K9 Longevity is presented by Myios Pet, the leaders in pet muscle health. What if I told you that the secret to your dog living not only longer but a healthier, happier life comes down to things like mobility? Because as we
know, motion is medicine. Well, that's what we're going to be talking about today. And I am so honored to have one of the guests of all time all things mobility and motion and rehabilitation theory, Dr. Lori McCauley. And on this episode, we're going to be doing a deep
deep dive into all things motion, mobility, longevity, rehab. I mean, the list goes on and on and on with Dr. McCauley. Um, I'm a huge fan. You train me, you know, I it's you introduced me to the whole world of rehab. Um, and so
to this day, it's all the Dr. L Maui little get my notes out like what would she do? And um, so first, thank you for being here. >> Well, thank you for having me. I'm so excited. And to me, the more people I can empower and give some of my knowledge to, the more they can help the
dogs. And that's the biggest joy I have. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's it's all about giving back. And uh by helping them, we're helping ourselves. We're helping the owners. I mean, it's this whole translational I call it the one health effect. But um but you one thing I never knew um even though I took your courses
and you were one of the instructors and I'm sitting there in the classroom learning about rehab. How in the world did you ever get started in this? Like take me way way way back to the early days of oh yeah when I was 5 years old I wanted to be a vet and then I decided I wanted to pick dogs and do rehab like where does where did it start? Where's
the wacky world of Dr. Macaulay began in this whole fascinating area of rehab? So, I always wanted to be a vet. Got through vet school and I was like, "Wow, this is so cool." And then as things progressed, it was like I had one cool case a week and then it was one cool
case a month. And to be fair, I mean, I did got to do really cool things. Like my first year out of school, I was doing diaphragmatic hernas. I did a persistent right aortic arch on a six-w week old puppy. I had lots of really cool things. And by six years, I was bored stiff. I'm
like, "Right." I'm like, it's another diarrhea dog or a cat that's vomiting or anal glands. H. And I fell down the stairs at 3:00 in the morning putting my dogs out and hurt my back. And my chiropractor couldn't fix me. And I was like, now what do I do? He sent me to a
surgeon who sent me to a physical therapist. And as I was learning what they were doing, because I'm always asking questions. I was like, "This is so cool. You mean you can fix this and then strengthen them so it doesn't happen again? That's amazing. That's,
you know, chiropractic, you fix things and they say, "Well, muscle takes time to learn, but if you strengthen the muscle, then you don't have to go back, right? Permanent fix is good." So, I'm like, "Okay, I'll take a course." And there was nothing. So, I'm like, "Okay."
And I um called up Rob Taylor. I don't know if you remember him from Alama East, right? The whole emergency vets, right? And I said, "Hey, listen. I want to learn this and you have a PT on staff teaching your veterary technicians.
Can I come spend a month with you?" And he's like, "I never say yes, but for some reason I'll say yes." Like, okay. From then until the time I got there, that person, Mary Lester, left and a new PT came in. And I'm like, "Okay, I'll learn everything I can from him." And so
I spent a month there. We actually did some um some some um some research and that was really cool. And then I came back and I'm like, I want to learn acupuncture. And I started the acupuncture course and I thought I was
going to have like a I had a six-month old baby, right? And I was like, okay, can I be a mom, a general practitioner, and then start and learn this whole new thing? And I couldn't. So, I gave up general practice and I'm like, I'm going
to put my whole heart into rehab. Um, came up with the idea of the underwater treadmill for for dogs and thought, I'm going to work three days a week, six hours a day. I'll ride my bike at lunch. This is going to be great, right? It exploded.
