Improving the muscles of the hind limbs in dogs is an interesting option both in dogs that are being rehabilitated from problems in the hind limbs and in dogs that are initially healthy, but that have weakness in the hind limbs.

The first thing we have to do is evaluate the patient. Observe the muscle mass of the posterior ones, palpate this musculature, look if apart from muscle atrophy there is tension or flaccidity.

If we observe muscle tension it will be convenient to start the rehabilitation by unloading the muscles, with massage, with TENS, with heat … on the other hand, if we observe weakness and flaccidity, we must begin rehabilitation with Electrostimulation or light muscle toning exercises.

Walks is the easiest way to start a rehabilitation, it should always be pain-free, if the dog has pain you should go to the veterinarian and take the necessary pharmacological measures to resolve the situation, a TENS can also be very useful to eliminate pain during walks.

Another important point is the way the dog walks, if it mainly uses the forelimbs to perform its gait this exercise will not bring us practically any improvement in the strength of the posterior ones.

arnes-de-soporte-para-perroIt is important to get the dog to work with the hind legs, this can be achieved by walking on the short leash and indicating to the dog that he must carry weight in the posterior ones, it will be practically impossible if the dog has pain in the hips, knees or some other structure of the posterior third.

Squats (making the dog sit up and get up a few repetitions in a row) is going to be another of the exercises we will use; we must reserve this exercise for when the dog does not have pain in the subsequent ones and his muscle mass is enough to withstand this exercise or failing that we can help ourselves with a harness for later to help lift the dog.

Working in the water with the underwater treadmill is one of the best exercises since they strengthen the muscles protecting the joints. The sloping walks is another of the exercises that we must practice, the inclination of the slope will force more the posterior third and the dog will work more and increase the muscular power of the posterior third. This can be done both on a climb and on a rolling tapestry with inclination.

soporte para perro con displasia de cadera

In the later phases of treatment weights can be used for muscle strengthening in dogs.

There are several solutions that can help us to be able to perform these exercises better, that the dog feels better and can correctly perform these exercises thus increasing the strength in the posterior third such as the knee pads, tarsus supports, hip support, or boots or foot protectors in case of having problems in the plantar area.

Orthocanis technical team.

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If your dog is recovering from an illness that requires a bandage, splint or sling, proper care is essential for his recovery. Complications are much more likely to occur in dogs that do not receive proper care and supervision.

Cuidar el vendaje de un perro

Splints , slings, and bandages can cause serious problems for your dog if:

  • they hurt you
  • slip with them
  • they twist
  • They stay for a long time
  • they get wet

Splints, slings, and bandages must be kept dry and clean at all times. If they get damp, wet or dirty, it is necessary to remedy this as soon as possible.

When the animal goes outdoors, a temporary waterproof coating may be applied to the bandage , sling, or splint to keep it dry. The cover should be used for short periods only (no more than 60 minutes at a time) and should be removed immediately upon returning home.

If the cover is left on for more than 60 minutes, moisture can accumulate inside the liner, causing the bandage to become soggy.

It is generally recommended that dogs remain indoors as much as possible while they are bandaged and rehabilitating. A wet bandage can quickly cause a skin infection. Change the bandage as soon as possible.

Check the toes and the tissue at the bottom of the bandage or splint at least once a day. If you notice any swelling the bandage may be too tight or shifted and needs to be checked out by a vet right away and probably replaced. In bandages or splints the swelling may appear as an extension apart from the toes. Compare with the other foot to detect differences.

If the bandage or splint appears to have slipped or twisted, smells bad, or has been damaged by chewing, your dog needs a new one.

You should monitor the skin near the edges of the bandage, sling, or splint for chafing, redness, or rashes. If any of these problems appear, take your dog to the vet as soon as possible.

Activity restriction is usually an important part of the healing process, as long as you have a bandage. Significantly restrict the dog’s activity unless your vet tells you otherwise. This includes keeping your dog on a leash on outings, if he is too active the bandage may lose its function.

Prevent slippery floors while leg, foot, back, hip, neck or shoulder bandages are in use.
It is in the animal’s best interest to avoid playing with other dogs or children during rehabilitation.
It is imperative to work closely with your vet during this period. Complications are much more likely to occur in pets that are not carefully watched.

Check bandages usually every 48 hours, from when they are placed. Check splints and slings every 1-2 days, depending on the needs of the patient.

