Chrissy 0:01
Welcome to The Dogs of our lives podcast with me, your host, Chrissy Messick, in these short digging deeper episodes, we'll dive deeper into interesting topics that arise from my guest interviews, those areas of dog training, behavior, consulting and interspecies communication that provoke more questions that I'd love to answer for you as an expert in the field. And speaking of questions, how well do you really know your dog? Why not try out my quiz, which is linked in the show notes, the questions and the answer might surprise you. Now, let's dig in.
Chrissy 0:35
In last week's episode, I talked with Dr Robert Falconer Taylor, who's been in the veterinary field for over 30 years, he's been a huge advocate for the well being of all animals in so many different ways. If you haven't listened to that episode yet, the link is in the show notes, and it's episode number 18. We talked about pain and behavior in our animal companions, which covered a lot of topics, but I wanted to take a deeper dive into how to be aware of pain or silent pain in your dog, and what we can do about it. I'll especially be comparing how it relates to my career in sports medicine. My unique perspective on this comes from two worlds, 15 years in high level sports medicine, and my current work as a dog trainer and behavior consultant while treating collegiate athletes at the University of Washington, I worked with volleyball, rowing, tennis, softball and a smattering of football players, and while treating athletes at the Olympic level, I worked with us rowing, US Soccer and US basketball. During this time, I had a front row seat to see how pain affected the athletes I worked with. On a physical, mental and emotional level, I was able to see how chronic pain or discomfort showed up in their daily lives, and their effectiveness on the field, court or in the boat. I knew they were in pain or discomfort, but anyone else watching would know the difference, or the athletes would be off and be criticized for it, without the spectator understanding or knowing why. Here's what fascinates me. I see the exact same patterns with dogs, but with one crucial difference, they can't tell us in words when something hurts. Instead, they communicate through behavior, through certain noises, through changes in mood, changes in movement and body language, and these signs often get misinterpreted as training issues or bad behavior with the athletes that I worked with, the ways that we stayed on top of this was through prevention, checking in with them on a daily basis, watching, paying attention to their body language, behavior, mood in general, and when they're practicing, competing, communicating with them and the team doctor, diagnostic testing, pain management, rehabilitation and then a gradual back to compete protocol. So my question to you is, is your dog showing unwanted or frustrating behaviors such as fear, stress, anxiety reactivity, resource guarding, sensitivity to body handling, high arousal levels or aggression. Are these behaviors, long standing, even starting as a puppy, a gradual progression or a sudden change? Could pain be a hidden factor? Today, I'll share how to recognize these subtle signals and what to do about them. Get ready for some eye opening insights that might completely change how you view your dog's behavior. So the first and one of the most important things we can do is prevention. I can't stress how important this is. This can save you and your dog a lot of grief, pain and expenses down the road. If you are proactive, this is your foundation and the best way to set both of you up for success. I did this with the athletes I worked with as well. I created a lot of preventative exercises to make sure their small muscles were strong for stabilization. We looked at services they played on to make sure they were good for their joints. I talked with a coach to make sure they got lots of rest. We worked with the nutritionist to make sure that they were fueling their bodies correctly, and they got a lot of body work done to make sure they were taking care of their bodies. We can do the same for our dogs. So as puppies, we want to look at their physical activity. We want to make sure that they don't overdo it. So doing a combination of physical and mental stimulation for energy levels is perfect. So there's a three to five minute rule for puppy exercise, and generally, three to five minutes of structured exercise per month of age twice a day. So if your dog is two months old, it would be 10 minutes of physical exercise two times a day. I know this doesn't sound like a lot, but puppies need lots of rest to help their bodies recover. If you're struggling with energy levels, you can give them lots of mental stimulation, such as brain games or training. Another thing we can do is have elevated food and water bowls, making it comfortable enough for them that it's not putting excess strain on their joints, such as their neck, shoulders, spine or hips, having non slip surfaces on your wood floors or.
