Rehabilitation can help every one of our pets!
Really? Yes!
Animal rehabilitation is one of the fastest growing aspects of veterinary medicine.
When I was in veterinary school (only 16 years ago) I did not have a single course in rehabilitation, whereas today veterinary schools recognize the importance of rehabilitation, and over half of the veterinary teaching hospitals across the country are now offering courses and instruction in veterinary rehabilitation.
Clearly, the veterinary field feels this is an important component to improving the overall health of our animals and I do too! Just like humans, dogs vary greatly in their activity – some of us sit at a computer all day and rarely get any exercise (our dogs and cats get a little more rest than we do when they just sit around…but that is exactly what it is – sitting around with very little activity)!
Exercise is Important
Many of us try to get exercise and activity in as often as possible. We go from sitting there doing very little to 100 mph in a matter of seconds – this is very commonplace for most of our dogs. Then, we have the uber-athletic animals that live the life but are very hard on their joints in the meantime and often pay for it later in life…only later for our pets is maybe 10 years…much shorter than it is for humans.
So, exercise and our animals vary just like we do, but there are things we can do for each of our pets to keep them in better shape, decrease pain and improve quality-of-life.
Watch out for our Pet Overdoing Strenuous Activity
In general, just make sure not to increase activity too quickly. Just like when I try to go on a 5-mile hike after only walking about a mile a day – you are asking for trouble – soreness, strains and possible major injuries.
Dogs are just like us in SO many ways, but they LOVE to have fun and run and play but you have to be the parent and make sure they work up to their potential in a conservative manner to help avoid injuries, strains, and pain!
