Canine Rehabilitation: From Injury to Independence

Dogs have such life in them. They run, jump, tumble … and get injured too. Sadly, when an injury is so severe that it affects their ability to safely move on their own, you have to make a tough decision.

But even an injury that requires movement assistance doesn’t need to be the end of the line for your beloved dog. Thanks to a range of assistive devices, such as dog wheelchairs, drag bags, dog scooters, and dog carts, you can help your dog enjoy an active and pain-free life.

The journey is intimidating, and you may wonder if you and your dear canine friend will ever make it to real independence for them, and the answer is that you will—both of you. You can teach your dog rehabilitation in a wheelchair, whether it’s a temporary measure or their permanent future mobility from now on. Here’s how to do dog wheelchair training and canine rehabilitation.

How a Wheelchair Can Help Injured Dogs

When dogs are seriously injured, the results can be split into two types: permanent disabilities and temporary disabilities with required long-term rest. For both these results, your dog will need assistance with movement.

A Temporary Disabling Injury

Your vet may recommend that your dog remains in their crate until their injuries have healed, but reinjury is often a serious challenge to recovery if recovery is possible. When your dog has a spinal injury that could potentially heal, you definitely don’t want them running in a “mad dog moment” and further injuring themselves, perhaps even becoming permanently disabled.

This is where a dog wheelchair can help with their rehabilitation.

A Permanent Disability

When your dog’s injury or degenerative condition is so severe that there’s no hope of recovery, there is always the hope of adjusting to life on wheels, and a dog wheelchair is an amazing and revolutionary device that will improve your dog’s life.

Of course, adjusting to a wheelchair isn’t a simple matter of “strap ‘em in and let’s go!” Just like humans, dogs also have to be trained to accept, understand, and use a wheelchair.

Ready, Set, Get Rolling!

Once you get over the shock of having to get your dog a wheelchair (whether it’s an assistive one for recovery purposes or a permanent supportive one), you need to get oriented to what it’s like to have a dog-on-wheels in your life.

The other main consideration is that your dog needs to accept that they will be moving with a very unnatural device, and it can cause them to panic and get frustrated.

Introducing a Wheelchair

The first step is to get a suitable wheelchair for your dog’s size, height, and weight. The manufacturer can assist you with a measurement guide, and your vet can help you decide on what set of wheels would be best for your dog’s build.

A wheelchair that’s too low will place strain on the joints, while one that’s too high will strain the shoulders or the dog will really struggle to move. Before you strap your dog in, you should pay attention to the mechanics of the wheelchair, and understand how it moves forward, backward, and turns.

Then it’s time to introduce the wheelchair. Once you unbox the wheelchair, you probably want to fit your dog to it as soon as possible and give them mobility again, but it’s not that simple. Your dog is still a wild animal, and they can easily get frightened of something they aren’t familiar with.

So take it slow, and start off by just letting them sniff the chair and get familiar with having it around. Leave the assembled chair near your dog’s bed so they can see it, smell it, and accept it being near.

Move it gently every now and again, so they can accept the sounds the wheels make. Remember that those sounds will soon be strapped to them, so they need to know what these are.

Fitting the Wheelchair

When your dog is finally quite blazed about the chair, you can progress to fitment. For this, it’s best to have a human helper, a quiet environment, loads of free time, and treats. There is no point in rushing this step.

Start by lifting the dog next to the wheelchair, letting it touch them, and if they are still not worried, you can go ahead and lift them into the cradle of the wheelchair. Watch their body language. If your dog starts panicking or fidgeting when you have them lifted above the wheelchair, pause, then lower them to the ground again. Wait a few minutes, then try again.

They should become less worried and finally let you lower them into the cradle. Praise, offer them a treat, and let them adjust to this new position of standing. Keep supporting them as you don’t want them to fall now.

If your dog is really not bothered by all this, you can proceed to strap the harness, stirrups, and any other necessary supportive tack that the wheelchair comes with. Again, work slowly, pause if your dog looks worried, back off, rest, and then try again. Offer treats, scratches, pats, and loads of praise.

Do NOT move the wheelchair yet.

Let your dog get used to the wheelchair. Hang with them while they chill in their new ride for 10 minutes at most before helping them out of the chair. Repeat this the next day, and perhaps feed their dinner there, before letting them rest for the day. Stay nearby in case they move the chair and get a fright.