And within a couple years, I had three or four vets working for me. The underwater treadmill was picking up. They now sell more underwater treadmills for dogs than they do for humans. It was just amazing. With within a year, I met
Jan Van Dyk and David Lavine and rehab certification courses started, right? You came, you were the one of the first people to come through. It was just an amazing ride. Still is. >> I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I came down there and flew in
and I'm sitting in the classroom with my little notebook. I'm like, what is this? It was such a new area. You know, we weren't trained weren't trained in this in vet school. We weren't trained in this in our internships. We weren't trained in this when I did my surgical residency. You know, rehab to us was leash walking a non-steroidal. That was
that was rehab. And um >> and we were, you know, we were afraid that, oh my lord, what are they doing with these dogs? I'm going to do a knee surgery and I'm going to hand it off to them and are they going to are they going to screw up my knee surgery? I'm not going to send it to them, you know. And so so it took a lot for me to fly
down there and sit there as a surgeon going but I'm kind of afraid but I kind of want to know but I'm kind of afraid but and then I'm looking at the data I'm like this makes total sense and I would do it for myself and I'm into sports and it makes sense that we should do it for our dogs and it was brilliant but it's
still been a really slow we'll talk about this further but man talk about a long hill battle just to continue to not only convince veterinarians and surgeons and even owners that it's important just educating, you know, all these different
areas of bringing rehab to the forefront, but getting acceptance, you know, and so how did you battle that? Like how did you because early on you people like me sitting there going, "You're not going to touch my dog. It'll do fine without rehab. I just put all these plates and screws in there and
it's going to do awesome without it." And we would fight it because we were afraid. We didn't know. We're afraid, you know, what are they going to do behind those closed doors with this little thing called laser that we sure don't even know anything about that and this underwater treadmill. Surely don't
know anything about that. Um, so I guess my first question is before we talk about how you battled it, take me back because you mentioned underwater treadmill, that's something also vet school, internships, fellowships, residency I never heard of. Um, what even made you think of that? Like where'd that come from?
>> So I got tired of like I'm a nerd. I admit it. I'm neurodeiverse. I hyperfocus. And I would have these patients that we would put on pain meds and they just weren't getting better. And I'm like, what can I do? And I get a new I literally read every journal I
could cover to cover. And I'd be like, pain meds or a pain an article on pain? Oh, it's just another drug, right? I'm like, there's got to be more. There's got to be more. And I looked into the human research and the ecoin research and underwater treadmill started with horses. And they would take horses
first, you know, they'd get injured and they would just rest them and then they would never get better. So then they said, "Okay, we're gonna swim them." And they kept the muscles strong, but without the pounding on the bones, the bones weakened, so they'd be strong after they came out, but then they'd
break a leg when they were racing and they'd have to be euthanized, >> right? >> Like, how can we keep the bones strong and the muscle strong after an injury? And they came up with the idea of the underwater treadmill for horses. And then like 20 years later, they started doing it in humans. And it was like
eight years later that I'm going through this research going, I bet we could do this for dogs. And of course, there was nothing. >> So I designed a it was 10 in thick of concrete. So, an upside down cup, a cup,
and then you're going to laugh, but we had a human underwater treadmill that sat at the bottom of the pool, but we have different sized dogs. So, we put it on a jet ski lift and we crank it up and down the first one. >> Oh. >> So, that we would Yep. And then because
I'm anal retentive, I put in six jets. So, depending upon what height they are, we could have added resistance. And then we could open the jets to have more air to have more resistance. And then I said, "Okay, but I want to see what they're doing." So I took I called the zoo and I said, "What are your po polar
bear exhibit glass? Where did you get that from?" And I called that company and we put that in. And then I had a home security camera hooked up and a computer monitor hanging from the ceiling so that we could be in the pool
and watch from the side what the dogs were doing so we could adjust what we were doing. And I had an ihook in the ceiling and then we would hook different length bungee cords onto a walkabout or a harness so that we could have them have the support that they needed and
change that amount. We also had one with a a ratchet so we could change the amount of support they had so we could be working with the dogs and we could be right there or because I had the depth I had four and a half ft deep we had a light so we could stand on it next to
