What is canine arthritis support service?
Canine arthritis support service is a new veterinary driven initiative offering veterinary, rehabilitation and complementary therapy tailored to YOUR dog and THEIR condition.
No two cases are ever the same as arthritis can present in a huge variety of ways, and each case responds differently to recognised treatments. Canine Arthritis Support Service works alongside your vet to tailor a management plan for you and your dog to get the best results.
What is Galen Myotherapy?
Galen Myotherapy is a specific complementary therapy specialising in the treatment of damaged or injured muscle and allied soft tissue. Muscle pain is underestimated and difficult to treat, we work using specialised knowledge and training specifically within this area.
What is Galen Myotherapy?
Galen Myotherapy is a specific complementary therapy specialising in the treatment of damaged or injured muscle and allied soft tissue. Muscle pain is underestimated and difficult to treat, we work using specialised knowledge and training specifically within this area. Muscular issues can manifest themselves in many different ways. The pain can cause stress that will have a negative effect on how the dog functions both physically and psychologically.
Galen Myotherapy promotes muscle function. This is achieved through easing congestions within the fibres caused through injury, compensatory or repetitive strain issues. Injury within the muscle fibre can cause inappropriate scarring, which will cause stress over the joints they articulate. By identifying then treating effected muscles and muscle groups, joint function can be improved with optimum ‘range of movement’ for each condition or situation being achieved. This results in improved mobility, performance and a reduction in pain perception therefore reducing stress and allied symptoms. By treating the secondary and/or compensatory issues, Galen Myotherapy can be part of a highly effective management programme for supporting the following conditions; · Osteoarthritis · Hip/Elbow Dysplasia · CDRM · Cruciate issues · OCD · Spondylitis.
What is canine arthritis and what can be done?
Arthritis (osteoarthritis – OA) is the most common cause of chronic pain in dogs. It affects 4 out of 5 older dogs. It is a disabling, non-curable, and progressive disease which initially focuses on moving joints but eventually affects the whole dog and is a major cause of euthanasia due to loss of quality of life.
What is canine arthritis and what can be done?
The owner thinks that they are ‘JUST GETTING OLD!’
What happens in a Canine Arthritis Support consult?
Canine Arthritis Support aims to complement your vet through education, rehabilitation and Galen Myotherapy, modifying lifestyles, and empowering positive change in routines. This takes uninterrupted time which is what we can provide, with your first CASS consult lasting 1.5 hours.
CASS is the result of years of work creating Canine Arthritis Management, an extensive online platform, created with the sole intention of ensuring all owners have access to safe, effective advice. A unique element of a CASS consult is the continuation of the CAM ethos, dedication to helping you manage your dog’s disease for the rest of their life. We want to ensure YOU can manage and direct your dog’s treatment plan. We do this through education.
Arthritis is a complicated disease, the main clinical sign being pain, which surprisingly can be very hard for an owner to recognise as dogs “don’t shout about it”, instead they “get on with it”. Owners often think subtle changes in their behaviour, mobility, posture, physical appearance and capabilities are just part and parcel of them ageing, when in fact these are often indicators of discomfort. During the extended one on one consult we will discuss how your dog is telling you that they are “getting on with it”, as once you master this we can help YOU tailor a multimodal plan that YOU can see the benefits of. Through learning these fundamental observations, YOU can control your dog’s management plan and adjust as and when necessary.
01
Questionnaire completion
Prior to your first consultation, we will send you a small questionnaire to get you thinking about your dog’s everyday routine, behaviour and habits. This will range from things like what food you feed and how often, to how often they stretch.
We will complete this questionnaire together, giving you an opportunity to ask ANY further questions and for us to give you a tonne of advice.
02
Body Condition Scoring
Used within the veterinary world, Body Condition Scoring helps us to gauge whether your dog’s bodyweight and muscle mass is appropriate. Weight management is an often-overlooked key when managing arthritis, and through using this semi-objective tool we give YOU control to manage your dog’s weight.
