As my pups shifted from senior to ancient (I like the term Super Senior!), I began seeking ways to help them feel better physically and mentally. With arthritis gaining a hold and reduced mobility slowing them down, I started taking them in for acupuncture and laser therapy every other week. While these treatments are quite expensive, they have made a significant impact on our dogs’ ability to move more freely. They have been especially helpful for Chops who is limited in the medications she can take for arthritis and pain. Over the years, our holistic vets have taught me a number of ways we can help our dogs from the comfort of home. With any new movement or pressure, I’d recommend talking with your vet in advance to make sure you’re properly supporting your dog.
Stretching & Movement
I like to take Chops for a walk before working on any of her stretches so that her muscles are warm. When we come in from our walk, I clean her feet and then do the Bicycle movement listed below, followed by the Hip Stretch. Then I switch sides. I often incorporate massage of the back and hindlegs during the Bicycle/Hip Stretch portion. See below for details on massage. For our finale, we do about three rounds of Back Stretches.
Back Stretches – As Chops has aged, her back tends to hunch, especially when she first gets out of bed. We’ve been working to stretch her back, which provides pain relief (from arthritis and general stiffness) and helps restore (as much as possible) the natural curvature of her spine. If you want to try this at home, you’ll need some sort of non-slip platform. Start low and work your way up to a higher platform. You can purchase a platform – many even come with attachments to modify the height – or you can use something you already have at home. Make sure the floor area where you’re working is non-slip. Use a treat to lure your dog to place their front paws on the platform. Their back should be as straight as possible with their head in line with their spine. You might need to raise the height of the treat to keep their head from looking downward. Keep them in this position (offer more treats if needed) for several seconds, working your way up to 10 seconds or more. After rewarding them with their treat, allow them to step off, then try again. This exercise also helps with balance and hindleg muscle strengthening.
Bicycle – While your pup is standing or lying down, you can help the joints in their legs and hips by bicycling their legs. Chops will only let me do this exercise if she’s standing, so if your pup is the same, make sure you stand with your legs on either side of them to provide stability. With your left hand, grab your pup’s left foot and with your right hand, reach under their belly and grab onto their left shin (between the foot and knee). Slowly and gently raise the leg, bending the knee, up towards the body. Then move the leg, while still supporting the knee and foot, in a bicycling motion. After a few rotations, gently place the foot back on the ground and repeat with the right side.
Hip Stretch – Of the stretches mentioned here, this is the one I feel most strongly about getting guidance from your veterinarian or canine physical therapist. You want to help, not hurt, your pup, so make sure you know how to properly support your dog while doing these stretches! With that said, I do believe that this stretch is incredibly helpful for senior dogs, as hip stiffness and pain is a common symptom of arthritis. While your dog is standing, place your right forearm underneath their hip area to provide support. Then, place your left hand above their left knee (be careful to be above and not right on their knee). Very gradually, begin to shift their left leg behind them. Go only as far as seems comfortable (err on the side of caution), and hold the position for several seconds. Then slowly return the leg to a neutral position, while maintaining proper support. Swap sides, now using your left forearm for support and your right hand above the right knee for guidance.
Massage & Acupressure
As noted above, I recommend speaking with your vet and/or canine physical therapist before beginning any type of at-home massage or acupressure. They can help guide you on what will be effective for your pup and steer you from causing harm. In general, light massage should feel good to your dog and can be performed at home.
I provide daily back and hindleg massage for my pup. I typically do both when we return from a walk (as part of our strength and movement activities as listed above). Though some massage can be performed while the dog is lying down, Chops prefers to stand, as did Shiloh.
While standing with my legs on either side of Chops, I use my left hand to gently rub her left leg, while my right forearm settles under her hips to provide support. I lightly rub in a circular motion using my thumb, starting at her upper thigh and moving to her lower thigh. I then progress to rubbing down her leg until I reach her feet. I pick up her foot and lightly push her toes downward for a bit of a stretch. Then I move into the Bicycle exercise above, followed by the Hip Stretch.
After massaging both legs (and doing the Bicycle/Hip Stretch exercises), I gently rub her back. I start just above her hip bones, placing my thumbs gently on either side of her spine and lightly pushing away from the spine. At no time during the massage do I rub over her spine.
If you’d like to learn more about massage that you can do at home, PetMD actually has a good article for four massage techniques, including the two I just described.
Acupressure
Acupressure is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) modality that helps release/move Qi (pronounced and sometimes spelled Chi), the energy within and around the body, when it has become blocked or stagnant. In TCM, Qi flows through the body via pathways called meridians. There are twelve major meridians and each is associated with an organ system. I’m only just beginning to learn about acupressure, but I can tell you that with knowledge and practice, it is something you can perform on your dog at home. My vet recommends the book The Well-connected Dog: A Guide to Canine Acupressure by Amy Snow and Nancy Zidonis.
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