East Midlands Clinical Canine Massage & Rehab

09/10/2025

🐾 Pet Obesity Awareness Week 🐾 2025

On a recent holiday, I had the pleasure of meeting a new group of dog walkers while out with my dog. I was beaming with pride when a few of them asked her age—when I said she’s 11, many were surprised and commented that she didn’t look her age, full of energy and running around like a puppy!

However, one comment from a dog walker caught me off guard: “Your dog is too skinny, you need to put weight on her.”

I know my dog isn’t too skinny, she’s a healthy BCS 5, and her weight is monitored weekly—but the comment still stung. Then I remembered the earlier compliments from the week and realised: her weight is just right, and that’s exactly why she can still move freely, play with younger dogs, and enjoy life to the fullest often acting like a puppy!

⬇️⬇️⬇️
Keeping your dog at a healthy weight isn’t just about look. it helps them stay mobile, energetic, and prevents them from showing the signs of an “old dog” too early. 🐶💛

💚 Let’s use Pet Obesity Awareness Week as a reminder: a healthy weight = a happy, active, and longer life for our dogs.

08/10/2025

✨Pet Obesity Week✨-The Body Condition Score (BCS) system

The Body Condition Score (BCS) system is an important tool for managing a dog’s health. It is a numerical system used to assess the body fat and the overall body condition of animals. It helps veterinarians and pet owners determine whether a canine is underweight, at an ideal weight, or overweight, along with an estimate of body fat. It is essential for managing health and preventing obesity-related issues.

The BCS is assessed by feeling key areas such as the ribs, back, spine, hips, and abdomen and observing the overall shape and fat deposits on the dog’s body.
The scoring typically ranges in whole integers on a scale from 1 to 9, with:
* 1 indicating emaciation (prominent bones, no visible fat)
* 5 representing an ideal or healthy body condition (ribs can be felt but not seen with a visible waist)
* 9 reflecting obesity indicating excessive body fat (no discernible waist)

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6425ec5d33eaaa634113b2d4/t/66e87bb505388d7af510595f/1726512053435/Canine+BCS+Chart.pdf?

06/10/2025

✨Pet Obesity Week✨
Dog weight loss tips-

➡️ Overweight dogs experience increased mechanical stress on already compromised joints.
This can exacerbate the disease process and increase discomfort. Even a slight reduction in excess weight can result in a marked improvement of the clinical signs associated with arthritis.

➡️Maintaining a lean body condition score can positively affect mobility, improve quality of life, and lead to other health benefits as well. To help achieve this, regularly weighing your dog and assessing their body condition score can help prevent accidental weight gain.

➡️Obesity can lead to a variety of medical issues like...
-Arthritis
-Diabetes
-Cardiovascular Disease
-Respiratory Diseases
-Tumors
-Hypothyroidism

-and so many more!

✨To help your dog lose weight✨

➡️increase the amount of energy they burn off (through exercise and play) and reduce the amount of energy they eat.

➡️Table scraps and treats are often high in calories, so cut these out and make sure everyone else in the family does the same. Even when meant with affection, this still counts as cheating! If you have several dogs, feed your overweight dog separately to stop them stealing any leftovers.

➡️Try dividing their food into smaller portions and feed those more frequently to help reduce hunger and begging, and always keep track of what your dog is eating.

➡️Your vet may suggest reducing the amount you are feeding, or a special lower-calorie diet.

➡️Never ever ‘starve’ your dog or restrict their food without veterinary advice.

✨Consult your vet✨
If your dog fails to lose weight despite increased activity and reduced calories, speak to your vet again, who may want to investigate any underlying medical problems that can cause dog weight gain. Your vet’s practice might also offer a weight-reduction group for dogs, which will help you to monitor your dog’s weight as well as provide lots of tips and advice. Successful weight loss in dogs is a slow and steady process, and the secret to success is patience.

