Rehabilitation over the Holidays!
Traveling
If you are traveling, rehabilitation can be modified during your trip. On long car rides, make plans to stop frequently to let your dogs out. This is not only important for bathroom breaks, but our dogs with arthritis will more than likely become stiff being in a car for long periods of time. Allowing small walks will help warm up and prevent stiffness.
Some of our patients have props that are needed for their homework exercises such as Cavaletti poles, steps stools, etc. When traveling, we may not have the luxury of bringing our pet’s rehabilitation supplies with us. In these circumstances, we may temporarily discontinue an exercise or perform the exercise without a prop.
Guests & Home from Work
While many of us are still working from home, we are usually at a station. When we are off work or have company over, we tend to be more active in the home. For some dogs, this means that they are following us as we move around the house. This can cause some of our seniors or post-surgical dogs to “over-do it” without even trying to do exercises on top of it.
Simply being aware of our pets following us around the house and providing rest time can prevent our pets from getting sore.
Rehabilitation Exercises
Holidays are busy, even if we are remaining socially distant over the holiday season. We may have less time to set aside for our pet’s exercises. Some owners may feel that if they can’t do all their pet’s exercises, they may be defeated and not do any. But one or two exercises are much better than none! And that being said, taking a day off and maybe just doing massage at the end of day is okay too!
Enjoy Your Holiday
During this unusual holiday season, enjoy your time with your family and pets. We hope you all remain safe over the holiday season. If you have questions about modifying your pet’s exercise plan during the holidays, please reach out to us.