Discussion related to the musculoskeletal system - injuries, post-op, lameness, extremity issues (joint, muscle, tenon, fascia...), axial skeleton issues, etc., as it relates to canine rehabilitation.
I'm just starting out on my journey with rehab and am loving this site as a source of information and demonstrations!
I am wondering about exercises to target specific muscles and whether in practice, with animals, this is a realistic approach or whether it is more likely you will be targetting a whole group of muscles with one exercise in the hope that it will also strengthen your target muscle. For example, I work with a vet who has a 10 month old Doberman who's had a pretty rough time in her younger months after sustaining an injury to her carpus when she was a few weeks old resulting in disruption to the growth plates and severe bending of the forelimb. She's spent most of her time in an external fixation device after intense surgery and has never really developed any muscle mass over her shoulder and has practically no triceps mass at all. So i started thinking about exercises to specifically target the triceps. If it was a human, you could isolate this muscle with tricep pull/push downs, skull crushers, dips etc. But with dogs, how does one find an exercise that targets the triceps? I've consulted lots of textbooks and training videos but a lot of them seem to assume or require that the dog is extremely well trained and/or familiar with agility type exercises and will balance on three legs, give you paw for multiple reps, perform "push-ups", etc. But in the case of my colleague's puppy, she's never had the chance to be trained in any of these exercises so would probably just about manage a sit-to-stand but this would be primarily focused on hind end engagement so wouldn't be much help? Is it more realistic to look at exercises that will just help the forelimbs in some way such as cavaletti poles, inclines/declines etc or is there something better that can be more muscle/function specific. How do you isolate elbow extension/shoulder flexion into an exercise program for a dog with such little training?
Glad to have you on board! You are very correct in what you've witnessed, it's pretty darn tough to isolate one muscle / muscle group in a dog. It's likely better to think Front leg exercise / Rear leg exercise. Then you could divide that into flexor groups / extensor groups. Or maybe anti-gravity muscles versus mover or controller muscles. You could further categorize your exercises into eccentric, concentric, and isometric (static balancing holds).
So to your question at hand, firstly, you're looking for triceps. It's antigravity in a dog (good news!).
And you're also right in that many of the high end sport folks, have spent time reinforcing behaviours in their dogs and their dogs are also keen to learn new behaviours, skills, tricks etc. So, with your Pet dog, I sort of look at is like doing Paediatric Physiotherapy. Which is to say, trick them into exercising what you want.
Back to Triceps: I like push ups, but I'd manually put the rear feet up on a stool, or the bottom step and have them hold in that position by putting my arm infront of their rear legs. Then with my other hand, I lure them to take a treat by the ground. (Push up!). The owner can do this by walking them down the stairs, but stopping the dog before the bottom to do the exercise, OR just lift the rear end up so the back feet are on the stairs. (I don't do sports stuff with my dogs either... so I assume most dogs are no smarter than my owner... and I'm pleasantly surprised and happy is a dog already knows tricks and commands!)
Now also think about what the owner is capable of as well. Perhaps just hill walking is suffice, especially walking down hill. Straight down or on an angled. At an angle, I'd put the affected leg on the down side, to encourage increased weight bearing.
What about placing the affected leg on a stool and then encourage the pup to push up with that leg in order to get a treat that you are holding above it's head. The other foot will come up too, but you are asking for the weaker one to do the work first.
Then luring through a weave pole course will work. Cavallettis will work . Tug of war will work.
Digging might work.
I hope this helps! It really is just a change in expectation and way of thinking about things! You'll get there! Just have some fun with it all!
Thanks Laurie! Some really helpful advice and tips as always I like the idea of using steps to raise the back end and lure down into a push up. I'll be sure to give them a try!
I like the idea of using steps to raise the back end and lure down into a push up. I'll be sure to give them a try!