04/10/2025

Busy start to work today – and what a day, it’s been a Collie theme! 🐾
Seven wonderful Collies in clinic, including a stunning Smooth Collie.

Collies really do love a job, and none more so than these active, talented dogs. They’ve all been in for maintenance treatment sessions to help them excel in their sports:-
✨ Agility
✨ Flyball
✨ Mantrailing
✨ Tracking
✨ Working Trials

I do love an active dog 💚
It makes me so happy to see these amazing, hard-working Collies receiving treatments so they can keep doing what they love best.

As a Canine Musculoskeletal Therapist, I work closely with performance dogs across a wide range of disciplines including agility, flyball, canicross, obedience, scentwork, and working gundogs. These high-performing athletes place increased physical demands on their bodies, and targeted therapy can make a profound difference to their longevity, performance, and injury prevention.

Through a tailored combination of clinical massage, osteopathic techniques, and canine conditioning (as a certified coach with the Canine Conditioning Academy), I create holistic treatment plans designed to:
✔ Optimise physical health
✔ Reduce injury risk
✔ Support peak performance

If you’d like to support your dog’s peak performance and wellbeing, get in touch to book an initial assessment.

Contact:
Lisa
Canine Musculoskeletal Therapist & Licensed Coach from The Canine Conditioning Academy

East Midlands Clinical Canine Massage & Rehabilitation Therapies
📧 [email protected]
📞 07418 082 240

01/10/2025

✨ Canine Treatments for Your Gundog ✨

It’s that time of year again when I’ve been welcoming gundogs in for their pre-season musculoskeletal checks and maintenance sessions.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve mainly seen working Labs and Cockers, a couple of springers, HPR’s including one working spinone !

I’ll admit, I’m a little biased – I love gundogs. Their athletic ability, scent and tracking skills, intelligence, stamina, and eagerness to please make them truly remarkable. For me, the real joy comes from watching them do what they were bred and designed to do.

But with that comes huge physical demands on their musculoskeletal system. Whether in field trials, training, competing, or working all day in the field flushing, pointing, setting, or retrieving – soft tissue injuries are a common risk. These can result from covering uneven or hard ground, and I often see conditions such as:
• Achilles tendinopathy
• Iliopsoas strain
• Forelimb injuries such as biceps tenosynovitis

Subtle signs of musculoskeletal pain or injury may include:
• Changes in retrieving (e.g., dropping a dummy or quarry)
• Loss of enthusiasm or drive
• Lameness or intermittent limping

Clinical massage and rehabilitation treatments can help enhance your gundog’s performance, improve range of motion, strength and flexibility, and reduce the likelihood of injury and fatigue – keeping them doing the job they love.

📧 [email protected]
📞 07418 082 240

01/10/2025

Next week it is World Pet Obesity Week

Let’s make a difference to your dog’s quality of life — and help them live longer, healthier, and happier.
Please read & share 🐾

🌟 Why Your Dog’s Weight Matters 🌟

Canine obesity is a chronic disease. It doesn’t just increase the mechanical load on joints (speeding up deterioration) — fat itself is biologically active:

✨ Fat = Inflammation
• Fat cells release hormones & chemicals that drive inflammation.
• Leptin (a hormone from fat) enters joints, worsening inflammation & bone changes linked to osteoarthritis.
• Inflammation also disrupts hormones like cortisol & insulin, further unbalancing the body and worsening pain.

💡 Why keep your dog lean & healthy?

✔️ Longer life & better quality of life
• A study in Labradors found that 25% restricted feeding increased lifespan and delayed chronic disease onset.
📖 J Am Vet Med Assoc, 2002
🔗 Read study

✔️ Less pain from arthritis
• Just 8% body weight reduction improved lameness in osteoarthritic dogs.
📖 Vet Res Commun, 2010
🔗 Read study

✔️ Scientific evidence supports prevention
• Life expectancy tables confirm that maintaining lean body condition adds years to your dog’s life.
📖 Front Vet Sci, 2023; Montoya et al.