03
Diet and supplement discussion
We discuss the complicated world of nutrition and help you find a diet and feeding regime that suits you and your dog. We do not force you to buy a particular diet and are not sponsored by a nutritional company.
04
Mobility, posture and stature assessment
Through evaluating your dog’s posture and build, how they move, stand and rest, we can teach you how your dog shows you signs of pain, and compensatory muscular changes. This assessment can aid in monitoring improvement and deterioration over the following years.
05
Neurological, orthopaedic and rehabilitation assessment
It is essential to know which of your dog’s joints are arthritic so the management plan can be tailored, all treatment strategies can be considered and expectations regarding improvement can be discussed.
06
Improvement indicator chart completion
We aim to leave you in control, by teaching you how to use Client Specific Outcome Measures. Through monitoring your dog’s individual pain/ coping indicators, YOU can gauge improvement or deterioration and act accordingly.
07
Occupational Therapy
We believe that repetitive injuries that dogs sustain within the home through slips, trips and falls will progress and worsen your dog’s condition. This is a recognised discipline in human medicine known as Occupational Therapy, and is used extensively when managing arthritis in people. We help you to evaluate small environmental changes within your dog’s home that can make all the difference to your dog’s everyday life.
08
Treatment session
Through using appropriate targeted manual therapies, massage techniques, therapeutic exercises and exercise management alongside veterinary intervention, the chronic muscular pain and inflammation that is caused by arthritis can be reduced.
We also teach you easy techniques and exercises that you can incorporate into your daily relationship with your own dog in between treatment sessions.
We recommend 3 treatments around a week apart to begin with, before deciding on a maintenance regime. Having taught you how to use CSOMs, you will be able to recognise subtle improvements and deteriorations in your dog’s condition so that you can then guide us on how often you wish to have further treatment sessions.
We are delighted to now be able to offer Laser Therapy as an addition to our services. This is can be regarded as a more “hands-off” approach to treatment, and can be used as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with Galen Myotherapy. The usual recommended treatment protocols are two sessions a week for three weeks, followed by a maintenance session again guided by your CSOMs.
09
Exercise advice
Just because they can, doesn’t mean they should! We will give you advice on the best type of exercise for your dog, as well as some physical rehabilitation techniques that will benefit your dog’s condition.
10
Photography and video
Taking photographs and video footage of your dog standing or moving helps us with judging their posture and mobility, and lets us see if there are any improvements after therapy. These images also give us an opportunity to gain educational material for our relationship with CAM. We will always ask for your permission before using any images of your dog or home on our social media sites or in our teaching materials.
View our Case Studies
View how we can help you and your dogs.
Bertie Mayer
10 Year Old Labrador
Bertie Mayer
10 Year Old Labrador
Assumed generalised arthritis, worse in the right forelimb
Chosen possible chronic pain indicators
- Lame in his right fore
- Slow and stiff everywhere
- Very difficult to lay down and get up
- Not wishing to exercise
Previous regime
Meloxicam
New regime
- Added in chronic pain indicator assessment
- Huge weight loss drive, scatter feed technique
- Started accessing the house through the back door so less stairs to climb
- Made a ramp from decking on to the grass
- Exercise modification – stopped walking on the uneven beach
- Changed to another anti-inflammatory
- Myotherapy
Dramatic improvement in Bertie’s mobility and he got his zest for life back. The owner has maintained the plan, and Bertie is going strong having lost nearly 5 kg. The right fore lameness appears every now and then but is consistently resolved with hands on techniques.
Comtesse
11 year old golden retriever
Comtesse
11 year old golden retriever
Chosen possible chronic pain indicators
• lameness in right hind from a previous cruciate injury
• Very tight all along back
• Unwillingness to walk even before the operation
• Sleeping a lot
Previous regime
On NSAIDs daily. Very reduced activity level
New regime
• Added in chronic pain indicator assessment
• Added in 3 short walks a day of about 15-20 minutes each
• Post operative physiotherapy
• Treatment of OA: Physiotherapy and Acupuncture
• Physiotherapy: Massage, laser treatments and rehabilitation exercises
Comtesse is happier overall and more alert and interacting with her owner. NSAIDS intake has been reduced. She started jumping up on sofa anf bed again and beeing her cheeky previous self around the house. Comtesse now enjoys short but frequent walks with her owner and really loves doing her prescribed at home rehabilitation exercises.