When they are really happy to be in the chair, you can gently start to introduce movement. This is why the next step in canine rehabilitation is really important—keeping them calm.

Keep Your Pup Calm

Your dog may get excited about moving, or they may be terrified by the sensation. Either way, you need to be there to help calm them. A frightened dog may struggle, turn the wheelchair over, and get hurt. The goal is to have all of this experience be pleasing and safe.

Keeping a harness with lead attached to your dog is a good way to restrain them without having to grip the wheelchair. If you have to stop them moving, do so gently to avoid yanking on their body.

Rolling Range of Motion

When your dog starts learning how to move the wheelchair, you may have to help them move by lifting and placing each paw at a time. Depending on the disability your dog has, you will have to guide their legs, teaching them to run while their back legs are suspended or push while their front legs are lifted.

Once your dog begins understanding they can control their own movement, thanks to the chair, they need to learn that they can also turn, back up, and stop by using their legs.

Their initial use of their bodies may be compromised since they are still recovering from an injury, so they could have poor muscle tone, weakness, and lack of balance, which will all make your dog weaker and limit their range of motion.

Learning to Flex the Muscles

Like any human athlete who suffered a serious injury will have physio and rehabilitative therapy to rebuild muscle, increase balance, and help with strength before they go run the Boston Marathon, your dog needs rehab too.

A couple of basic exercises can focus on strengthening your dog’s stomach muscles and improving their flexibility and balance.

Let’s see what steps you can take to help exercise and rehabilitate your dog to ensure healthier and better movement in (and out) of the wheelchair.

Wheelchair Assistive Exercises

A dog should never be left to “get along” in a wheelchair. Their bodies may eventually suffer muscle atrophy when they aren’t correctly stimulated. While they may not seem to need physical exercises when they are so happily moving on their set of wheels, their core muscles may start to weaken, and this can eventually affect their able limbs, leading to complete physical decline.

The following exercises are ideal for rebuilding muscles if your dog has a temporary injury and only needs their wheelchair for support while they heal and recover. These exercises can also be used for dogs that rely on their wheelchairs to support them due to weakness or loss of balance.

You will need the following:

A soft surface, such as a thick dog mattress or several layers of soft blanket to lay the dog down.
A yoga ball or exercise ball.
A basketball or additional ball.
A resistance band or a dog sling. (Tip: an old beach towel works well too.)
Treats, rewards, and patience.

Stimulation Exercises

When your dog is weak from a long bedrest or being confined to their crate, their body becomes sluggish and struggles to move as it should. Nerve damage and nerve degradation can lead to further immobility. Stimulating the nerve, skin, muscle, and tendons is vital.

The best stimulation exercises aren’t intense, and you should never overdo them. Instead, adopt a play approach and engage in these exercises as gently and diligently as possible. Your dog will love the attention.

Massage Exercise

For this exercise, your dog should lie down on their bed or layers of soft blanket. Start with them lying on their side. Using a slightly cupped hand, with fingers spread just a little to make a “porcupine hand,” gently but firmly agitate your dog’s fur coat in a circular motion. You can begin at the shoulders, then move up to their neck, around their jaw, and then back down and across their chest.

Continue the circular rubbing across their ribs, down their spine, and down their back legs. Don’t forget their tummy too. Take your time and don’t rush.

Next, flip your dog over onto their other side, being careful not to hurt them. Repeat the circular massage on this side.

Goal: The circular stimulation helps revive nerve endings, and it also releases built-up toxins in their muscles. This aids in releasing tight and painful spots, while also encouraging blood circulation and muscle growth.

Tail Tips

Dogs often lose their balance when they have been injured or suffered a disability. To help reinforce their balance and develop the muscles that help stabilize them, you can do this exercise three times a day. It’s best for dogs that are able to stand on their own, but you can also do it in the wheelchair, with the legs out of the stirrups.

Place your hand on one side of the dog’s tail when they are standing. Gently push their hips about half an inch to the other side. Release and let them recover their center of gravity. Repeat up to five times. Switch to the other side of the tail.

Goal: The stomach, thigh, and back muscles have to work together to recover the dog’s balance, which helps strengthen these.

Variation: When your dog is able to balance fairly well, you can switch from tail tips to tail pulls. Stand behind your dog while they are standing. Gently grip their tail near the base with both hands. Firmly but gently pull back on the dog’s tail, causing the dog to rock back on their haunches by an inch.

