Your dog doesn’t have to be taking part in extreme dog sports or be involved in a major accident to get hurt. In fact most dogs, like most people, pick up the majority of their injuries in life doing normal day-to-day activities.
When it comes to protecting your dog’s bones, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons from injury, there are some key principles which can help you to identify when your dog’s activities are putting them at higher risk of musculoskeletal injury.
Your dog is more likely to get injured doing activities which:
Are repetitive (overuse)
Are concussive / jarring (involve sudden and hard stops / impacts)
Cause jolting (involve abrupt / rough pushing or shaking movements)
Increase the risk of slips, trips, falls and collisions
The types of injuries that your dog could incur as a result of the above include:
Broken bones
Herniated (slipped) intervertebral discs
Damaged cartilage within joints
Strained muscles and tendons
Sprained ligaments
Bruising
Dogs are naturally very athletic animals, however they don’t always know or do what is good for them, therefore it is essential that you take steps to minimise your dog’s risks of getting hurt.
This is important for dogs of any age and type, but especially so for those who are more susceptible to injury, for example:
Puppies
Senior dogs
Dogs with disease conditions which affect their musculoskeletal systems directly (e.g. arthritis) or indirectly (e.g. vestibular syndrome)
Dogs who have previously sustained musculoskeletal injury and / or received surgery for bone or soft tissue conditions
Dogs with inherent weaknesses in their conformation (e.g. long-backed dogs such as Dachshunds and Bassett Hounds)
So what is your dog doing every day that involves repetitive, concussive and jolting actions and increases the risk of them slipping, tripping, falling and running into things? We’re going to run down our top 5 harmful habits, with tips on what you can do to minimise your dog’s risks of incurring both short-term and long-term damage to their body.
Habit 1 - Jumping on and off furniture
Can be very concussive – depending on the height of the furniture, the size of your dog and the surface they are landing on when they jump down
Repetitious – dogs who climb on furniture typically do so many times throughout their day
Can cause over-stretching (straining) of muscles – when your dog jumps a height greater than that of their back, this can push their muscles beyond safe working limits
Your dog may slip (especially if jumping down from furniture onto a smooth, hard floor)
If your dog cannot easily make the height when attempting to jump onto furniture, they may collide with it and fall
Safety Tips
Train your dog to settle on a bed / mat on the floor rather than getting on the furniture
If you want your dog up on the furniture with you, lift them up and off, and / or install ramps or foot stools to reduce the height that your dog is jumping to less than the height of their back
Habit 2 - Going up and down stairs
Very repetitious – the more steps there are, the worse the impact of repetition will be
Slips – particularly if the surface of the steps, and / or the flooring at the top and bottom of them, is not non-slip
Trips, falls and collisions – are more likely to occur if, for example, your dog runs up or down the stairs, has mobility problems that affect their strength and / or balance, the steps are steep, narrow and / or curving, your dog is small relative to the size of the steps, your dog has a long back and short legs
Safety tips
Use stair gates to prevent your dog going up and down the stairs on a regular basis
If your stairs are uncarpeted, install carpet strips on each step to give your dog some grip
If / when it is necessary for your dog to go up or down stairs - carry them or train them to walk slowly both up and down the steps (keep them on a lead until they have learnt not to rush)
Habit 3 – Walking, running and playing on smooth, hard flooring
Very repetitious – our dogs move around the house all the time
Can cause over-stretching (straining) of muscles - dogs find it very hard to grip on smooth, hard flooring and slips are common - when your dog’s limbs splay or slip from under them, this can push their muscles beyond safe working limits
Falls and collisions – if your dog slips then they may also fall or slide into something
Safety tips
Install non-slip rugs / mats / runners on areas of smooth, hard flooring most commonly traversed by your dog, in particular in any areas where your dog tends to jump up from, and down onto, the floor (e.g. next to the sofa) and where they tend to rush within the house (e.g. close to doorways in and out of the house)
Train and play on non-slip surfaces such as carpet and grass
Habit 4 - Jumping in and out of the car