them and work with the dogs. >> This is crazy >> and cool. And >> so then so then I did not know this story. So, and now there's all these companies making them and and so somehow you were able to take that and then it
eventually be it went commercial like what what how how did I know this is off the beaten track but I'm just fascinated with this. How did you take it from your kind of hobby shop with concrete and polar glass to actually something that then would be taken commercial? Where
did how did that happen? >> That wasn't me. That wasn't me. They asked um I had multiple people ask me, well, how can we make this everywhere? And I'm like, my my job is not to design that. My job is to help the dogs. >> So, other people took the information I
had. >> Um I know um John Sherman, if you remember him, >> John, >> he built his own tank um with cameras and stuff like that. Um, several other people did and then they came out with like the Fernos and the the u the Oasis
and the Tuds and all of those guys Hudson with the tanks so that people could make it easier to just install it. >> But it still came from your footprint. I mean it's still I mean we have you know ones at our centers you know east coast
west coast and the the reality is it's still what you were designed early on your description is just that it's just they basically commercialized it >> yep >> oh my lord so did you save that your previous center is it like in the archives is it saved as like a a museum
piece or you know >> that's fantastic okay so now you have underwater trimm and you've created this this monster that's become something that is used internationally um as a key rehab tool. But now you have to get
cases in. You have to make people like me, a surgeon who's afraid of rehab, doesn't understand rehab, yet alone the owners. How do you break that little, you know, crack that nut to be able to get people to actually even understand the benefit of coming into you for
rehab? You know, how did that happen? >> So, um, do you know Claude Jandro? >> Yeah. Right. So Claude was in my backyard and like you he was like I don't know that I believe in this and I
had um I had a client who came in who said you know Claude said my dog will never walk again and I said I think I can make your dog walk again. and he said, "If you can make my dog walk again, um, my son, if I remember this correctly,
because it was a long time ago, my son is a an author, um, a journalist for one of the local papers, one of the big local Chicago papers, and I will get you on the front cover." And I'm thinking >> and sure enough, I got the dog walking
again and it went on to not the front page, but like the whatever section it was with the dog walking and the underwater treadmill and stuff like that. And Claude's like, "Huh, that's kind of cool." And his office manager, I
Irene Eileen, forgive me again. It was many 30 years ago. Um, is like, "Hm, maybe there is something to this." So when they had cases that weren't working out, >> Mhm. >> they would let them people know about me, right? Because um as every surgeon,
like you said, right, your business card is on every dog. So you are protective of every dog, but if that dog's business card isn't perfect, then maybe there's another option. So she would send me all of those cases. Um I even had a case.
Okay, you're going to laugh. I had a case come up from a neurologist at um University of Illinois, a great DNE who had neck surgery and the surgeon thought for sure the dog was never going to walk again. So when she sewed him back up, it
was a Harley would say it was white with black spots. >> The spots were like this. >> She didn't sew them up to connect, >> right? Why take the time? Because you know in two weeks the dog's going to be gone. Well, when the dog trotted back
into her office, she was like, "Okay, all my surgeries that don't get up and walk immediately, I'm going to send to you." So, it was just a case of sending people back. >> Oh, >> right. Um with with great results. I
mean, there were great results that blew me away. I had a client come in, a tougher Chicago man with his black lab, and I said, "I want to put him your dog." He had really bad arthritis, both hips. I want to put your dog in the
underwater treadmill and do acupuncture. And he said, "I don't believe in acupuncture, and I'll just go swim my dog." Okay, whatever. And he took his dog swimming. And the day after that, I got a phone call. Oh my god, can you see my dog? I took him swimming for two
hours and I can't he can't walk. And he came in and it was just really bad pain. We did acupuncture. The client was with the dog. We did some chiropractic. We did some massage. I think we maybe have did a little bit of laser and the dog
trotted out of there. So, he literally just about carried this 85 pound lab in. The dog trotted out. I got a phone call from the client's girlfriend who accused me of switching dogs. And I'm like, thank you, I think, but
your husband or your your boyfriend was with the dog the whole time. I promise you there was no way. It's not like I have a whole bunch of dogs that I can switch with. >> And not that breed, >> right? >> Oh my lord.