IMPORTANT POINTS :

Use medications according to medical prescriptions.
Be sure to follow all activity restriction instructions from your veterinarian.
Watch carefully for any splint, sling, bandage, or post-surgical instructions (these can be the difference between a successful recovery and more problems).
Monitor your dog carefully and perform check-ups as directed by your veterinarian.

 

From the state of California comes news that turns the market for the sale of animals upside down.

Fábrica de cachorros

Effective January 1, 2019, AB 485 prohibits stores from selling to dogs, cats and rabbits that do not come from a shelter. Any business that violates this law will face fines of $500. Perhaps it is not strict enough but it is a good start.
We would like it to be the beginning of the end of the so-called “puppy factories”, businesses that are dedicated to the breeding of animals whose main objective is to obtain an economic benefit. The conditions in which animals live in these types of facilities are precarious and cruel.
Ley perro LucyIn the United Kingdom, the ” Lucy law ” was passed, a law that prohibited the sale of puppies in this type of establishment. The name receives it in honor of a puppy of the Cavalier King Charles Spanier breed that was rescued in 2013 from a puppy farm. The little girl spent much of her life in a cage that prevented her from growing properly, for which her hips ended up fusing, causing a complicated malformation. The case shocked the United Kingdom thanks to an activist who managed to save Lucy and denounced the mistreatment that animals receive in this type of company.
We are aware that animals will only benefit if their sale is banned, but this is a small, big step to stop puppy mills. Buyers must be made aware that what they have in their hands is a life and that the purchase of pets in farms means financially benefiting businesses that promote animal abuse.
From Ortocanis we wish that more governments follow this clear example of respect for animals.
sofia gonzalez

Surely we have ever wondered if our dog understands us when we talk to him. In recent years, studies from journals such as Science1 or Proceding of the Royal Society B2 have shown that these animals are capable of understanding human communication.

In this sense, the brain of our best friend works in a very similar way to ours when it comes to language; since its left hemisphere serves to understand the words we say, while with the right it can differentiate the intonation that we are using.

ortocanis_perro_entiende_hablamos

Keep in mind that dogs are able to memorize specific and important words for them, that is why when we address our dogs we usually use short and precise phrases. Also, previously we must perform a fundamental work with our dog since we must help him memorize the main words, and that requires our attention, patience and affection.

Another key element in communication with our dog is intonation, using a high-pitched tone of voice will help him pay more attention to what we are telling him. Also, we can not always speak with the same tone of voice, and for this it will be important to remember that we have to speak with a soft tone, since we want to show affection and love for our dog. Even if we are angry with him because he has done some mischief we must control our intonation.

We will not achieve anything by shouting at our dog, perhaps only affecting him and driving him away making him afraid of us. In addition, if he is afraid of us, it is very likely that he will begin to disobey us on a regular basis as a way of escape and rebellion.

We never have to forget that our dogs have feelings, and that they are animals that need to feel our affection. Therefore, it is essential that they can perceive all the love we feel when we speak to them.

And remember, do not despair, think that our friends understand us enough to have a relationship of complicity sometimes superior to what we can get many of our species. In addition, over time the understanding will go further. Just in case you don’t wait for machines like the one that futurologist William Higham, author of the book “The Next Big Thing” and that predicts that in ten years there will be devices that allow us to talk to our dogs, give more information than a cross of complicit glances, a hug or a simple flutter of their tail.

Source: Science1, Proceding of the Royal Society B2.

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Pacma has formalized a complaint before the Subdelegation of the Government in Cádiz against a neighbor of Chipiona for animal abuse, since he would have dragged a donkey tied by the head to the tow ball of his SUV through the town, causing injuries to the animal.

In a statement, Pacma explained that the events took place around 12:40 p.m. on Granada Avenue in the town of Chipione, thus incurring the accused in an alleged crime of animal abuse typified in article four of the Law 11/2003, 24 November, on the Protection of Animals of the Junta de Andalucía.

As it has specified, this article expressly prohibits “mistreating or physically assaulting animals or subjecting them to any other practice that inflicts unjustified suffering or damage on them”.

In the graphic documentation with which Pacma accompanies his complaint it is observed that the animal is dragged by the car, which “would cause stress and damage to its legs”, stressing at this point that in the photographs can be seen on the ground “blood of the animal” due to “the rubbing of its hooves against the road”.

Finally, the complainants have reported that several pedestrians rebuked the alleged perpetrator of the events for the treatment of the animal, motivating him to get out of the vehicle and take the donkey walking.

Source: Europa Press

Ayudas para perros con artrosis

A device picks up signals from the brain and forwards them to a sensor that activates the endings responsible for controlling the muscles.