🐶 A healthy weight = longer life, less pain, more play.
Together, let’s fight canine obesity 💚

30/09/2025

💚 Don’t Feel Guilty 💚

So many of us – myself included – carry an overwhelming sense of guilt when it comes to our dogs.

We worry that we aren’t doing enough, or that we could have made different choices. This feeling is so common, and many of us carry that burden quietly.

We wonder if their behaviour is our fault, or if their orthopaedic conditions happened because we played too much ball, let them run the stairs, or competed in sports like flyball or agility. We ask ourselves: could I have prevented this?

But here’s the truth ⬇️
We all do the very best we can with the knowledge, time, and resources we have. Life with our dogs is a journey. Yes, there may be things we’d do differently if we could go back – but that doesn’t mean we should carry guilt.

💚 Don’t feel guilty if you can’t afford every therapy or treatment session – physio, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, swimming, or specialist training.

💚 Don’t feel guilty if your busy life doesn’t allow you to attend every class or activity.

💚 Don’t feel guilty if you can’t buy the most expensive foods, supplements, or training plans, and instead choose what works for your budget.

👉 What matters most is that your dog feels loved, safe, and respected.

You are doing a fantastic job.
You are an amazing dog owner. 🐾💚

29/09/2025

Pain is complex. There will be good days and bad days, which is why tracking your dog’s progress and monitoring for signs of pain is so important.
🙏Canine Arthritis Management

Please share and spread the word - no dog should be in pain

Myth: “Arthritic pain is the same every day.”

✅ Fact: Arthritis pain often fluctuates daily or even hourly, influenced by activity, weather, or flare-ups. A dog may seem fine one moment and stiff the next, which is why tracking changes over time is so important.

If you're interested in tailored advice for your dog, our Teleguidance service is for you!
https://caninearthritisteleguidance.co.uk

28/09/2025

💢 September is Animal Pain Awareness Month 💢
Understanding a Multimodal Approach to

🟢Managing Chronic Pain in Dogs

Chronic pain in dogs, particularly musculoskeletal pain, is often multifactorial and complex. A multimodal approach involves combining different types of therapies and management strategies to improve comfort, function, and quality of life. This holistic framework recognises that no single treatment is sufficient—rather, multiple coordinated interventions can have synergistic effects (Mathews et al., 2014).

🟢 Complementary Therapies
Techniques such as clinical canine massage, physiotherapy, and acupuncture have been shown to reduce muscular tension, improve circulation, and enhance mobility in dogs with chronic conditions like osteoarthritis (Kapatkin et al., 2006; Xie & Preast, 2007).

🟢 Pain Relief
Veterinary-prescribed medications, including NSAIDs and other analgesics, remain essential in pain management. These are often the foundation upon which other therapies are layered (Lascelles et al., 2005).

🟢 Surgery and Regenerative Medicine
In some cases, surgical intervention or regenerative options such as stem cell therapy may be considered, particularly when structural changes are contributing significantly to discomfort (Black et al., 2007).

🟢 Environmental and Lifestyle Changes
Simple modifications—like adding non-slip flooring or adjusting an exercise routine—can greatly reduce strain on joints and prevent exacerbation of pain (Moreau et al., 2010).

🟢 Nutrition and Weight Management
A tailored diet, weight management, and joint-supporting supplements such as omega-3 fatty acids or glucosamine can reduce inflammation and pressure on joints (Fritsch et al., 2010).

🟢 No two dogs are the same, and every management plan should be individualised based on the dog’s condition, lifestyle, and response to therapy.

At East Midlands Clinical Canine Massage, we collaborate with veterinary professionals to create custom plans that integrate manual therapies, rehabilitation techniques, and practical at-home strategies to support dogs living with chronic pain.

