As dog owners it’s up to us to know how far we should expect our dogs to walk. Puppies should have limited walks until they have stopped growing. This can take anything from 6 months to 3 years depending on the breed of dog. Generally allow one month of growing for every 2.5cm (1 […]
Archive | Joint Care in your dog
Puppy Growth
Puppies aren’t puppies for long which means as owners we only have a short time to give them the best start. Of course it depends on the breed of dog you have how long the puppy stage lasts. The general rule is to allow one month for every inch (2.5cm) of growth until your dog […]
Athletes Need a Warm Up
By Louise Wilkes on 11th January 2016 in Joint Care in your dog, Massage, Senior Dogs and Elderly Dogs
I’ve referred to dogs before as athletes and as all good athletes know a warm up routine is vital. A good warm up will put heat into the muscles which makes them more pliable and allows them to stretch as joint movements are increased. This helps prevent injury. Human participants in any sport will spend […]
Massage – Proactive or Reactive
By Louise Wilkes on 3rd July 2015 in Arthritis in Dogs, Canine Mobility Aids, Joint Care in your dog, Lameness in Dogs, Puppy Care
There are 2 aspects to massage. The proactive aspect where massage is used when your dog doesn’t have any mobility issues and the reactive aspect where massage is used to address mobility issues resulting from old age, joint problems or accidents. Massage is used proactively from puppyhood right through a dog’s life. With puppies massage […]
All in a Day’s Work
When I first started using massage with dogs I tended to see elderly dogs with signs of arthritis. They were struggling to walk as far, were stiff in the mornings or after lying down, and were generally becoming less active or sociable. The use of massage with these dogs aims to improve mobility and well […]
Which dogs are suitable for massage?
Almost all dogs are suitable for massage. Most of the dogs I see are simply pets but some have also been involved in activities such as agility or obedience work or attend shows or are worked. Dogs are just like people in that their everyday life can have an effect on their muscles and can […]
How do you know if your Dog is in pain?
I see a number of dogs with conditions such as arthritis or hip dysplasia where the owners say their dogs are very stiff when rising from lying – particularly first thing in the morning, or they limp when they’ve been for a walk but they say they don’t seem to be in pain because they […]
What is Canine Massage
Massage is the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body and is beneficial to dogs in many ways. It helps loosen muscles and tendons and realign muscle fibres which aids recovery from strains and sprains and can also be used to free scar tissue from old injuries. It stimulates the circulatory and lymphatic systems […]