>> So, it was just amazing success again and again and again. And you know then we had the first international conference for sports medicine and rehab where I brought the idea of the underwater treadmill to and then that's
where I met Jan Van Dyk and and um you know Dr. Milis and Dave Leavine and those people and we're like we need to share this information. >> Yeah. >> And then the rehab certification courses came about and I was blessed enough to teach be one of the main instructors for
CRI for 14 years. >> Yeah. and, you know, write book chapters and articles and just I I literally have had interns from 17 different countries, right? I mean, it's just so so cool.
>> Yeah. Yeah. I love teaching is just it's near and dear to my heart. The problem with rehab early on though, and you nailed it on the head, is because we would send you the cases that weren't doing well because in my mind, we're a surgeon. Everything does well. So, when they're not doing well according to the
owner, which of course the owner is always wrong. We're right. We're the surgeon. But then we're like, "Oh, this one does not look good. What in the world went wrong on this one? Send it to rehab. This one's going to go to rehab." And we're like, "Oh, let's see what she can do with this." And all of a sudden, we're like, "Oh, okay."
>> And you start trusting. You start trusting. You're like, "Okay, maybe I'll give her a few that, you know, >> aren't doing as bad." And you're like, "Oh, they're even better." Um, but I do find that the peer pressure from the owner because an owner will say, "Wait, I just had ACL surgery on my knee. My
dog just had a Tillow and a CCL. It makes total sense we would have rehab. Why are you not sending me off for rehab? I had rehab. Should my dog have rehab?" So that was back in the day. Oh my lord. We started our practice of USM was back what, 2006? And um, so it was direct access. It was owners coming
directly in saying, "I believe in this stuff. Um, I think we should do this for my dog. my vet doesn't understand and didn't refer, but I had it for me. We are you willing to do it for my dog? And so I found that the owners really drove it as well more so than we even in the
veterary profession because we still didn't understand it. There weren't rehab courses in the vet schools. There weren't rehab internships or residencies in the vet schools. Um you know, it was the ivory tower was kind of a little bit slow to adopt. And um so the owners I think you know tell me if I'm wrong but
I think the owners really pressured the veterans and the surgeons and the specialists to really adopt it you know do you feel the same? >> Absolutely. Do you know the history of physical therapy in the United States? >> No. So there was a study done, it was a
multi-enter study that was looking at should we do something this was before physical therapy happened on CCL surgeries or or sorry ACL surgeries because it was humans and the study started and it was like I don't know a five or six year study and in the middle
they had to stop it because they said there is such a huge difference in the patients that had it versus not having it that it would be malpractice to consider to continue. And the head of Rush Presbyterian, the the big Chicago
research facility hospital, >> um had the statement of in the near future, it will be malpractice to not offer physical therapy to all patients who have surgery. Do you know what year that was? >> No.
>> 1959. 1959 it was recognized. >> Wow. >> And then it grew from there and then you figure 1998 is when I opened TOPS and had the first rehab. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. And then we modeled you in 2006.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Like who are these people? What they're doing is working. >> Yeah. Yeah. My >> that's fantastic. Well, thank you for the back. I did not see I'm still a learner and and that's what I find about us. We are we are lifelong learners >> and that's what you know we talk about
longevity >> you know learning we're all students right now I'm a student again I love it just like I was in your classroom years ago >> K9 longevity is presented by my pet the leaders in pet muscle health as dogs age muscle loss can quietly
steal mobility and quality of life but what if science could help change That Meios muscle formula with foratropen is an all-natural sciencebacked ingredient shown to help build and maintain muscle while reducing muscle breakdown. With
over a decade of research and real results because stronger muscles means more moments together. My more time together for mobility issues. We talk about motions medicine. That's a new hot area
hot topic especially in human longevity and health. Um it is of course for our canine patients and feline patients as well. Um but when it comes to mobility issues, what do you find to be the most common? You know, what's the most common in your experience and your practice?