By Nathalie Janssen – www.fitdog.lu – Facebook: Fitdog/lu
Ruby Dawes
12 Year Old Labrador
Ruby Dawes
12 Year Old Labrador
Generalised arthritis, especially in both knees
Chosen possible chronic pain indicators
- Lame in the right fore
- Very prominent slow, staged lie down
- Solid muscles over her lower back
- No stretching
- Very stiff in the mornings
Previous regime
- Robenacoxib (anti-inflammatory) intermittently
- Joint supplements (not clear on ingredients)
New regime
- Added in chronic pain indicator assessment
- Reliable daily robenacoxib initially
- Huge number of house changes: no access to the steep wooden stairs, better bedding, non- slip matting throughout, raised feeding bowls
- Lifting in and out of the car
- Starting using food toys, such as Kongs
- Exercise modification – reduced the length of walks
- Myotherapy
Ruby had a huge setback after drinking cooking oil. She suffered pancreatitis and then aspiration pneumonia, but survived. With the house modifications, a better understanding of her medications, and using her pain indicators so they could tailor her exercise, she showed significant improvement.
She is now living in London in a new home that has had simple modifications such as ramps and carpets. She is doing well and enjoying walks around Richmond Park.
Meet the CASS team
Our caring and compassionate veterinary care team! Meet the Veterinarians & Team of Canine Arthritis Support!
Please give us a call. We can provide advice and can help you decide whether CASS is right for your needs.
Please call Lynsey on 07545 217084 or Hannah on 07929 673355.
We are a friendly team, passionate about chronic pain management
Hannah Capon
MA Vet MB MRCVS, CAM and CASS Founder and Director
Hannah has been a qualified first opinion small animal vet for 17 years. She is the founder of CAM which started off as a small one on one vet with owner external service in 2013. She had noted that there was a disproportion of dogs being euthanased for poorly managed arthritis and felt that this chronic disease needed to be managed differently. After a succession of euthanasias of dogs that had gone off their back legs, she felt compelled to initiate CAM online and help owners through an online platform as she had noted there was a lack of consistent reliable no commitment to buy resources for owners of dogs with arthritis to turn to. Hannah continues to work as a vet, is the director of Canine Arthritis management, is working towards her Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner certificate as well as offering her one on one service CASS in the Scottish Borders.
Her other full-time job is looking after Luna the beautiful Border Collie, who is currently learning how to ride paddle boards with her mum!
Lynsey Tindall
AVNDip(Med)RVN
Lynsey qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2001 and gained the RCVS diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (Medical) in 2008. She works in practice in Brighton, in a busy first opinion, referral and emergency clinic.
Like Hannah she had spent many years watching owners struggle to manage this disease optimally and jumped at the chance to collaborate on creating a new personal and empathetic service where she could utilise her extensive veterinary nurse experience. Lynsey runs her CASS services in East and West Sussex, offering Galen Myotherapy and Class IV Laser Therapy.
She lives in West Sussex with her husband, two children, cat, crazy dog and six chickens. Mabel the dog is a Flat Coated Retriever cross, who is a beautiful family dog and chief chicken guardian !
Holly
Poohface
Holly was Hannah’s best friend and shadow and the inspiration behind Canine Arthritis Management. She rose to fame with her starring role in CAMs social media film “In Silence” and featured in further social media films “Holly’s story” and “Not just getting old, but getting old great!”. In 2017, Holly and Hannah took on THE BIG WALK, walking 100k acorss the South Downs raising awareness of arthritis and chronic pain in dogs.
Sadly, Holly passed away at the end of 2018, but continues to be our inspiration, our poster girl and the reason we keep pushing on with our aim of improving the lives of dogs with arthritis all over the globe.