Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Second Edition. Edited by Chris Zink and Janet B. Van Dyke.
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Summary
The last decade has shown increasing veterinary medical awareness of the identifica-
tion and treatment of orthopedic and particularly soft tissue injuries, especially in the
canine athlete. However, most veterinary clinical exposure has been limited to canine
athletes participating in competitive endeavors. Increasing global security demands,
more awareness and reliance on the incredible abilities of the canine nose, and greater
openness towards the role that canine companions play in supporting human physical
and mental health is creating ever-growing and diverse noncompetition uses and jobs
for dogs.
The use of the term “working dog” can have a variety of meanings, from a specific
conformation show category of breeds to dogs trained specifically to assist humans
with a variety of tasks. These tasks involve all kinds of aspects from the more traditional
protection (military and non-military) and explosives/drug detection to less traditional
uses such as health-care support and detection of pests, archeological artifacts, and
human diseases. In this chapter, we use the term “working dog” as it relates to dogs
that are chosen and trained to work with humans to accomplish very specific tasks.
Activities where overlap between competitive sports and noncompetitive jobs (such as
mushing, herding, or protection sports) will be touched on briefly; for more in-depth
information on the competitive aspect of the canine athlete, the reader is referred to
resources listed in Chapter 1.
There is often overlap in the breeds used, training techniques, and physical demands
between competitive performance and working dogs. However, there are many unique
aspects to the maintenance of health and performance often not recognized by veteri-
nary caregivers (primary medical, surgical, rehabilitation alike), handlers, or trainers.
This chapter discusses the unique aspects of working dogs from the perspective of
sports medicine injury and rehabilitation.Conditions and Rehabilitation
of the Working Dog
Kimberly E. Henneman, DVM, DACVSMR, DABT, FAAVA, CVA, CVC,
and Chris Zink, DVM, PhD, DACVP, DACVSMR, CCRT, CVSMT, CVA