Front Matter

252 Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation

from side to side and/or tugging, then dynamic
stretching using gradually more active move­
ments such as wave, bow, spin, and beg that
recapitulate the flexion and extension that the
dog will use in the activity. These may also
include practice jumps in the case of agility dogs.
Once the dog is fully warmed up, which can be
identified by seeing the dog lightly panting, the
dog can be put through some motions that
actively stretch the soft tissues of the vertebral
column, including the play bow (Figure 10.35) to
extend the spine and the hunch (Figure  10.36)
to flex the spine; and lateral spinal stretches
(Figure 10.37) to laterally flex the spine.
A good cool‐down consists of gradually
reduced exercise, such as some trotting fol­
lowed by walking, then a brief whole‐body
rubdown, and potentially performing passive
range of motion on joints that have been injured
in the past.
Often, working dogs such as police dogs are
not able to warm up before they engage in sud­
den activity. In this case, it is important to pro­
vide the dog with a cool‐down period and
watch carefully for signs of injury such as stiff­
ness during the cool‐down or when moving
again after a rest period.

Skill training

Skill training consists of the specific training that
is required to teach the dog to successfully com­
pete in performance events. Clients will know
more than the rehabilitation professional about
the specifics of training their dogs. However, it is
important to remind them that skill training

should not be the only form of fitness training

that their dogs receive. For dogs that are recov­

ering from an injury or surgery, it is important to

provide as detailed information as possible

regarding how the client should retrain the dog

for the specific requirements of the sporting

event in which it will participate. For this reason,

a detailed skills retraining program is essential.

Retraining the canine athlete

The primary goal of physical rehabilitation is to

heal and then to strengthen the affected muscles

while making sure to support the rest of the

body through the healing and strengthening

process to prevent re‐injury or subsequent sec­

ondary or compensatory injury. Physical rehabili­

tation should start with a complete diagnosis:

not only a veterinary diagnosis that addresses

Figure 10.35 The play bow extends the spine dorsoventrally.

Figure 10.36 The hunch flexes the spine dorsoventrally.