Since animals can't talk and tell us with words when something is bad, we have to resort to other means to figure it out. Observing and following your dog's movements is perhaps the easiest way to stay informed about its well-being and the need for care. You know your pet best and spend more time with it than anyone else, so it's good to consciously pay attention to its daily activities. What does the movement look like while on walks? What about inside? Has something changed? Some things are easier to notice than others and the eye may need training to notice smaller changes. At times, one may become blind to their own dog's movement, so to speak, and abnormal movements that have been going on for a long time begin to feel normal or a habit that belongs to that dog. That's why it's good to ask someone else's opinion from time to time, even if you haven't noticed anything special yourself.
Filming videos help. Videos are also easy to slow down and you can come back to them later. In this video, the front and back paws walk in slightly different lines.
So what should you look for? Some things to pay attention to are, for example, directness of movements, smoothness of different types of steps, stretching and willingness to do so, jumps and equal use of the body. While thinking about these, you can ask yourself the following questions:
Does your dog run with its front and rear ends in a different line?
Does your dog seem to avoid a certain gaits, i.e. for example, does it prefer to trot instead of changing to a gallop, even at high speed?
Does your dog stretch every day in multiple ways on both sides?
Does your dog, for example, jump into the bed, sofa or car without thinking about it?
Does your dog always or often, for example, sit on one leg or only lie on one side?
(It is good to keep observation of the movement in mind also with cats)
If you notice something in your pet's movement that arouses your concern or otherwise makes you think, please contact me. Let's see together what can be done about it!
Comments