References:
• Black, L. L., et al. (2007). “Effect of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem and regenerative cells on lameness in dogs with chronic osteoarthritis of the hip.” Veterinary Therapeutics.
• Fritsch, D. A., et al. (2010). “A multi-center study of the effect of dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on radiographic signs of osteoarthritis in dogs.” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
• Kapatkin, A. S., et al. (2006). “Effect of passive range of motion exercises on osteoarthritis in dogs.” Veterinary Surgery.
• Lascelles, B. D. X., et al. (2005). “Measurement of chronic pain in dogs: a review of current approaches.” Veterinary Journal.
• Mathews, K., et al. (2014). “Guidelines for recognition, assessment and treatment of pain.” Canadian Veterinary Journal.
• Moreau, M., et al. (2010). “Biomechanical evaluation of the efficacy of therapeutic exercises in dogs with osteoarthritis.” Veterinary Surgery.
• Xie, H., & Preast, V. (2007). Xie’s Veterinary Acupuncture. Blackwell Publishing.

27/09/2025

This week has been a real struggle for me in more ways than one. But when I’m with the lovely dogs, seeing their happy faces and how warmly they respond to their treatments, it reminds me just how much I love what I do. Their trust and joy are such a gift and I feel truly rewarded by the difference I can make for them.

This week, one special little soul brought so much happiness and light into the clinic, just as he always does. 💕🐾

Here’s Freddie — who, as always, made such a positive difference to my day.
🙏little man you made a difficult day good.

✨🐶💚

27/09/2025

Laser Therapy for Canine Osteoarthritis

This is Jack receiving his laser therapy to support management of his osteoarthritis (OA). Jack was referred to me by his veterinary surgeon, to receive
Clinical treatments of clinical massage, osteopathy and laser.

🟢 How Does Laser Therapy Work?

Laser therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT) or photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT), is a non-invasive, painless modality that delivers specific wavelengths of light into tissues. This stimulates cellular processes such as:
• Increased ATP production (cellular energy)
• Modulation of inflammatory pathways
• Release of endorphins and nitric oxide
• Improved microcirculation and oxygenation

Together, these effects help to reduce pain, enhance tissue repair, and improve mobility.

🟢 Reported Benefits

Laser therapy may be used in veterinary rehabilitation for:
• Pain relief (acute and chronic)
• Osteoarthritis management
• Wound repair and healing
• Scar tissue reduction
• Soft tissue injuries (strains, sprains, muscle tears)
• Haematoma resolution
• Antibacterial effects on skin conditions and contaminated wounds

📚 References
• Hamblin, M. R. (2017). Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation. AIMS Biophysics, 4(3), 337–361.
• Hashmi, J. T., Huang, Y. Y., Osmani, B. Z., Sharma, S. K., Naeser, M. A., & Hamblin, M. R. (2010). Role of low-level laser therapy in neurorehabilitation. PM&R, 2(12 Suppl 2), S292–S305.
• Karu, T. (2010). Mitochondrial mechanisms of photobiomodulation in context of new data about multiple roles of ATP. Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, 28(2), 159–160.
• Riegel, R. J., & Godbold, J. C. (2017). Laser Therapy in Veterinary Medicine: Photobiomodulation. John Wiley & Sons.

✅ Safe | ✅ Non-invasive | ✅ Vet-referred

26/09/2025

The Quiet Power of Clinical Canine Massage

In therapy, less is often more.

✨ Sometimes the lightest touch, applied with clear intention, has a far greater impact on a dog’s body than big, dramatic movements or heavy pressure.

✨ Gentle, highly skilled techniques enable the fascia and underlying structures to release, realign, and restore balance in ways that forceful methods cannot.

✨ During treatment, you may notice in my treatments moments of stillness, a quiet pause where your dogs body is allowed to respond, connect, and settle. These subtle shifts often bring the most profound changes.

⚕️ The ability to use these precise, delicate movements is not something most therapists are trained in. It is a specialised process requiring advanced skill, knowledge, and clinical understanding.

Because in therapy, knowing when to pause is just as important as knowing when to act.