How to exercise a dog with hip dysplasia

How to exercise a dog
with hip dysplasia？

If your dog has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia, your veterinarian will probably outline some kind of an exercise and medication program that will really help keep your dog comfortable. The most important thing to remember is that these dogs need to keep moving, just because your dog might be a little bit sore or a little bit reluctant. Talk to your veterinarian on ways to help keep your dog comfortable.
It's definitely best to keep these dogs up and moving if your veterinarian has prescribed medication to help with the pain. It’s definitely best to give this medication about an hour or before you're going to exercise, that's so important. It's works so much better and it's so much more effective for your dog to have that medication in the system.

Exercise a dog with hip dysplasia

Before you exercise, the other thing to keep in mind about exercising dogs with hip dysplasia is to keep it slow and steady, much better to walk three blocks five days a week then to only once a week go out for three miles. Definitely use common sense if your dog seems more sore. The next day talk to your veterinarian about increasing their medication, maybe decreasing that distance that you're going and increasing the frequency. So we can keep these dogs moving and that's really the best for their joint health.
Since we all know very well how hip dysplasia affects our beloved dogs, it's time to discuss some of the best exercises for dogs with this painful condition. These exercises are not only easier for dogs with hip dysplasia to accomplish, but can result in added strength over time.

Go for a swim

In the long term, swimming is another good option if you have that as a availability in your area for your dog to go swimming. Swimming as a low-impact and high-resistance exercises is really well suited to dogs with joint conditions like dysplasia. This is because they help build up the larger buttock muscles, which help support the ball and socket hip joint. Likewise, low-impact exercise is easier on the elbow joints.
Water treadmills and using pet hydrotherapy pools with the help of a professional (Petplan, like most pet insurance policies, will provide a limited number of hydrotherapy sessions) are quite common nowadays. Swimming in ponds, rivers or lakes is also good. Just be careful that your pet does’t get injured climbing up wet slippery banks, especially if he's young and excitable.

Plain old walking

However, if swimming is not an option, just slow steady walks are really the best thing to do. The most important thing to remember about that is that if your dog never learned how to walk on a leash, now's the time for them to learn how because we don't want them lunging for the squirrels, or at passer buyers, or cars, or things like that and causing more impact on those joints. So now's the time to definitely have your dog just walk nice and quietly by your side several times and this is the best way to keep those joints in good condition.
For dogs with hip dysplasia, remember to avoid hard surfaces as much as possible, such as asphalt or concrete, and stick to dirt trails or grassy hills. If you can find uneven surfaces that are soft, that actually helps them develop more placement ability. They are able to get their feet and exercise different parts of their body and just keeping their balance, which strengthens their core as well.

Sit Stands

Another good exercise is 'sit stands'. As the disease progresses, dogs with hip dysplasia often lose back leg strength. To combat this, sit-stand exercises are a great way to help them maintain flexibility and strength in their back legs. The owner can do this by simply issuing the SIT command and then backing off a few inches when asking them to come and get the food.
So, you ask your dog to sit and then you move back a little bit and you say come here, and then when they come, you give them a little, tiny treat, and then you say sit again, then they sit, you back up a little bit, and you say come here, they come, you give them a little tiny treat. So they sit, then they stand, then they sit, then they stand. That motion, that closes the hip joint and opens the hip joint, closes the hip joint and opens the hip joint. And that motion keeps that joint lubricated and loose. By practicing for 5-10 minutes a day, your dog will combat muscle depletion in their hindquarters.

Stretching & range of motion exercises with heat therapy

Since dogs with hip dysplasia experience stiffness and limited mobility, it is important to help them maintain as much flexibility as possible. Regular massages and heat therapy are necessary. Stiffness can cause additional pain and muscle loss over time, so frequent and scientific stretching and heat therapy can help them maintain their strength. Some of the best ranges of motion include hip bends and shoulder extensions when your dog lies on his side.
Heat therapy can be used to relieve your dog's joint pain and promote healing, helping to reduce pain and increase blood flow. The use of heated therapy brace is a good way to increase the metabolism and stretching capacity of the local tissue, helping to prevent the dog from becoming trapped in a vicious cycle of joint pain and stiffness.

Heat therapy is easiest when your dog is lying down and relaxing. It is not uncommon for your dog to fall asleep during hyperthermia, which shows how soothing this treatment can be. For dogs with arthritis, you can use heated braces to help relieve painful joints: shoulders, elbows, and wrists on the front legs, and hips, knees, and ankles on the back legs.

However, it is important to note that dogs should not be treated with heat therapy for 72 hours after surgery or injury. Later, for dogs that are injured or recovering from surgery, the heating brace can be applied to any affected area of the body.

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