The following blog post is from Sandy Gregory, an exercise physiologist at Scout’s House, a provider of products for disabled and special needs pets. Sandy graciously offered her time to write a special blog post for us.

 
Photos courtesy of Scout’s House

What’s The Right Amount of Regular Exercise for My Dog?
by Sandy Gregory, M Ed, RVT, CCRA
Exercise Physiologist at Scout’s House

Whether you and your dog are training for something competitive or  are just having fun, there are several factors to consider before starting a new exercise program:

1)  Get Your Vet’s Ok—Talk to your veterinarian to make sure your dog is healthy enough to exercise. 
2)  Start Easy—Don’t go full force into a workout program.  Consider the activity level and age of your dog first.  If he’s a puppy, he shouldn’t get more than 15 minutes of exercise at a time, 3 times a day.  And never exercise a puppy on hard surfaces as that can damage growing bones and joints.  Likewise, if your dog is older or doesn’t move easily, if he’s overweight, or if he has a short nose or short legs, he won’t have much endurance to start.  Read the rest of this entry »

We would like to thank the Olathe Animal Hospital for this incredible video, the journey of Monty, about a mixed breed older dog that was showing signs of aging.  As you will see Monty was experiencing pretty classic symptoms of pain from arthritis.  Note that when Monty’s own stem cells were used to treat his pain from hip dysplasia, he became a “younger” moving dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqiGvfoG7xg

Guest Blog by Dr. James Gaynor:

Is it hard to tell if your dog hurts?  Sometimes.  A limping dog or a dog not using the leg may be obvious.  Dogs do not bear full weight on a leg for 1 of 3 reasons:  1- it hurts; 2- it is unstable (maybe from a fracture); 3- it has neurologic problems (this may be more likely to be seen as dragging rather than limping).  The problem is that dogs may hurt in many more places than just their legs.  The key to recognizing pain is to realize that any CHANGE in your dog’s BEHAVIOR may indicate a painful condition like arthritis caused by hip or elbow dysplasia.
Read the rest of this entry »

Can you guess which dog has arthritis? 

You may have guessed the Irish wolfhound, and that would be a good guess.  Large breed dogs usually do fall victim to growth problems that can result in pain, limping and ultimately arthritis.  You might have guessed the Labrador retriever, again a good guess.  The Labrador retriever is the most popular breed of dog in the United States.  Their great nature and sporting build also put them at risk for future arthritis due to the high activity level some of them do as a sporting breed.  Read the rest of this entry »

We care so much about the health of our dogs, especially when it comes to weight and sometimes the parallels between human health and dog health are surprising.  Just as people search for low calorie food and often find the labels to be confusing, low calorie dog food labels can be misleading as well.  There is a link between being overweight and arthritis in people AND in our pet buddies!   Read the rest of this entry »

Police dogs, man’s best crime partners, are great assets to any police force. Equipped with great hearing and eyesight, ability to reach speeds of over 30 miles per hour and their stealth demeanor that can track criminals through dark and rough terrain – canine cops are a very valuable part of a police team.  They’re used to catch bad guys, locate drugs and find bombs as well as to search for and rescue victims such as those in 9/11 and Haiti.  These dogs are trained at a young age to become super athletes and super sleuths.

But chasing criminals, climbing in and out of cargo holds and jumping in and out of cars can cause wear and tear resulting in joint pain, arthritis and muscle tears.  At a cost of $10,000 to $20,000, these important dogs are usually quite an investment for a police force.  Keeping them healthy and agile is crucial to the police force.

One of the fastest growing advocates for stem cell therapy is the hard working police dog.  Over the past 2 years stem cells have been used to help those courageous dogs work harder, heal better and keep them on the force.  I will be sharing with you some great success stories that demonstrate how using stem cell therapy to treat joint pain, muscle tears and tendon and ligament conditions can help pet dogs as well as these amazing police dogs.

I recently read a blog post about Jasmine, a five and a half year old Rottweiler that underwent stem cell therapy.  The owner brought Jasmine to see her vet when she noticed her dog wasn’t as agile as she once was. Jasmine’s vet diagnosed her with a partial cruciate ligament tear and recommended stem cell therapy for the dog. Read the rest of this entry »

As pet owners, it’s always hard to see your dog in pain.  But, it’s also helpful to know there are things you can do to help decrease your dog’s pain when it’s caused by arthritis and hip dysplasia.    This documentary about a beautiful white shepherd named Malibu, also known to her friends as Boo, illustrates what her condition was before and after Vet-Stem cell therapy. You can see how her hip dysplasia set her up for a life of pain due to arthritis and how Vet-Stem has helped her live a happier life.  The strong bond between Boo and her owners is evident, and now her quality of life has improved.  To quote Boo’s owner, “technology saved the day!” And thanks to Dr Benjamin Ealing and the Broad Ripple Animal Clinic for recommending this amazing new treatment.

I wanted to introduce you to our friends at Pet Sentinel.  Pet Sentinel is a site that offers podcasts called Expert Fireside Chats.

Each Fireside Chat is an interview with an accomplished expert/specialist in the field of pet issues (pet health, pet treatment, pet nutrition, pet management, pet psychology, pet care, and so on).   There is a focused 25-minute conversation with them on a topical subject (e.g. new cures for common pet ailments, new nutritional breakthroughs for pets, whole and natural pet foods, insights on pet behavior, natural ways to train and discipline pets (without use of force or any “strict” traditional means) and so on). The conversation is recorded, and the mp3 recording or podcast made available via The Pet Sentinel website to its community.  We were honored to be invited to participate and share what we have learned about using stem cells for dogs with joint pain.

Our episode was recently posted to their website and can be found by clicking the link below.

Episode 2 (12/11/2009): Dr. Bob Harman and Dr. Julie Ryan Johnson’s Expert Fireside Chat (TM) on “Stem-Cell Therapy: The Cutting-Edge of Regenerative Veterinary Medicine”

More exciting news just released from Vet-Stem. We encourage our dog owners to fill out evaluation forms to tell us how their dogs are feeling after a stem cell treatment for arthritis and other  injuries. What became very interesting is that many of them started to write in their own comments like “Rusty is no longer on his pain meds!”

After seeing a trend in the write ins, we re-designed our evaluations to find out if other pet owners were experiencing the same thing. Read the rest of this entry »