17/07/2025
I couldn’t say it better than Roz does.
Have a read of her fabulous post 🌟🌾🐕
PAIN IN DOGS: Tweaks, strains and conformation issues.
What to look out for and how to reduce risk of injury.
After a REALLY long battle with sore muscles- Mohawk appears to finally be getting back on track! Here he is pictured conked out on the floor after his physio therapy session.
It all started about 3 months ago when him and Amigo collided side on while hurtling back to me when I recalled them! Mohawk was intermittently holding his hind leg up and we found (during physio exam) that his hips had been knocked out of line.
This started to improve until about a month ago. Jumping to catch a badly thrown treat went wrong- he twisted mid air and stumbled on uneven ground when landing.
A few days after I found the muscles on his underside literally spasming in response to the lightest touch. More recently this transferred from his core to his lats (sides).
We’ve been working hard on stretching and strengthening, significantly reducing explosive movement and he’s had about 6 physio /red light therapy sessions in two months!
I noticed the past two days that his coat was more smooth and his gait and posture was also much better!
Anna (his physio) confirmed my thoughts and, providing we continue with all of his rehab, get his core strong and remind him to think about his back legs more, he can start to have a bit more fun with toys again (explosive movement).
I don’t think enough people realise how easy it is for dogs to get injured and how minor tweaks and strains can easily escalate!
Too many dogs have conformation issues and many excessively load weight into their front limbs, resulting in a weakening of their core and hind legs.
We should be mindful of the following things that can increase risk muscle injuries in dogs;
❌ Excessive rough play or intense chase games with other dogs.
❌ Jumping up to catch treats and toys.
❌ Explosive movement, such as games with toys, chasing behaviour on walks, rushing into the garden, launching straight from the car into a sprint (same with being released off lead).
❌ Basically anything that looks like great fun!
The more your dog likes to live life in the fast lane, the more at risk they are!
❌ Pulling intensely on the lead!
The lowest risk of injury will come from wearing a well fitted harness BUT pulling in a harness is still unhealthy for your dog as it causes excessive loading into their front.
Pulling intensely on a collar or head halti undoubtedly poses a risk to the neck, but also tends to cause heavy loading into one shoulder (as the neck and head tends to be pulled to the side)
Non/anti pull harnesses shorten the extension of the shoulder which can cause tightness in the ‘trunk’ (middle/spine). I personally find the same often happens with dogs walked on a front clip harness too.
It’s not about NOT doing fun stuff. My dogs love to run and we love training with toys too!
But we need to help our dogs have a body strong enough to cope with these things, just as we are less likely to get injured doing sports if we look after ourselves beyond doing that sport.
What you can do to help your dog:
✔️ Check out canine strengthening and stretching exercises online, but I personally think a physio assessment is sensible before doing so.
I recommend ACPAT physio therapists, but there are other gait analysis and physical therapy services available - including Galen Myotherapists, Dynamic Dog Practitioners etc Just ensure they have adequate qualifications. Avoid letting anyone assess or 'treat' your dog who isn't suitably qualified.
✔️ Teach your dog to WALK on a loose lead. Walking is a really good gait for body conditioning.
✔️ Make sure your dog warms up and cools down before and after higher intensity activities. It’s not healthy to go from zero to breaking the sound barrier in a couple of seconds.
✔️ Regulate high intensity exercise, ensuring your dog is also able to mooch and sniff rather than constantly hoon around!
✔️ If you and your dog are physically able, do as much hill walking and walking on undulating terrain as possible. Walking in longer grass also has benefits.
Again, make sure you seek guidance from a suitably qualified professional if you have any concerns about your dog’s physical ability.
Despite doing the above, Mohawk STILL got injured. It happens so easily.
🪮 What I’ll also add is to make sure that your dog doesn’t have any matting in their coats!
The past week I found that Mohawk had some matting in hard to groom places. It’s entirely possible me cutting this away has helped- as dogs can adjust their movement to avoid the matting pulling on their skin!
Here’s some signs to look out for that MAY suggest your dog is experiencing pain;
✔️ Observe your dog’s coat daily for coat pattern and texture changes. These are often indicators of muscular skeletal issues and strains.
Rough hair around the neck and shoulders, a random patch of tufty hair on the hips, a darker patch of fur on the shoulder, a weird spikey tuft on their back..... Yup! They’re all potential indicators of muscle soreness that we are commonly pointing out to our clients. In many instances, these cases go on to have a diagnosis, such as hip dysplasia or spondylosis.
✔️ Observe your dog for sensitivity to touch on certain parts of their body. Moving their body away, whipping their head around, muscles spasming or flinching, reluctance to be towell dried or groomed, jumping up at you or growling, tensing up, snapping are all signs of something that you’re touching possibly hurting!
✔️ An isolated part of your dog being warm/hot to touch. For example, Mohawk's lats last week were clearly hotter to touch than any other part of his body.
✔️ Hesitancy jumping on or off the sofa or in and out the car.
✔️ Listen out for them making a ‘landing noise’ when they jump off something! Like an ‘oof’ or grunt.
✔️ Groaning as they lie down can be a sign of pain, rather than just being super tired.
✔️ Reluctance or refusal to walk.
✔️ Suddenly mouthing/jumping up at you on walks - potentially after a certain duration or activity.
✔️ Restless, struggling to settle down or frequently changing positions when resting can also be associated with pain (tricky to identify if you always crate your dog when they sleep!).
✔️ Gait abnormalities are so commonly overlooked, not only by dogs, but dog professionals. They are also often difficult for vets to identify within the consultation room. If you think your dog has an unusual or 'weird' gait, get them checked out (you can get gait analysis)
Note- if your dog struggles to be examined by a vet, it can make it very difficult for them to rule out pain. Taking videos of them moving can help with their assessment, but working on calm behaviour in clinic is crucial in ensuring our dogs get effective health checks.
Final note: pain is so commonly an initiating or contributing factor for behaviour problems, such as aggressive behaviour. It’s important that we do everything we can beyond treating acute injuries and overt health problems to ensure our dogs are as comfortable as possible!