A macaque that could not move one of its hind legs because of a spinal cord injury, has managed to walk almost normally thanks to a “bypass” that wirelessly communicates the brain and the endings responsible for activating the muscles. This cerebrospinal neuroprosthesis, as defined by those responsible, has been developed at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, in Switzerland, in collaboration with other research centres and the company Medtronic.

The animal has a small sensor built into the brain that captures the emitted signals – from the macaque’s desire to move – and sends them to a processor. The data is treated and decoded and then forwarded to another device with electrodes that are placed in the lumbar area of the spinal cord, on the other side of the injury, and activate the neurons that direct the muscles of the affected leg. -“What we do is restore in real time and wirelessly the communication between the celebrity and the locomotor system“, says one of the authors in the project, Eduardo Martín Moraud, a Spanish engineer who works at the University of Oxford (Nuffiel College) and who had already been 5 years in the team of the Swiss School.

The details of the research, whose first satisfactory results were obtained in June 2015, have been published in the scientific journal ‘Nature’. One of the two monkeys in the experiment recovered the use of his paralyzed limb in the first week after the injury, without training, both on the treadmill and on the ground, while the second took about two weeks.

Recuperacion paralisis animal

As reported by the EPFL, a clinical study has been launched at the University Hospital of Lausanne to validate the therapeutic effects of the technology in people with spinal cord injury, but only partially. For now, what is done is to check if the placement in the marrow of a device with electrodes, previously programmed, manages to restore the movement of the legs. It does not communicate with the brain.

THE PROCESS

As the researchers explain, when the brain decides to perform a movement or any other activity, there is “a transmission of electricity peaks between neurons” that can be measured and interpreted by a mathematical algorithm. In an intact nervous system, the signals that denote walking come from a small region of the brain called the motor cortex (or motor cortex).

Subsequently, the signals travel through the spinal cord, reach the neural networks located in the lumbar region and these activate the muscles of the legs to produce the movements.

Spinal cord injuries, partial or complete, prevent these signals from reaching neurons and cause paralysis. However, the motor cortex still maintains the brain activity that generated walking instructions. And the neural networks that activate the muscles in the paralyzed leg are also intact and can still generate leg movements.

On this occasion, “96 neural channels of the cortex that offer a lot of information” were measured, says Martín Moraud, who recalls that in previous experiments, for example, it had already been possible for human patients to activate a computer at a distance just by thinking about doing so. “We were interested in controlling only two events: when the leg is raised and when it is perched,” he continues.

Then, the electrical stimulation of a few volts, in a specific area of the spinal cord, modulates different networks of neurons that can activate specific muscles in the legs. “I have dealt specifically with the system that allows you to stimulate the marrow in real time,” continues Martín Moraud.

NO TRAINING REQUIRED

For the monkeys to regain mobility, “no physiotherapy or training was necessary,” says neuroscientist Erwan Bezard of the University of Bordeaux, who oversaw the experiments. All treatments have been carried out after control by the bioethics committees of the participating centers.

“For the first time I can imagine a completely paralyzed patient being able to move his legs through this brain-spinal interface,” neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch of the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), who is responsible for placing the implants in the brain and spinal cord, said in a statement.

Source: The journal, Scientific Journal Nature.

Ayudas para perros pararíticos

Now that the holidays are approaching, we must insist that abandonment is something that ruins thousands of innocent lives. Help us raise awareness against abandonment.

Video of the French Campaign against the Abandonment of 30 Milions d’amis.

www.ortocanis.com

Ayudas para perros con artrosis

After finishing his studies as an orthoprosthetic technician, Martin Kaufmann began working “with humans” in different clinics in the American Midwest. But it wasn’t until his cousin’s dog suffered a stroke, and the subsequent loss of mobility of one of his paws, that he realized how limited the options were to cure an injury that he was fed up with treating in humans.

“I was surprised to hear veterinarians consider complete limb amputation,” Kaufmann says. “It was that that led me to ask the most obvious question: why don’t our favorite quadrupeds enjoy the same access to prosthetics?”

Why don’t our favorite quadrupeds enjoy the same access to prosthetics?”

Human prostheses have been common for centuries, but until recently the only options available for animals with total or partial loss of their limbs were euthanasia or complete amputation. Kaufmann was able to verify that most veterinarians did not even consider prostheses as an option; that was simply not part of the educational baggage.

“Unlike in the case of surgeons and doctors, that was not part of any training module,” he says. “No one had published any studies explaining that dogs could use prostheses.”

