If you have a sporting dog then you want them to be in optimal shape and injury-free. Whether your dog participates in agility, flyball, nose works, obedience, herding, rally-o, disc, or IPO it’s important to ensure your dog’s musculoskeletal system is working optimally to allow them to succeed in their chosen sport.
This is achieved through a combination of:
- Manual Therapy: Dog’s can’t talk to us, so semi-regular assessments are important to maintain optimal muscle tone and address movement imbalances throughout the entire body.
- Conditioning: Optimal conditioning in preparation for sport – it’s important to choose the correct type, frequency, and intensity of exercise for your dog relative to the needs of their sport. It also means addressing any imbalances that are created by participating in the sport (e.g. always turning in a particular direction).
- Ideal weight: Even sporting dogs can be overweight (or sometimes too thin). Programs can be developed to help your dog maintain its ideal body weight.
At The Dog Osteopath, we regularly perform assessments and treatments for sporting dogs to ensure they are able to perform at peak condition. They can set a regime of exercises for you to perform at home and show you how to massage and stretch your dog between visits.
For Sporting dogs without injury, it is recommended they have an initial assessment and treatment every 2-6 months. Please contact us if you would like to book an appointment.