us on our walks, following us round the house and generally being with us wherever we are, even if it means they ache.
Our job, as therapists, is to try and identify the issue and help to ease or break that pain cycle. Pain doesn’t have to be due to the things you see or know about, like arthritis. It can be something equally insidious which you just don’t notice as your dog has been putting up with it for so long. We know that 4 in 5 senior dogs suffer with arthritis, but that leaves the younger dogs and other seniors who could be suffering from some other painful condition which can be helped by physical therapy. Let's not forget them.
Handsome Spaniel Lord Nelson, for example, was likely kept crated or in a single room for a while before he was rehomed. He even had to be taught how to walk in the outdoors as his legs were so underused. When his new Dads were alerted to the hunched shape of his spine they started therapy with us.
Working with the carer and the dog, we felt our way through all his physical issues helping to put them right again.
Recently I was chatting to Lord Nelson’s Dad and he wrote “In fact we were just saying that Nelson seems a lot happier/cheekier (depending on if you are on the receiving end of his never- ending demand/stubbornness) since you started working on him. Only thing we could think of is he probably always had a (low level) pain with his spine/legs, though he just put up with it. Now this is gone, he's a happier boy (and we have two trouble makers!)”
Feedback like that means the world. With the new eyes that his Dads have regarding his mobility, gait and physicality, and maintenance therapy visits from us, they will have to put up with him being a happy healthy family member, an-all round trouble-making demanding stubborn boy. Lord Nelson, meanwhile, won’t have to put up with living with his discomfort.
And as a P.S. I was reminded by his Dad of the all important poo details - he always had to lean on a tree to do his business but now he can squat like all self respecting Spaniel boys. How long did Lord Nelson have to put up with that? Clearly he knew it wasn’t right, but he had to put up with it. No more PoohGate for Lord Nelson.
Meet Laura – or “Hugo’s in lurve”
Not a dog this time, but a fellow practitioner. Laura is one of Elizabeth Whiter’s Healing Animal Organisation’s graduates (http://www.healinganimals.org/) who attended the HAOK9 Relax Level 1 Diploma module that we’ve written and delivered specially for the HAO. She’s coming along to the Level 2 diploma in a few weeks and wanted to shadow me before then.
I thought that the Weimaraner brothers of Luther & Hugo would be a good shadow as they’re both very used to physical therapy and, being big boys, have a lot of body to work with.
As it happens, Hugo decided to pick up a limp on the morning of the session. That meant that instead of Laura just watching, she could use her skills to help Hugo. Hugo is a lovely boy, but his size can be imposing. However, he fell in love with Laura immediately, lying down with his head on her lap, silly grin and closed eyes.
Using her energy skills as well as hands-on physical therapy, Laura quickly picked up where he wanted some help. Starting lightly, she was soon directed by Hugo how deep she could massage him. He was in bliss. Soppy face throughout, looking up at her with goo goo eyes.
As I’ve said many times, all the complementary therapies have their place. Mixing and matching these therapies can often be more effective than one at a time. Hugo certainly seemed to believe that was the case.