This lack of data is a problem. There are very few researchers dedicated to animal prostheses and not enough published studies to ensure that animals could, or in what cases, benefit from the use of a prosthesis. Not even to say for sure that the prostheses would not cause them any harm.

El perro 'Journey'.The dog ‘Journey’. / KEVIN BACHAR.

One of the main points of debate is to clarify, once and for all, whether a prosthesis hinders or helps those animals that have lost a single leg. A dog with three legs, when playing in the park, may very well appear happy — which doesn’t mean it’s not facing a challenge, Kaufmann says. “Only the cardiovascular endurance needed to carry out the simplest or most trivial activities is already enormous,” not to mention the possibility of causing new injuries.

“More appropriate for the use of prostheses will be those animals with two damaged limbs, because quadrupeds are not good at walking on two legs,” says Denis Marcellin-Little, a professor of orthopedic surgery at North Carolina State University School of Veterinary Medicine. “With three, the matter is even more debatable; some carry it much worse than others.”

You can’t ask a dog his opinion about the latest adjustments… All decisions will be based on clinical evaluation and data.”

Even with prostheses, there is still the challenge of getting the animal used to its use. “One of the main factors of failure with pet prostheses appears when [el animal] it fails to explain what is that thing that is stuck there,” says Marcellin-Little.

Communication problems are the bread and butter of any prosthetic technician, especially if the device is uncomfortable or unstable. “You can’t ask a three-year-old to give you their impressions about the assembly and operation of a prosthesis,” Kaufmann says, “[and] you can’t ask a dog his opinion about the latest adjustments… All decisions will be based on clinical evaluation and data.”

The enormous diversity of sizes and anatomies between different animals is yet another challenge: having to memorize a whole new set of musculoskeletal concepts is, to say the least, problematic. Kaufmann asks, “How are you going to be able to give the patient the quality of life they deserve, when you have to learn things like, ‘Let’s see… how does this stork work? What’s normal for a stork?'” There are also important physiological differences to take into account. For example, in Thailand, in 2007, an elephant was fitted with a prosthetic leg after having stepped on a mine in its infancy. “Elephants sweat by the limbs to regulate their temperature, like most animals, so the use of a prosthesis can interfere with their thermal management. In the case of the elephant, this caused it to beat its ears more frequently, to compensate.”

It’s been 12 years since Kaufmann and his wife Amy opened Orthopets, a company dedicated to the manufacture of veterinary prostheses and orthoses (prostheses replace lost parts of a body, while orthoses protect or support injured limbs). With large dogs it’s easier, he tells us — they’re about the size of a preteen child — but most Kaufmann canine patients bulge less than a two-month-old baby. “You end up trying to put a prosthesis on a kilo dog that circles around you like a madman.”

'Molly', un pony al que le faltaba una pata.‘Molly’, a pony missing a leg. / LIZETTE GESUDEN

Meanwhile, new cases of animal prostheses appear more and more frequently in the media. Only in recent years have we had the Dudley duck, with a 3D printed leg; Beauty, an Alaskan bald eagle with a prosthetic beak; and Smaug, a Komodoequiped dragon with an orthosis that prevents him from walking with the instep of his foot. Marcellin-Little recently fitted an orthopedic corset to a sea turtle that had a damaged fin. This way he could keep the limb stable during the healing process.

There is no shortage of challenges: “What solution can you offer a dog that, after losing part of each of its legs, walks, basically, in a dive?” asks Kaufmann. “[Es] incredibly complex”. However, addressing these challenges could reveal or refine techniques that will later be useful for both animals and humans – such as prosthetic implants, where a prosthesis is fixed by a rod inserted directly into the bone. “With animals we can go much deeper than we would be able to – or are allowed to do – with humans,” Kaufmann says. If this technique were to be perfected, it could mean the practical overcoming of suspension problems in traditional prostheses.

Source: newspaper “El País

Ayudas para perros con artrosis

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When looking for a new canine companion, it’s easy to give up in favor of an adorable puppy and all the energy it brings. But remember that youth goes hand in hand with new challenges, biting, breaking any object in the house, having to train them in obedience…. If you’re looking for a well-behaved buddy who still has a lot to give, consider keeping an older dog. In honor of Adopt a Senior Pet Month, an initiative that encourages the adoption of dogs 7 or older each November, we share here ten reasons that make senior dogs wonderful family members, according to Tracey Stewart, wife of comedian Jon Stewart and noted animal lover, in her new book Do Unto Animals*.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 Tracey dice que muchas mascotas sénior fueron criadas en casas amorosas y que perdieron a sus protectores debido a divorcios, enfermedades o muerte -ninguna razón de éstas causante de que cambiara el amor entre ellos-. Los perros de la tercera edad están simplemente buscando compartir su naturaleza cariñosa con una nueva familia.

