Early this Spring, my puppy Jambo was running in my yard and suddenly stopped short, hiked up her back leg and started hopping about, unable to bear weight on it. A trip to her physical therapist confirmed that Jambo had a luxating patella.  This is a fairly common condition in small dogs - but still alarming to see, especially since it happened repeatedly over the next few days. My holistic vet confirmed the PT’s diagnosis and sent me home with a handful of supplements for her, since surgery was out of the question for such a young dog.  In the meantime, I was to avoid working her on slippery surfaces and discourage tight turning.

 

 What an alarming turn in the life of an Agility dog-in-training! The supplements I was giving her, and my careful management, meant that the number of times that Jambo’s knee luxated decreased significantly over the next few weeks, but my focus was to get Jambo back in the saddle again with appropriate exercise that would give her the strength to overcome her injury. I had some FitPaws equipment that I wanted to use to help Jambo’s rehab - but in light of her injury, I didn’t dare start using these props until I got a better understanding of what to do.

 

 This turned out to be a good decision. “A typical client has already started a fitness / strengthening program with their dog, and they’re in touch with me to make sure that what they are doing is correct and how they can help their dog further,” says Bobbie Lyons, owner of PawsitivePerformance.com. “Additionally, they’re seeking input on what the focus of their exercise program should be, and where their dog could use more strength. This is dependent on the type of activity the dog is involved in.”  If a client has already got some FitPaws equipment, Bobbie helps them to create a fitness program for their dog based on their dogs’ needs and their existing equipment.  Her guidance allows her clients to move forward in their program, and prevent the possibility of doing more harm than good.

 

 The concepts of Canine Fitness Training, with its new vocabulary of words such as “proprioception” weren’t totally unfamiliar to me. I had taken an online class with Frankie Joiris called “Fit to be Tricked” which was informative and fun, so I sought her input on the best way to get started.  She emphasized the importance of the dog’s introduction to the equipment be fun and highly rewarding.

 

“Once you’ve made sure the dog is in no way worried about the object, lure the dog into touching it with one or both front feet.  Usually if you stand with the dog right in front of either the disc or donut, making sure you are stabilizing it with a hand or foot, and encourage the dog to stand on its hind legs for a treat, you can lower the dog’s front feet onto the object by lowering the treat as you move it slightly forward.  Repeat this a few times until the dog is comfortable with placing front feet on the prop.” said Joiris. This was a game I’d played with my 2 older dogs, and with a chance to try out some new equipment, I was excited to begin a program that would specifically help Jambo.