Why Your Dog Might Need Treatment

Luisa Greig

Canine Myotherapist

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McTimoney Animal Therapist

•

Red light therapy

•

Reiki

Canine Myotherapist
McTimoney Therapist
Red light therapy
Reiki

Multimodal musculoskeletal therapist providing specialist, highly effective, holistic treatment for your dog, a knowledgable, supportive and kind approach, and expert advice. Chronic pain, postural, movement and mobility issues, lameness, performance issues, preventative and maintenance treatment.

Why Your Dog Might Need Treatment

This list is by no means exhaustive, but covers some common signs of chronic pain and presentations that may benefit from treatment. Note that effective and accurate interpretation relies on context, and building up a picture, drawing on various sources of information including case history, gait and postural analysis, and client and therapist observations.

Your dog may have always displayed / not displayed certain behaviours, movement or postural patterns. Dogs are able to adjust their gait and posture to cope with, accommodate and disguise chronic pain for years. Because a sign or set of signs is their ‘normal’ doesn’t mean they’re not experiencing constant, chronic pain.

Chronic pain and postural issues

Reluctance to exercise, or becoming more tired on a walk
Stiffness when rising, or groaning when getting up and down
Difficultly getting on and off furniture or bed
Difficulty going up and down stairs / into and out of car / up and down

Change in body shape, coat disturbance

Sudden slowing down or looking old over a relatively short period
Incessant licking or chewing of paws or other body part
Difficultly chewing or yawning
Habitually pushing head and neck and / or hips into humans’ lap to be rubbed
Inability to squat when defacating and / or walking along whilst doing so
Restlessness at night, or difficultly getting comfortable

Behavioural changes

Touch averse, avoiding human or canine contact
Reluctance to play
More anxious, clingy, grumpy, or subdued and quiet

Movement changes

Lameness, not tracking up, not moving on two tracks.
Asymmetric or irregular gait.
Reluctance to exercise, slowing down or stopping on walks.
Exercise intolerance / early fatigue

Maintenance and preventative treatment

Routine check up treatments
Puppy / adolescent dog checks
Working and sporting dogs
Performance issues
Difficulty taking turns to one or both sides
Unexplained drop in performance, speed or ability to negotiate obstacles

Rehabilitation

Post surgery
Post neurological, spinal, or orthopaedic injury or surgery
Scar tissue and fascial release work post surgery

What to expect during your dog's treatment

Once your appointment date and time has been arranged, you will be sent a confirmation email with your appointment details, payment details to secure your booking, and asked for specific information including pictures and videos. This enables Luisa to gain a detailed understanding of your dog’s posture, movement and comfort levels ahead of your appointment itself, and means that the session can focus purely on your dog.

Luisa will also contact your vet for their clinical notes and consent to treat (this is a legal requirement of therapists, although a referral or recommendation per se is not required).

During the session itself, your dog will be treated with utmost respect, empathy and kindness using a choice led approach, and at floor level. Luisa understands that dogs may be nervous, unsure, in pain or have received less than empathetic handling or come from a background of abuse previously. She believes passionately in helping dogs feel safe and building a connection based on trust, understanding and consent by reading and responding to dogs’ body language appropriately.

At the end of the session, you will be advised on aftercare, common reactions, exercise and lifestyle advice. You will also be taught how to recognise and manage the signs of discomfort specific to your dog, and how to manage them best between their treatments. Luisa’s findings and her suggested treatment plan going forwards will be discussed with you.