Is very concussive – for most dogs, they are jumping up to / down from a height greater than that of their back, and usually down onto hard ground
Can cause over-stretching (straining) of muscles – when your dog jumps a height greater than that of their back, this can push their muscles beyond safe working limits
Your dog may slip (either when they land in the car or on the floor outside)
Collisions can occur when your dog jumps into or out of the car, for example with car seats and other dogs who are being travelled with. If your dog fails to meet the height when they attempt to jump in, they could collide with the vehicle itself and fall
Safety tips
Lift your dog in and out of the car (if they are comfortable being lifted and you will not hurt yourself lifting them)
Use a dog ramp (you will need to spend time training your dog to be confident and safe using a dog ramp)
Train a solid ‘stay’ or ‘wait’ cue so that your dog does not launch themselves into or out of the car
Habit 5 – Play
Fetch
Very repetitious
Ball ‘chuckers’ send the toy too far, too fast, and make the ball more likely to bounce erratically. This causes hard jolting and jarring actions on your dog’s body when they start and stop the chase, increases the chance of them slipping, tripping and falling / somersaulting as a result of chasing too hard, and can also cause your dog to abruptly twist their body and over-stretch their muscles in order to try and catch the ball if it bounces off course
Throwing the ball up high encourages your dog to jump up to grab it, which means jarring of their body when they land
Tug games
Repetitious
Jolting and jarring actions are a feature of the game
Lifting a dog up with a toy places immense stress on the dog’s jaw
Other dogs
Dogs can hurt each other, even when their intentions are purely playful.
Slips and trips, from chasing too hard and cornering too fast / too tightly, leading to falls / somersaults
Collisions – dogs running into each other during chase
Getting caught underneath – your dog could be injured by another dog’s body weight coming down on them
Safety tips
For all types of play, keep sessions short duration and low intensity, quality is much more important than quantity for your dog, both physically and psychologically.
Ensure that play always takes place on non-slip surfaces such as carpet and grass.
Fetch
Train your dog to wait calmly for the toy to be thrown so that they are not repetitively jumping up and down before you throw the toy
Ditch the ‘chucker’ and throw the toy underarm instead – this will help keep the toy from going too far, too fast, and bouncing so erratically, and also help reduce the chances of your dog slipping, tripping and falling / somersaulting
Throw the toy low to the ground – this will stop your dog from jumping up to grab the toy and will also help reduce erratic ball bounces
Tug games
Train your dog to wait calmly for the toy to be thrown so that they are not repetitively jumping up and down before you offer the toy
Avoid being too hard and fast when pulling and pushing back on the toy or moving it side to side
When letting go of the toy to let your dog ‘win the game’, time your release carefully so that you do not cause your dog to pull back suddenly against no resistance which is particularly jarring and may also lead them to stumble
Keep the toy at your dog’s jaw level when they are standing with all four paws on the ground, never lift your dog off the ground with the toy
Other dogs
Intervene by calling your dog away if play is becoming too hard and fast (e.g. running at full-out gallop, cornering tightly, body-slamming, jumping / rolling heavily on top of one another)
Be mindful of the size and strength of other dogs that your dog plays with, if the bigger and stronger dog is faster / being more physically boisterous, then stop the play immediately
So that’s our top 5 harmful daily habits and our top tips to help you minimise your dog’s risk of injury to their musculoskeletal system. Of course, accidents can still happen, so as always, if your dog is showing any signs of pain or discomfort, call their vet.
For dogs who have sustained a soft tissue injury such as a muscular strain, a professional clinical canine massage therapist will be able to pinpoint the exact location of the injury, assess its severity, and apply appropriate and effective massage techniques to help rehabilitate the damaged tissue, relieve areas of compensation elsewhere in the body, help reduce your dog’s pain levels, and improve their mobility.
To find your local Canine Massage Guild therapist, you can search for therapists in your area using the Therapist Register on the Guild website at http://www.k9-massageguild.co.uk/therapistregister/
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