1. No te dan muchas sorpresas. No hay necesidad de imaginarse cuanto crecerán, con qué frecuencia necesitarás cepillarlos, o qué personalidad tendrán. Lo que ves es lo que hay!

2. Adiós a los manuales para enseñar a que hagan sus necesidades fuera! A los perros mayores es probable que ya les hayan enseñado en el pasado. Si no es así, están físicamente y mentalmente preparados para aprenderlo rápidamente.

 3. Está bien decir las cosas solo una vez. Los perros mayores han estado con humanos el tiempo suficiente como para entender nuestro idioma. Frecuentemente saben lo que estamos preguntando o pueden aprender rápidamente a hacer lo que les decimos. Puedes enseñar a un perro anciano nuevos trucos, y los aprenderán rápidamente!

 4. Ellos encajan deprisa. Un perro o gato mayor lleva tiempo paseando por el barrio y ha entrado en contacto con muchos otros perros, gatos y gente. Los ancianos normalmente saben lo que se necesita para encajar sin problemas en una familia y lo hacen con facilidad.

Ortesis-de-codo 5. Puedes relajarte! A diferencia de un cachorro o gatito que introduces por vez primera en una casa, un animal viejo normalmente no se está metiendo en problemas continuamente. No tienes que poner la casa a prueba de ellos durante meses y meses.

 6. Ellos disfrutan de paseos rápidos y no piden mucho. Los perros más ancianos no requieren que se les lleve a diario a hacer tres paseos que les permita hacer mucho ejercicio, y se agotarán de jugar a ir a buscar la pelota y devolvértela después de poco tiempo. Aunque necesiten también hacer ejercicio, a los seniors ya les suele ir bien un buen paseo por la mañana, a parte de las otras salidas puntuales necesarias para hacer sus necesidades.

 7. Tus zapatos nuevos favoritos estarán seguros del destrozo de los cachorros. Como el período de dentición les queda ya atrás, la masticación destructiva es normalmente una cosa del pasado.

 8. La edad es solo un número. La edad no siempre significa problemas de salud y facturas médicas caras. Los animales jóvenes pueden desarrollar problemas de salud también, y hoy en día existen nuevas ayudas técnicas que facilitan la vida a los perros mayores.

 9. Ellos dan a tu fibra sensible un extra. Hay algo increíblemente poderoso acerca de proveer de refugio, amor, cuidado, abrazos y básicamente paz a un perro senior en sus últimos años de vida. 

 10.Un tiempo juntos corto pero dulce. Los niños van a la Universidad, la gente se retira y las situaciones cambian. A veces es posible que tengamos un tiempo más reducido para dedicarnos al cuidado de un animal especial pero incluso así puedes beneficiarte de la compañía de un súper anciano, a la vez que salvas una valiosa vida.

Equipo Ortocanis

 *Este texto contiene traducciones de un fragmento del libro Do Unto Animals de Tracey Stewart.

Ayudas para perros con artrosis

Troops of the Seprona Patrol of the Civil Guard have arrested two brothers of 23 and 29 years old, both with address in the municipality of Palacios del Sil (León), accused of the hanging of several dogs.

Unidad-Canina-del-Seprona-©Seprona

The investigations began when the Civil Guard became aware of the disappearance of eight hunting dogs of different breeds, of which the Seprona Patrol already has located in several places located between the towns of Palacios del Sil and Matalavilla the bodies of four of them, sources from the Government Subdelegation have reported.

After carrying out a first visual inspection, it has been determined that the dogs died of asphyxiation by hanging, also being in the vicinity various material for the commission of these criminal acts such as ropes or bags.

The discovery of these animals has been difficult since the detainees had thrown them in different areas, usually abrupt and far from each other, in order to make it difficult to locate them.

The Civil Guard continues the efforts to locate the four remaining dogs that have not yet been found. In addition, the final results of the necropsy are currently awaiting to know the exact cause of death of the animals.

One of the detainees and owner of the dogs had already been investigated by the Seprona of the Civil Guard for the commission of similar acts. The investigation is still open and the indictment of more people and the discovery of more animal carcasses is not ruled out.

The proceedings and the detainees have been placed at the disposal of the Court of Instruction of Villablino (León).

Source: Herando.es

Ayudas para perros con artrosis