Chrissy 4:59
Slippery floors is priceless. Meaning. Have area rugs so your dog isn't slipping and sliding around their whole lives. This can greatly impact their joints, and if you have a working or sports dog getting enough rest, having body work, proprioception and strengthening, just like our athletes do, and joint supplements early on can be preventative and not just therapeutic. The second thing we can do is have awareness of our dog and check in with them daily. Pay attention to your dog without any judgment, but with curiosity. Instead, pay attention to their overall mood and what their individual wants and needs are. Here are some things that we can do so a morning mobility assessment or a resting assessment. Watch how they get up from sleeping or resting. Is it slow? Are they groaning or making any noises? Note any changes in routine behaviors, such as going up and down the stairs. Are they slower? Or is there hesitation before jumping up on the couch or in bed or in a car? Or are they not doing it anymore? Track energy levels and recovery time after activity and monitor changes in sleep patterns or preferred resting positions. Are they laying more on their right side or their left side? Squirrel moment, I hope you're enjoying the dogs of our lives podcast as much as I'm enjoying making it I've got a small favor to ask, and that's to leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. I'll read them out in my next show, so stay tuned and get a shout out on the dogs of our lives podcast. The third thing you can do is educate yourself. You are living with another species. They aren't robots and don't automatically know what to do. You have to teach them so they can thrive with us. They communicate differently, so learning body language is very important, and knowing what that body language looks like and what certain behaviors mean when in different contexts, don't just assume that they are doing something because we put a label on them. Many times, pain behaviors are often mistaken for dogs being stubborn or being dominant. An example of this would be with clients that I have when their dog's not sitting, or they're only sitting in certain situations. A lot of times, we'll find out that these dogs are in pain. Other examples might be reluctance to follow known cues, or changes in greeting behaviors, or being sensitive to body handling, or an increase in spatial pressure, meaning they need more personal space, and I've seen this with clients, where their dogs will growl at them when they come near a certain area of their body. The fourth thing you can do is have observation skills with bodywork. This means putting your hands on your dog every day to check for stiffness or any abnormalities. It also means watching their gait and posture. Keep track of these. If you notice anything out of the ordinary document, it in your journal and videos or pictures, so things that you can check regularly, temperature differences across symmetrical body parts, any muscle tone changes, responses to gentle pressure along their spine or other body parts, changes in their range of motion with major joints. So consider taking baseline photos and videos when your dog is feeling well, so that when they're looking a little off, you can take video and compare them. Now we've gotten to the point where you need to trust your gut. Now that you're armed with a solid foundation of who your dog is, have a solid understanding of your dog's moods and behaviors in different contexts you've documented through bodywork and observing their gait and posture. Now if you feel something's off with your dog, trust your gut and take this information to your veterinarian. The next big step you can take is communication with your veterinarian. Armed with this knowledge and documented information, be an advocate for your dog and communicate this with your veterinarian, it will be super helpful for them to move forward with next steps, whether it be diagnostic testing, pain management or a referral to a specialist. Don't feel afraid to advocate for your dog and get a second opinion if needed. I've had many of my clients veterinarians say there's nothing wrong with your dog, and yet, when I've dug deeper, we have found hidden, silent pain or discomfort. Here's some things that you can do to help your veterinarian keep a pain diary and note some specific things, time of day, patterns, weather, correlation, activity triggers. Do those behaviors occur in certain circumstances, changes in appetite or water intake. Is there an impact on the dog's social interactions, or have video of certain behaviors in different contexts? So at this point, once an issue has been found, you and your dog are hopefully on your way back to feeling better, getting back to life, living harmoniously together. This can be done through physical rehabilitation, nutritional support, body work, endocrine support, neurological support, immune support, or many other ways. And once a treatment plan is in place, a gradual progression of within normal ranges or comfort level is on track, and you'll notice a change in.
Chrissy 9:59
Behavior or mood will gradually improve by itself. This is getting to the root of the problem, instead of it being a training issue or behavior problem. Ways to have a seamless recovery is to make sure there's plenty of mental enrichment during times of recovery. Make sure that you're adapting the environment to support the healing process, make sure that you and your dog aren't overdoing it during recovery, and then build back gradually. Quality over quantity is super important. So I know we covered a ton of information in a short period of time, but I just wanted to give you guys a taste of what pain may look like in your dog and give you some tools to be able to see that. I hope this was helpful in seeing your dog in a different light. And please reach out if you have any questions. Thank you for joining us today. I hope you discovered a valuable nugget you can implement right away with your dog. If you enjoyed the episode, please follow, rate and share with fellow dog lovers who might benefit. Don't forget to take our How well do you know your dog quiz? You'll find the link in the show notes until next week. Happy tails.
