The case of the Agility Dog who stopped jumping

Jasper is an incredibly clever collie who began to refuse jumps at agility.  Diagnostics couldn’t quite pin down the cause, so we relied on good old clinical reasoning to identify the area of musculoskeletal weakness, in this case being a lack of stability at the sacro-lumbar junction. A tell-tale sign was that Jasper had lost the ability to move in a trot, rather he would bunny hop, keeping both back legs moving together, rather than using a scissor action. With the full support of Jasper’s veterinary care team, we began an intensive 8 week rehabilitation plan – which included (as attached):

• Weekly treatments, including chiropractic, low level laser therapy, podiatry and muscle release work
• Rehabilitation Exercises; Every week, we built on Jasper’s core strength, adding in increasingly challenging exercise to promote stability around his sacrum
• Movement and Proprioceptive training; Jasper had stopped trotting correctly (to protect his sacrum), we used hula hoops, poles and ladders on the ground, creating opportunities for Jasper to gain feedback from his body to recreate positive neuromuscular feedback. This helped Jasper re-learn correct movement patterns
• Referral for treadmill hydrotherapy; rather than for fitness, the treadmill work was to correct Jasper’s movement patterns
• Emotional Support; Jasper’s mum Abi is one of the most natural dog handlers I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Abi made working with Jasper look very easy, especially as he has some challenging behaviours which Abi was managing along with his rehab
• Return to Agility; The aim was to get back to agility training for Jasper and Abi. This didn’t happen overnight, we worked with Kim, @k9funuk Abi’s trainer to gradually re-introduce Jasper agility elements one at a time. This slow return meant we could reduce the risk of injury and re-build Jasper’s confidence

And with a lot, (and I mean A LOT) of hard work from his mum Abi, agility trainer Kim (k9funuk), the team at Black Dog Hydrotherapy and a very supportive veterinary team at Boroughbridge Vets, Jasper is fully fit and enjoying agility once again.