Reducing chronic pain by helping our dogs at home!

Helping our dogs at home!

Youtube audio link: https://youtu.be/xW6Vp2oG9KA?si=hOO7__p1iL_n4idN

Not all invisible conditions cause symptoms that we can see such as vomiting, changes in stools, limping, lethargy.

During the chronic pain symposium - the ‘Prevalence of radiographic appendicular oa and associated clinical signs in young dogs’ with - Dr. Duncan Lascelles, I witnessed a dog from his study of a year old dog with arthritis in comparison to an older dog with arthritis both going up a set of steps. The older dog showed physical signs of struggling, the young dog did not, but to trained eyes an altered gait.

Another research paper looked at the impact of unwellness in dogs of all ages and the impact on owners and found that the owners of elder dogs were resigned to their dog becoming arthritic whereas owners of younger dogs couldn't believe it as they didn't see any obvious symptoms. (Belshaw, Dean and Asher, 2020)

This is why it is so important to seek out an integrative vet who will spend a good amount of time with you and your dog, observe their movements and want to know every detail about your dog to make a diagnosis or clear them.

Something I am acutely aware of with being a millenials, is how animals have become subjected more than ever to poor care and the main character of a social media profile at their expense.

In Britain we had You've been framed with a segment dedicated to animals, the clips were supposed to be funny. For your friendly neighbourhood neurodivergent behaviourist, these clips were not funny. In the US I believe there was a show called America's funniest animals or something like that.

We now have TikTok where it's funny to watch an “influencer” torment their chihuahua, they get lots of influencer deals and paid partnerships because they are torturing their dog and people are liking, commenting, saving and sharing these posts.
So lots of people with animals show either causing distress to animals, poor husbandry practices, saviour videos, bad grooming videos, dog attacks in public, kids pushing dogs to bites etc.

It becomes mentally exhausting blocking these creators, reporting them and social media says it does not violate their community standards, commenting to be met with more stupid.

As a professional we have to protect our brains, when we don't we can't deliver, many of us don't protect our brains because we do want to raise awareness that these videos/ practices are not OK.
So how can we protect our peace?

Begin by making a difference at home. Many people don't realise that the minimalist media savvy home is not beneficial for the dog. Those oak cherry wooden floors, marble swirl delight floors, milky way floors are not helping our dogs and are adding additional pressure onto them physically.

I get it carpets are expensive and rugs are annoying, especially for renters. But what's more expensive is the knowledge that your dog is in pain. Especially as a Wheelchair user I get rugs are annoying but I'd rather have difficulty myself than my dogs.
Physiotherapeutic exercises and following the physiotherapy pyramid can help dogs with pain reduction for osteoarthritis, remember the citation above that this isn't just for senior dogs?
(Mille, McClement and Lauer, 2022)

Like everything concerning dogs the understanding of osteoarthritis is still within its infancy and much of what is known, just like our canine psychology is borrowed from.human anatomical studies or borrowed from animal models meant for human research for human treatment. (Douglas and Malcolm, 1955).

The physiotherapy pyramid was devised to demonstrate a systematic organised approach to prioritising a foundation for success.
The more practical and cost effective modalities lie at the foundation of the pyramid which should be sought first, then the layers above can be sought to add into patient care as long as patient comfort is kept at the centre of the pyramid.

The foundation of the pyramid being environmental modifications, this is where we at home can make changes right away, by adding rugs in, non-slip flooring, ramps, steps, reduction of access to stairs and jumping on and off furniture. (Fox, 2017)

The next step according to the pyramid would be an exercise plan as executed by a professional such as a physiotherapist, canine chiropractor or hydrotherapist, canine conditioning coaches like myself are utilised for maintenance of that exercise in four different areas, such as flexibility, strength, balance, coordination and stamina.

Follow this link to see the pyramid: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/core/lw/2.0/html/tileshop_pmc/tileshop_pmc_inline.html?title=Click%20on%20image%20to%20zoom&p=PMC3&id=9863568_vetsci-10-00002-g001.jpg
The next step of the pyramid is then osteoarthritis specific exercises for the home, slings and other assistive devices may also be introduced as a part of the individual's care plan and finally to the top of the pyramid is the physiotherapist treatment.

Due to the lack of studies, just like in all areas canine, the pyramid is used by clinicians based on experience, clinical judgement and feedback from the dog guardian instead of evidence based protocols and the biggest area that is to be analysed and changed is the immediate home environment. (Mille, McClement and Lauer, 2022)

Independent locomotion is important for dogs from not only a rehabilitation perspective but also from a behavioural perspective. (Millisle, 2004).

Many times I have worked with clients who have been extremely stressed as their dog has been advised to be on bed rest, however the dog was showing extreme signs of stress and uncomfortability due to crate rest. Now vets in the US have been discussing non rest and non surgical based treatment for injuries like torn cruciate ligaments, with more success in the dog being able to return to sports in a much shorter time span. https://orthodog.com/article/dog-acl-tear-no-surgery/

It has also been found that dogs quickly lose their confidence when trying to move if they slip on the flooring or can cause further injuries which is why it is so important to rethink the flooring situation and the best possible outcome for the dog.
Raised bowls, beds, orthopaedic beds, soft grass outdoors and removal of substrates such as shingle, gravel, hard gritty or rough or irregular ground is also needed to be considered not just for the recovery period but for the dog's mobility, safety and enhancement, especially in protecting healing of distal limb osteoarthritis. (Caring for a dog with osteoarthritis, 2018).
Due to this being such a long but important topic I will be discussing the other components of the pyramid next week. But remember flooring has to be non slip and fit for purpose for your dog's health and well being.

References

Belshaw, Z., Dean, R. and Asher, L. (2020). ‘You can be blind because of loving them so much’: the impact on owners in the United Kingdom of living with a dog with osteoarthritis. BMC Veterinary Research, 16(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-020-02404-5.
Mille, M.A., McClement, J. and Lauer, S. (2022). Physiotherapeutic Strategies and Their Current Evidence for Canine Osteoarthritis. Veterinary Sciences, [online] 10(1), p.2. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10010002.
Douglas W.W., Malcolm J.L. The effect of localized cooling on conduction in cat nerves. J. Physiol. 1955;130:53–71. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1955.sp005392.
Fox S.M. In: Multimodal Management of Canine Osteoarthritis. 2nd ed. Group T and F, editor. CRC Press; Boca Raton, FL, USA: 2016.
Mille, M.A., McClement, J. and Lauer, S. (2022). Physiotherapeutic Strategies and Their Current Evidence for Canine Osteoarthritis. Veterinary Sciences, [online] 10(1), p.2. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10010002.
Millis D.L. Getting the Dog Moving After Surgery. J. Am. Anim. Hosp. Assoc. 2004;40:429–436. doi: 10.5326/0400429.
Caring for a dog with osteoarthritis. (2018). Veterinary Record, 182(15), pp.440–440. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.k1645.

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