>> So when we talk about like injuries, the number one thing I see is cruciate injuries, right? So when you look at the research they say depending upon which surgeon you talk to and I'll ask you you um 50% to 80% of the surgeries done by
orthopedic surgeries for dogs is cruciate surgery and I don't know about you but when I graduated vet school 30 something years ago um it I was in a six doctor very busy practice and we would maybe see one a month that same hospital
now sees three or four a week Right. It's crazy. Um, so we see a lot of that. I see ilio soaz issues, right? Especially in my sporting dogs, shoulder issues, a lot of hip arthritis, elbow arthritis, um, back issues, whether it
be neurologic or back pain. And then I'm very blessed in that I have an amazing clientele. And I have people that are like, I have this litter of show puppies and I want them all to be show dogs. can you work on them so that they can go to a show home and not just a pet parent
home and they've seen the results again and again. So, we have those guys. Or Lori, you've worked on my other dogs. Even though I'm not seeing big problems now, I need an eval just to make sure there's no big problems and then fix all the small problems so they don't become
big problems. And that's my favorite, right? Because it's like clay in your hand. You can say, "Oh, look, the triceps aren't as strong as they should be." Or, "Hey, did you notice that the biceps for is bigger on one side than the other? Let's do these exercises and
and fix that. Or the glutial muscles aren't big and we've got laxity at the hips. Let's prevent us from having to have hip surgery or be on supplements for the rest of your life. Let's do the exercises, the strengthening, the preventive stuff so we don't have big problems.
>> It's huge. And and that makes me think about the way you the way you put that that we also have to consider that these dogs they're on a journey like we are and it's going to change and the motion or mobility issues they may have as a even a puppy like you were talking about
knees you know they get genetic issues like luxating patellas and PL's that journey for that little dog is going to start at six months of age and its trajectory and what you're going to do from a motion mobility standpoint of prevention and overall long-term health is going change when he's six years old
and 16 years old, your approach is totally different. And then same thing with even just a happy house pet companion. The way you're going to approach that dog from a mobility motion standpoint and recommendations when he's six months of age is going to be different than when he's six years of age and 12 years of age. And so and I
don't think people realize that that same with us. We evolve and our mobility is going to change over over time. And um so do you find it really challenging to work with the dogs that are geriatric then that really they come into you and unfortunately they didn't start working with them when they were six months of
age with some sort of exercise program and now in comes the Labrador retriever kind of walking and it's like a little coffee table and you can hear his elbows and his knees kind of squeaking before he comes around the turn to to see you. I mean do you see one of those and go, "Oh my lord, we're we're hopeless." Or those where you're like, "Roll up my
sleeves. I'm ready for this. I got this. This is what I love." Um, talk to me a little bit about the challenges you see with someone that comes in with you with a puppy and they don't understand really they need a little bit of training and what the dog can do when he's a puppy versus six years of age versus 16 years
of age. How do you counsel that same owner throughout the trajectory of the of the path of that dog and then how do you even handle the geriatrics because that's a whole another you know challenge in itself. >> That is like 16 questions at once. So forgive me all of them unpack. Let's
start with the little guys and let's do a journey. Let's do a journey. So, we have the little dog that's going to come in and he's totally happy and healthy. >> And the owner says, "Listen, I just got this puppy. He's eight weeks of age. He's a big ball of fluff, >> but he wants to do things with the dog.
And, you know, he got this dog. So, we go hiking. You know, you live in Asheville, the land of my favorite mountain biking, and so we want to get outside. But how are you going to counsel this owner through that length of this dog's life until it's hopefully 16 plus um on what he can do as a puppy?
