Deborah Lytle, DVM

02/23/2024

What do we think is the collective noun for labradors? A mischief of Labradors? A lick? A chaos? A wag?
We had labradors of all colors this week which always livens things up! 🥰

Bonus points for the right guess on which one you think pooped in the underwater treadmill ??😮 💩 (we love you anyway, buddy!)

01/16/2024

Using the snowy day to improve our lameness exam!
What do you see in these foot prints from our appt this morning? Can you tell which prints are front and which ones are hind? Why do you think she came to see us?

01/12/2024

Welcome to our conditioning program, K9 Biza 🤍💙🩶

12/21/2023

Talk about a great Christmas present! Maxwell is ready to hit the trails along with his able bodied housemates in his new wheels!

12/05/2023

“SANTA!! I know him!” ❤️💚❤️
Lelouch looking GREAT at his stifle surgery recheck!

12/01/2023

Yoshi showing off his hip mobility and balance on our new peanut mountain!

11/10/2023

Today, I'm taking part in the Vet Rehab Summit which is covering myofascial chains: the connective tissue between our muscles (and other areas of the body!). We are covering how disease in these tissues may affect movement and cause pain.

11/02/2023

VSCS attending a Respond System Lunch and Learn in our Rehab Barn! Very serious intent faces!

10/24/2023

Exciting things happening for VSCS! Looking forward to being able to getting your pets diagnosed sooner with more precision!

10/23/2023

This! So incredibly true for dogs as well. I am here to help you get your dog back to their best potential but absolutely nothing will work if you can’t give their bodies time to heal!

*** TIME IS THE GREATEST HEALER ***

As far as injuries go, the greatest healer of all is time. We, as vets, can inject this and that (stem cells, steroids, polyacrylamide gels, PRP) to try to speed up healing time, or “improve” the healing process, but ultimately, all injuries, of every kind, need time.

You may say, “but, I don’t have time! My horse is meant to be competing at x/y/z!”. Ultimately, your horse won’t heal as well as someone who withdraws from the rest of the season, and gives their horse, “time”.

I absolutely “get it”. I have missed whole seasons with horses with the most minor of tendon injuries, but these injuries have always healed, and never reoccurred.

Our horses aren’t concerned if they miss half a season, or have a year out to recover from a tendon or ligament injury; it’s us, the riders/owners, that care.

I’m a vet. I X-ray/scan/nerve block/inject stuff. But, ultimately, a horse with an injury simply needs time. That’s not months shut in a stable, but careful rehab from day one.

Harold in his Eventing days…..he had 2 years off following an 85% tendon rupture, to return to winning dressage at Advanced Medium level.

10/15/2023

Can’t wait to spoil this team this week! So thankful for Shannon and Mo!

09/10/2023

We are so proud of Shannon’s Shiva and Grimlock!
Both are now THE TOP hydrodash competitors in the region!
Shiva: 1st Place - Masters Division
Grimlock: 1st Place - Elite Division

Shannon works tirelessly designing conditioning programs for these girls and we are so proud of what these girls have accomplished through their hard work!

(Insider knowledge? Shiva is Grimlock’s mother and this is Grimlocks first dock diving season!)

07/13/2023

06/30/2023

Couldn’t help but smile at Evie getting a shockwave treatment with her snood protecting those ears from the gel! (I’m not sure she was as amused as we were!)

06/14/2023

Did you know?
-through the normal aging process, your dog’s paw pads soften - becoming less rough to the touch but more difficult for them to stay up on slippery floors
- long nails actually alter the alignment of the joints in your dog’s toes causing pain and an inability to use their paws correctly
- paw pad hair that is too long will cause your dog to slip more easily

Before you go out and purchase toe grips or paw pad stickers or boots - check that your dog’s nails are trimmed appropriately and that any excess hair is trimmed. This is inexpensive and will likely significantly improve your senior dog’s mobility if it is needed. 😍

06/06/2023

Who doesn’t want to have a ??? 🏋🏽
We can’t ignore the fact that active thin dogs live up to two years longer and have significantly less likelihood to have orthopedic and back problems like intervertebral disc disease! We’ve put together a fitness program and invite you to bring your dogs in to learn about it!

Your investment costs:
☀️Initial Evaluation with nutrition counseling and exercise plan for $125
☀️ 8 weeks of twice weekly in house conditioning including therapeutic exercises and hydrotherapy: $1,000

06/01/2023

Happy 9th Birthday, K9 (retired) Sampson! You are the absolute best, bud - hope you enjoyed your shockwave treatments!

04/19/2023

Your rehab crew did some learning today about diagnosing and treating carpal hyper extension injuries (wrist sprains) - such a common front leg injury and we enjoyed picking up some more steps to get your dog comfortable and back to normal life/sport!

03/18/2023

Happy St. Paddy’s Day from Boston and Yoshi! (Don’t look too closely at Yoshi’s outfit ….he did his best with what he had 😍🎄☘️)….

03/13/2023

We will be closed tomorrow due to the forecasted storm. Stay safe and stay home if you can!

01/09/2023

Today, we congratulate K-9 Kai on his retirement from ! Thank you for your service, Kai!

11/17/2022

🔆🔆 Exciting News Update, Part 2! 🔆🔆
We are now open for conditioning and rehabilitation treatment appointments 6 days a week!! (Monday through Saturday) We are hoping that by adding these days - we will be able to meet your needs better. If you are already scheduled for appointments but changing your days would help you - feel free to give us a call and we’ll try to accommodate a better schedule for you!
(Dr. Lytle’s appointment schedule remains unchanged: Tuesday through Friday)

11/17/2022

🔆🔆 Exciting News Update, Part 1 🔆🔆
We are adding Piezo SHOCKWAVE to our treatment options in rehabilitation!
We have been using a demo unit for the last couple weeks and the feedback from our clients has been incredible - a K9 officer with LS disease who is acting like a puppy, a dog with elbow dysplasia whose limp has decreased significantly, a senior lab with multi joint arthritis who felt like a million bucks after treatment!
Adding shockwave to our options that include Class IV laser, hydrotherapy, massage, therapeutic exercises really opens up our ability to help our patients and we’re quite excited!

10/27/2022

Happy Halloween from the Rehab dog crew!

10/17/2022

Look at our amazing technician team! Especially thankful for Maureen Connors and Shannon Byrnes keeping rehab running smoothly! Glad to work with you both every day!

09/30/2022

Two of our patients, Frenzy and Scrabble, met up for some fall fun! We work hard to get your pets back to living their best life - so pictures like this make us so happy!

09/30/2022

Good job, Kai! I’m sure it was the underwater treadmill session before work that got you all warmed up for success 🙃

Today K-9 Kai was asked to perform a search for evidence believed to still be missing in the heavily wooded area behind the residence involved in the recent house break on 9/24. Five days later including a night of heavy rain, K-9 Kai alerted Officers to evidence that without his amazing nose may have never been located. Pictured here is an action shot from his successful find!

09/22/2022

Rainy day snuggles with Mr. Buzzy while waiting for our turn with x-ray 🥰