Hopping Gait
#painawarenessmonth
'But my dog still chases their ball!' This is a common response when you speak to owners about whether their dog is in pain.
Have a look at the video of Luna on a walk. She hops in it, 'a typical small breed trait!' I hear you say. Other than hopping, Luna has no clinical signs. However, I knew that this was not right, so I took her to the vets to investigate. First, they ruled out a luxating patella (dislocating kneecap), as dogs will often have this hop with a luxating patella. I then had the option to stop investigations, after all it could be because she is a small breed?!
Being the sort of person I am, I wanted an answer. Luna has 2 bulging discs in her spine when she moves. It took an x-ray (nothing found), an MRI (nothing found), a nerve block (nothing found) and a CT scan (bulging discs found) for her medical condition to be diagnosed. Luna was on pain relief daily for about a year whilst we used physio to build the relevant muscles. We were able to stop the pain relief for a while but now she is older she is back on pain relief as I noticed she had become less playful, and she was also getting me up in the night to go for a wee. This is a good indicator for her that she is sore; if she can’t hold her bladder through the night.
She loves life, will play endlessly, and people often mistake her for a young dog even though she is now 7 years old. People who see her on the field, struggle to see that she has a condition that causes her pain. If I had not persevered with investigations (thank goodness for pet insurance!) then I might just have written her hop off as a habit, something that she just does.
Chronic pain is difficult to pick up in dogs. They are very good at hiding pain and will just keep going. They will carry on going for those long walks or chasing their toys. If you think that your dog is in pain, then please be their voice and take them to the vets.
If you are not sure whether your dog’s behaviour is being impac
Paws was referred to me for osteoarthritis in his left shoulder. You can see in the first clip that he is head nodding when he walks. Head nodding is a sign of forelimb lameness. When the dog's head goes down, look at the leg that is landing. The dog will put their head down on the sound leg. Meaning that it is the other leg that the dog is lame on. Can you tell which was Paws' lame leg?
I treated Paws by:
✅Massaging him,
✅Using laser therapy,
✅Prescribing strengthening exercises,
✅Managing the home environment such as putting non-slip mats down.
After a couple of sessions, you can see the difference in the videos. I am delighted to report that Paws is now back to being an active boy who loves his walks!
If you think that your dog has started to slow down or your dog has been diagnosed with a musculoskeletal condition, then please get in touch to see how I could help.
#happydogs #IRVAP #veterinaryphysiotherapy #CBPC
Finding time to fit in an in person training class can be difficult. To help you train your dog when you cannot make classes, I have created an online course.
�In this online class we have squished lessons into short 5 minute daily sessions Monday - Friday for 6 weeks.
Commit to just 5 minutes a day and marvel at the results. This is a life skills course to teach your dog the behaviours you need them to do such as walk nicely on the lead or come back when called.
Click the link below for more information.
https://schoolfordogs.teachable.com/p/canine-behaviour-clinic-level-1
#apdtuk #positivereinforcement #happydogs #forcefreetraining #CBPClinic
Kia and Yanis both struggle to concentrate around other dogs. Here are both of them showing off their amazing loose lead walking skills very close to each other!
They are currently doing the Mischievous Mutts course. If you would like to know more about the course or book onto the next one, please visit my website for more details. Www.caninebehaviourandphysioclinic.com
#apdtuk #positivereinforcement #happydogs #forcefreetraining #CBPClinic
Yesterday I wrote about management you could put in place to help your dog through the firework season. Today I have written a recommended daily routine. Again, please remember that every dog is an individual and what works for one dog, might not work for another.
You will want to set up some of the recommendations below, several weeks before you are expecting fireworks.
🐶 Walk your dog before dark. If you get home after dark, then do not go for a walk. Instead play games and do mental enrichment activities at home. The Facebook group ‘Canine enrichment’ has some great ideas.
🐶 Shut the curtains/blinds before dark and put the light on.
🐶 Increase the volume of TV/Radio, as long as your dog is not scared of it.
🐶 Take your dog out to toilet early on.
🐶 Take your dog out in the garden on lead in case an unexpected firework goes off.
🐶 You could also create a toilet area in the house using astro-turf or puppy pads.
🐶 Train your dog to toilet on cue to reduce how long you have to be outside.
🐶 If your dog hides somewhere unusual such as under your bed, then let them. Make sure they always have access to the hidey hole during firework season.
🐶 You could trial distracting them by doing some fun training (things they already know such as sit and down) or by giving them a long-lasting chew or stuffed Kong.