This variation helps strengthen joints and stomach, chest, and back muscles.

Toe Pulls

When a dog has impaired mobility, their leg muscles quickly atrophy due to a lack of correct and full movement. When their toes are pulled, it’s instinct to pull back, exercising the back of their thigh muscles and ligaments. It also boosts neural activity in the legs.

Start with your dog lying on their side. Focus on the two legs that are on top and not lying on the dog bed. Firmly grip the middle toe of the front foot, squeezing with enough pressure to make the dog pull their leg back, but not so much that you hurt them.

Repeat on the back leg and twice more for each leg on that side. Then flip your dog over, and repeat on the other side.

Goal: The middle toes have the most sensory neurons, and by squeezing them, you stimulate an involuntary reaction, which strengthens the dog’s coordination and awareness of their legs in space (their proprioceptive awareness).

Core Strength Exercises

The stomach, chest, and back muscles often degrade when your dog has had limited movement due to crate rest or a new disability. These muscle groups combine to make the core strength of your dog. Build your dog’s core strength with these exercises:

Tummy Tucks

This exercise can be done several times a day, but care should be taken not to force your dog. Instead of force, you need gentle pressure that’s merely meant to stimulate the core muscles.

To do a tummy tuck, place your fingertips (palms up) under your dog’s tummy while they are standing. Gently tickle their tummy until they gently arch their back and tighten their tummy muscles.

Wait until their stomach and back lower again, then repeat. Do not force the stomach to lift by pressing it up.

Goal: To raise their stomach, your dog has to tighten their tummy, back, thigh, and butt muscles, which help increase core strength.

Squat and Stand

For this exercise, your dog needs to be physically able to stand and sit. If they struggle a little with sitting, you can use a dog sling to assist them.

Using a treat, get your dog to stand and then sit. Repeat it several times, which encourages your dog to sit, tuck tummy muscles, and stand up, using their shoulder and spinal muscles.

To use the dog sling as an assistive device, you help your dog to not fall over by looping the sling around their back legs, supporting their back end from wobbling and falling over.

Goal: When the dog gets up, they use specific muscles in their back, and sitting requires the use of muscles along the stomach and thighs, which all make up the muscles responsible for large movements.

Hours in a wheelchair can make these muscles weaken and atrophy, but this exercise helps regain control and strength.

Flexibility Exercises

Muscles need to stretch, but when your dog’s body isn’t able to stretch fully, they need some help to stretch and strengthen muscle fibers. These exercises are ideal for helping stretch important muscle groups.

Stars and Earth

For this exercise, your dog needs to be seated. Offer them a treat, then raise it above their head, bringing it level to the tip of their nose but just out of reach. Move the treat to a position that’s perpendicular to where their eyes are, causing them to raise their neck and look back over their own spine.

Let them enjoy the treat when their head returns to their normal position. Wait a moment, then offer another treat, but this time lower it to their front feet, encouraging them to arch their neck down and over. When they successfully bend their neck forward, reward them with the treat.

Repeat twice more for up to the stars, and twice more to look at the earth.

Goal: By helping your dog look way back and completely down, their neck and back muscles are stimulated, helping lengthen and reinforce these muscle groups.

Variation: Follow the same principles, but move the treat to the far left until the treat is next to the dog’s shoulder. Reward, and then repeat to the far right. Reward, repeating twice more to either side.

On Top of the World

This is a powerhouse exercise, and it’s perfect for dogs that are recovering from surgery. It works best when you have an assistant to help with supporting your dog.

Using the yoga ball and the smaller basketball, help your dog stand on the basketball with their back legs and their front legs on the yoga ball. Support their front and back ends, and take care that the balls don’t slip out from under your dog. Placing a rolled towel around the balls helps prevent their sudden evacuation.

The balls will gently wobble, which helps your dog’s leg, back, and tummy muscles to respond. For dogs that are severely disabled and can’t stand, you can use the yoga ball by placing it under their belly, letting them gently rock forward, backward, and side to side. While it may look like they’re not doing anything, your dog is getting a great workout.

The Last Stretch

Your dog needs to be kept physically, mentally, and emotionally active, no matter whether they are able-bodied or suffering a disability. Use exercise, rehabilitation activities, and a great wheelchair as part of their canine rehabilitation to help ensure their quality of life.

Helping Your Four-Legged Friend To Age Well