Articles with physical therapy

Canine Rehabilitation Support Devices: Soft Supports and Wraps

Canine rehabilitation support devices such as braces, splints or wraps can go a long way to support your dog’s injured limb or body part after trauma, fracture or surgery. Soft supports versus orthotics Specific considerations go into the manufacturing of splints or braces (orthotics) Therapists and professional orthotists design them for specific purposes. These devices can be costly and require…

by Susan E. Davis PT

Canine Wound Care 101: Classification, treatment, and physical therapy

Wounds are likely to occur multiple times through the course of your dog’s life. Having basic knowledge and understanding of wounds, their care and healing process, can be of great help to you both. You can treat some wounds at home but others need medical attention. Physical therapy can also be helpful in the care of wounds and scar tissue. …

by Susan E. Davis PT

Canine Degenerative Myelopathy (DM): Understanding DM and Top 10 Management Suggestions

Degenerative myelopathy is a progressive disease of the spinal cord. First symptoms include loss of coordination in hind legs. When faced with a particularly difficult challenge in life, I have always felt the best weapon of combat is knowledge. Along with that is keeping a positive attitude. As a physical therapist, dealing with canine patients diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy…

by Susan E. Davis PT

Managing Your Dog’s Care Plan: Taking an Active Role in Your Dog’s Treatment

Take an active role in your dogs treatment. I have an obsession with helping dog owners gain knowledge and empower them to be proactive in their dog’s health care. It must be the force behind what inevitably connected me to your blog author, Jana Rade and a host of others such as Dr. Patrick Mahaney, Carol Bryant, etc. It’s a…

by Susan E. Davis PT

All Hands On Dog: Benefits of Physical Contact

The health of your dog’s nervous system is critical to their mental and physical well-being. Touch and other mechanical means of providing sensory input help maintain and improve the condition of many neural connections throughout the body. Why is it so important? A dog relies on nerves to interpret the world throughout their lifespan. But the most critical times are…

by Susan E. Davis PT

Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer by day, dog health advocate, dog writer, member of the Dog Writers Association of America, and an award-winning author in my spare time. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Endless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care into my own hands. I learned the hard way that simply seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to finally get a diagnosis for her initial issue. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to use 20 years of hard-earned experience to save others from the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way, as I did.

View Full Profile →