254 Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
progressing more slowly than expected, or
because other injuries surface that were masked
by the more urgent injury. Depending on the
injury, it takes weeks to months of retraining
(three to four training sessions a week) to go
from pet‐level fitness to working dog fitness,
although this is highly variable depending on
the dog’s injury, pre‐injury fitness level, its age,
size, the compliance and training experience of
the client, and other factors.
It is essential that a canine sports medicine/
rehabilitation professional who is developing a
sports retraining program be knowledgeable
about:
● Exercise physiology and nutrition for the
canine athlete.
● Developmental conditions that affect a
dog’s performance, such as hip or elbow
dysplasia, osteochondrosis, etc.
● Injuries that can occur in the canine athlete,
such as CCL insufficiency, iliopsoas strain,
medial shoulder instability, etc.
● Various surgical techniques that are used
for repair of orthopedic injuries, such as the
comparative risks and benefits of tibial
plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), tibial
tuberosity advancement (TTA), and extraca
psular techniques for repair of CCL
insufficiency.
● Principles of canine rehabilitation for devel
opmental conditions, injuries, and surgical
repair in the canine athlete.
● Drugs that can affect a dog’s performance.
● The sports in which dogs compete. It is par
ticularly important that the sports medi
cine/rehabilitation professional who is
developing a retraining program be actively
observing or competing in canine sports.
They also should be familiar with current
training techniques since those can impact a
dog’s return to competition or the potential
for later re‐injury. In addition, the profes
sional should be very familiar with the mus
cles that are used for different aspects of the
various canine sports.
The length of the sports retraining period
depends on many factors, including:
● The dog’s age. Older dogs often take a little
longer to regain their competition condition.
● The dog’s level of fitness when first entering
rehabilitation. Canine athletes have an edge
over the average pet dog because they usu
ally are in better muscular condition when
injured. This is a significant advantage in
rehabilitation, one that generally shortens
the sports retraining period.
● The nature of the injury/surgery/illness.
For example, a dog that has just been diag
nosed with Addison’s disease might see a
canine sports medicine/rehabilitation pro
fessional to get a plan for training and com
peting in agility that will help minimize
stress while maximizing muscle strength
and overall fitness. This dog will likely be
able to compete within weeks of diagnosis.
In contrast, a dog that has had surgery for
medial shoulder instability will require very
specific, progressive exercises to gradually
increase weight bearing and loading of the
shoulder joint in the context of the specific
sport(s) in which the dog competes to pro
tect the shoulder from re‐injury. The sports
retraining period for this dog might be 2–3
months or longer depending on the dog’s
progress.When designing a sports retraining regimen,
it is important to consider the following
factors:● The age of the dog.
● Whether it is spayed/neutered and, if so, at
what age.
● The sports in which the dog competes and
the particular levels (e.g., what titles does
the dog have?) or the specific tasks that a
working dog must undertake.
● The client’s goals in each sport.
● The dog’s structure, including angulation of
the thoracic and pelvic limbs, length of
body relative to height at the withers,
amount of bone, and so on.
● The dog’s current level of fitness (muscle
size and tone).
● The kinds of strength and endurance exer
cises the client worked on with the dog
when it was healthy.
● Previous injuries or illnesses the dog has
experienced, including stresses on other
parts of the body due to compensation for
the current condition.
● The food, supplements, and medications
that the dog is receiving.