Laurie's Blogs.

Hi there Laurie!

Wow, you have such great stuff on your members' site! 

I saw an almost-2-year old Poodle today, intact male. Mom is a trainer. He has done basic obedience, some dock diving, etc, but really seems to like agility. Mom would start with a trainer who conditions and teaches over about a year, so nothing crazy. He seems quite good, just intermittent thoraco-lumbar junction kyphosis and some cranial lumbar tightness (I'm still not a very good motion-palpater). No pain. His core is weak. Legs seem fine. 

He paces- more, of course, as a faster "walking speed", can get him to walk if very very slow, but he really prefers to pace. Mom says he has done this since a puppy. 

How important is this? I know it's cheating- Is he compensating for long legs, or for a low grade back issue? Or, is the thoraco-lumber peak coming as a result and we need to correct it ASAP? 

So....I have never been successful (nor have I tried hard, truth be told) in breaking a pace and training a walk instead. Can you give tips? Mom does have cavaletti rails at home, he trots through beautifully, but of course fails and is so awkward walking through. She can play with distances and work on walking, if this will help. She is also going to start on foot placements and proprioception, and core basics. 

Thank you!!!! Happy Summer!!

J

-- -- ---- -- --

Hey J,

So as for your dog... it's interesting.  I do think that some dogs just pace as a chosen gait.  And of course we have to take into account that a fast walk turns into an amble, which can look like a pace.  If it is a chosen gait... then I'm not sure you can get rid of it.  In my head, it's sort of like how people have distinctive walks that they can't really change unless they are really conscious about doing so on a consistent basis.

 Alternately, I find that dogs with back pain / stiff backs will also often pace.  So, perhaps treating the back and the core stability will help.  Check the SIJ's as well.

Try tying the theraband around the abdomen before training or going for a walk.

But this might not be anything you need to worry about without this dog.

So bottom line - I try to fix what I find to be" out of whack" (back pain, SIJ pain, & core stability) and "see" if it makes a difference.

If the issue is for 'show dogs' pacing, then it's usually a matter of finding the speed at which the dog trots.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,

Laurie

Addendum

I wrote a nice blog on this issue 3 years ago.  I'm going to include it again here… because I think it fits:

Blog – Kyphosis in the growing dog

Over my canine rehab career, I have seen a number of young dogs that presented for treatment due to a kyphotic (roached) posture.  The dogs were primarily show dogs, and the owners had noted a change in their topline between the time that they were under a year of age, up to the age of three.  

What was interesting in each case was that at the apex of the kyphosis, there was no reactivity of the adjacent epaxial muscles.  As well, while the kyphotic region was stiff with dorsoventral pressures, there were no hypomobilities detectable with lateral pressures, and no pain with either of these tests.  Occasionally, I could get an auto-manipulation with the dorsoventral pressures, but it didn’t seem to make a significant improvement with the kyphotic posture.  While there was stiffness with manual testing, there was also a rubbery end feel… It felt like the vertebra was bouncing back at me with each pressure.  The ‘feel’ simply didn’t make sense!  I have come to note throughout my career (with both people and dogs) that when I detected a ‘rubbery’ sensation to manual testing of one particular portion of the spine, that the root of the problem is actually distal to that site.

In all of the young dog kyphosis cases, I was able to find a sacroiliac joint, or lumbar spine dysfunction… that, when corrected, improved the topline (but not fully).  So, treatment involved manual therapy (mobilizations) to the sacroiliac joint or lumbar spine, and the kyphotic region (the thoraco-lumbar or mid to caudal thoracic spine).  However, my thoughts have always been that part of the issue is that the dog ‘grew’ into the kyphotic posture.  There was back or pelvis pain, that led to the posture, and the dog maintained that posture through a growth spurt, which led to tight and shorted ventral spinal muscles and ligaments, and elongated dorsal muscles and ligaments.  Therefore in order to successfully eradicate this condition, the soft tissues need to be progressively stretched, which cannot be done quickly.  It requires postural retraining and a series of manual therapy appointments.

My favourite postural retraining exercise involves standing the dog on two cinderblocks – slowly increasing the distance between the front feet and back feet, and holding this position for several minutes per session.  Owners need to be doing this at home.  They might also incorporate other exercises that facilitate extension of the spine: up hill walking, crawling under an object, prolonged standing with front feet up on a stair step or a stool.  The manual therapy will involve sustained holds of dorsoventral pressures – again with the goal to stretch out the ventral soft tissues.  It is doubtful that modalities, massage, or underwater treadmill would be useful in these cases.

From what I have seen with these cases, it has provoked me to suggest to the breeders and owners of show dogs to bring their dogs in for routine check ups to look for and treat minor axial skeleton issues.

Until next time!  Happy rehabbing!

Cheers,

Laurie

Laurie@FourLeg.com