Obedience Dogs

Obedience is a satisfying sport for you and your dog but like any sport it carries with it associated injuries and areas of repetive stress and strain; just think about that neck position for starters! As the dog needs to be able to drop the neck in order to move the back end (this is how dogs locomote) the knock on effect of tight and short muscles can be detrimental not just to their performance but to their everyday life.

Typically the Canine Massage Therapy Centre sees obedience dogs who are suffering with neck and lower back issues; a result of the head carriage which is often required in much obedience. Painful Trigger Points and hardening of muscles result and make your dog uncomfortable and sore which in turn leads to a shorter attention span and a decline in their willingness to work.

Send Aways can often instigate problems around the lower back or lumbar area as well as issues in the specific groups of muscles your dog uses for propulsion in the back end and braking at the front end. From prolapsed muscles to torn tendons, the spectrum of issues is as vast as if they were a full time racing greyhound.

Heelwork to music can also put strain on your dogs body. Think of it as repetitive strain. Your dog is repeating the same actions again and again, its only a matter of time before there body starts to accumulate the stresses and strains in their body in the muscles that are used most often.

Just because your dog isn`t showing any affects doesn`t mean they aren`t there. The dog will naturally hide or conceal areas of pain and injury as it makes them a weak member of your pack; this is a pre determined survival instinct for all dogs.

Only via palpation can we truly "see" whats happening in your dogs body, so if they appear to have changed in character, are less willing to work or seem unable to do actions they used to do with ease, don`t put it down to ageing, it may be a muscular issue that needs assessing and repairing.

All owners report seeing improvements in their dogs, whether its less stiffness or a marked improvement in performance, getting your dogs muscles assessed by a qualified canine masseuse can mean catching an issue before it turns into a problem.

Typical issues in the obedience dog:

• Trigger Points of hind limb muscles
• Scar tissue in the lumbar area
• Prolapsed gracilis muscle (used for propulsion and drive)
• Neck spasm
• Muscular adhesion
• Slowing Down/ Old before time/not enjoying competition or lost their `sparkle`
• Back issues
• Hardening of the muscle leading to inflexibility
• Stiffness
• Soreness
• Shoulder issues