Front Matter

Chapter 10 Conditioning and Retraining the Canine Athlete 239

Figure 10.14 A dog working with its pelvic limbs on a perch. The dog should circle three times around the perch in
each direction. The perch can be gradually elevated to elbow height, for example by using a foot stool, an upside‐down
storage bin, or other objects.

Case Study 10.1 Obedience dog with performance decline

Signalment: 5 y.o. MN Golden Retriever that com-

petes in obedience (has Utility Dog title) and hunt

tests (working on Master Hunter title).

History: The patient is a very stable, consistent obe-

dience competitor. The client is in her 70s and has

arthritis, so she trains and competes in obedience

with the patient only indoors (usually on rubber mats

on concrete) so that she can ambulate more easily.

The patient has been slowing down on his approach

to the jumps in obedience, using the wrong thoracic

limb as lead when jumping and turning, and limping

for a few steps when getting up from a rest, but otherwise

seems healthy. The client noticed that the patient’s

feet have developed bumps (Figure  10.15). The

patient is fed high‐quality grain‐free dry dog foods

and receives no supplements.

Clinical examination: The patient was lame on the

left forelimb (grade 2 on a scale of 6) immediately

after resting and more so (grade 4/6) after the joints of

the left thoracic limb (including the toes) were held

in flexion for a full minute before trotting. Swellings

on the foot were firm and painful on hyperflexion or

hyperextension of the affected joints. There was pain

on palpation of the palmar sesamoid of the left 5th

(A) (B)

Figure 10.15 Patient’s front feet at 18 months of age (A) and at 5 years of age (B). Source: Photos by William Huffman.

(Continued)