🐶 If your dog comes to you for attention, then be there for them! You do not want to reject them as that could make them more anxious.
Luna and Loken are good with fireworks. You can see in the video that Luna is sleeping through the fireworks BUT even though they are good, I still follow the above management advice so that I do not put them in a situation they might struggle with. Especially because both of them have chronic musculoskeletal conditions and we know there is a link between musculoskeletal pain and noise sensitivity.
#apdtuk #positivereinforcementtraining #forcefreedogtraining #happydogs #CBPC #IRVAP #f
My advanced class are amazing. Look how good their lead work is around the distraction of other dogs! 🐶😍
#apdtuk #positivereinforcement #happydogs #forcefreetraining #CBPClinic
It can be difficult to commit to training classes or regular one to ones due to life being busy.
I created this online course with a few other trainers over lockdown. In this online course, we have squished lessons into short 5 minute daily sessions Monday - Friday for 6 weeks. Commit to just 5 minutes a day and marvel at the results. This is a life skills course to teach your dog the behaviours you need them to do such as walk nicely on the lead or come back when called. Click the link below for more information.
https://schoolfordogs.teachable.com/p/canine-behaviour-clinic-level-1
Why should you sign up?
✅ Access to the videos for life
✅ The option to join a private Facebook group for my clients
✅ The option to send me training videos for feedback
#apdtuk #positivereinforcement #puppytraining #forcefreetraining #happydogs #CBPClinic
I love getting videos like these! Winnie is one of my training clients and she is so clever. We work on a lot of different exercises with her to keep her mentally stimulated.
These videos show us combining behaviours together. To start with we taught the behaviours separately and then once they were reliable put them together.
In the first video (see in comments because Facebook is annoying and you can't post more than one video at a time!), you can see Winnie performing her hold of a dumbell whilst pivoting on a stool.
In the second video, you can see Winnie doing beautiful lead work (with no lead!) and performing a variety of behaviours on the way round the garden.
Isn't she amazing and a huge credit to her guardian for putting in a lot of hard work?! ❤️
#apdtuk #positivereinforcementtraining #happydogs #forcefreetraining #CBPClinic
Arthur and Della were amazing tonight at learning to walk nicely on lead around another dog.
It is really important that puppies learn they are not going to be allowed to greet every dog or person that they see when out and about. Also that they learn to train around distractions.
#apdtuk #positivereinforcement #happydogs #puppiesofinstagram #CBPClinic #forcefreetraining #puppytraining
Over the next few days, we are going to look at a problem that many owners face with their dogs; pulling on lead.
Let's look at some of the statements that I commonly hear:
❌ Harnesses cause pulling
❌ Collars will stop a dog from pulling
❌ My dog should walk on the left-hand side of me
❌ My dog should not walk in front of me
❌ Slip leads/choke chains etc. do not cause pain
It might surprise you that none of these statements are true!
Some people will say that harnesses cause pulling and that is why sled dogs wear them, but this is not true. No piece of walking equipment causes a dog to pull. I have seen dogs pull in collars, harnesses, slip leads, choke chains, head collars, front attaching harnesses etc.
Dogs naturally walk faster than us and they are often allowed to pull and then greet another dog or sniff a lamp post, so they learn that pulling works. Pulling is caused by motivation, this might be motivation to move towards something such as an interesting smell or another dog. Or the motivation might be to move away from something such as a scary noise.
To train your dog not to pull, you need to work out why they are pulling in the first place.
‘My dog should walk on the left-hand side of me’. Traditionally, dogs used to walk on the left-hand side but there is actually no need for this. I like to train dogs to walk on both sides, as you might need them to walk on your right-hand side if you are on a narrow pavement and do not want them next to the road.
'My dog should not walk in front of me' comes from the dominance theory. This suggested that if the dog walked in front of you, they were trying to dominate you and be pack leader. I can completely assure you that if Luna or Loken walk in front of me, they are not trying to take over the world! The dominance theory has been completely debunked.
'Slip leads/choke chains etc. do not cause pain'- I might upset some people by saying this is not true but it is important to know the
We had an amazing agility lesson this morning. Loken only started agility before Christmas but absolutely loves it.
Please do ignore me running 🏃♂️, it is something I usually avoid! 😂
As a trainer, I think it is really important to practise what I preach and have another trainer tell me off for doing things wrong or help me improve my mechanical skills. Make sure that your dog trainer is always looking to improve their skills.
What are you up to with your dogs on this sunny day? 🌞
#apdtuk #positivereinforcement #poodlesofinstagram #happydog