Growth plates are still open versus he's an adult. What can they do then? Let's let's take that one dog, the happy dog that doesn't have a genetic issue. How are you going to advise and counsel that owner through the course? And and if you can help those that are watching this, the viewers that are in that same
situation, whether they have that little six, eight week old or the eight-year-old, the 12-year-old, how do they obviously they should reach out to you to learn, you know, in through your courses, but how does that trajectory change for the for just the healthy dog before we even talk about a dog that has
a orthopedic issue? >> All right, that's a great question. So, let's start. So, we start with a puppy. Puppy comes home. I let him be a puppy. Well, first of all, we let them be a puppy and not do stairs, right? Number one, because there's research that shows
that puppies before 16 to 20 weeks of age that do stairs are much more likely to have hip issues. And it makes sense, right? You push off on that step and it takes that ball out of that socket, right, when it's too weak. >> So, prevent that. Lots of run and play.
Dogs that are have rural that are brought up in rural areas are have less muscularkeeletal issues, right? So, lots of play, lots of interaction, socialization because that's super important. Education, right? And communication. So, teach the dogs not
just right for like, well, what did I do? But, hey, can you do this? Yes, good job. so that you can shape behaviors as they >> um the the core and more course I say is safe for 16week old to 16year-old puppies and then all the way from frail
to athlete that we can strengthen the core muscles and the muscles tendons and ligaments and fascia that stabilize the joints >> so that we significantly decrease the chance of injury. So they first come in
and we do a chiropractic um joint mobilization whatever we get normal joint motion in all of the joints >> and then from there we say okay they're going to be puppies like I said around 16 weeks of age they can start doing
some gentle exercise which may be something like pickup sticks right stepping over things >> I'm in North Carolina take him in the woods where he has to step over root roots and things like that increases propriception. We know that's better for the brain from the Superman study,
right? Small amounts of tension and stress, small make a much more stable minded dog when they're adults. >> Makes total, >> right? So >> that puppy >> now that owner is going to come back to
you years later or maybe this is a new client that just came with that dog in the next stage of life which now we're an adult middle-aged adult. How are you changing that that regimen? >> So I don't like them to do a lot of jumping until their growth plates are closed. Yep.
>> Right. So, um, you know, there's, um, well, actually, if we back up, and I know this is on motion and stuff, but, I have to throw it in there. There's so many studies that show that early spay and neuter increases the chance of muscularkeeletal disease. Um, the the
whole tibial plateau can be significantly increased with early spay and neuter. So, we have more cruciate disease. Um, and obesity. We don't want roly poly puppies. We want lean, healthy, happy puppies. Active puppies
that become lean, healthy, active adult dogs, right? So, we do a little bit of consulting about that. Then I see them usually again when they're like six to eight months old because now they're in their like gangly teenage, >> right? Those years or those months. And
we want to work on balance and propreception so that they're more aware of their body and less likely to get injured. And then I see them again when they're a year to a year and a half old, right? And that's where I consider them adult, right? And then as an adult, we'd
be like, "Okay, now we're going to give you some more exercises so we can work on strength." Um, really cool research uh out of UC Davis. Um, Keith Bar studies tendon and ligament strengthening
>> and they did a study on a competitive javelin thrower. And I know this again isn't muscle, but to me it's like super important where they did an ultrasound um look at the size of the fashcia over the biceps tendon and on his
non-throwing arm it was.5 millimeters and on his throwing arm it was 3 millimeters. So six times stronger. >> Yeah, huge. >> Huge difference. >> So think about the strength of that to protect that shoulder, right? So, I want
to be able to strengthen. And we know that fashcia is responsible for up to 40% of the contraction force of the muscle. So, we want to build the fashcia, the muscle, the tendon, the ligament, all of that to decrease injury as they get older. So, we give them
exercises. I'm sorry, you were about to speak. Go ahead. >> Yeah. No. So, one step back for the for those watching or listening. Um, I think that's early spayneuter thing. I just want to take you back to that. so important and I maybe those listening or watching don't realize that the sex
hormones are one of those things that help control when those growth plates do close down and that's why we're saying early spay neuter hey we we want to hold off where I was going to try to figure out you were talking now we're about a year year and a half of age when do you want them to get spayed or neutered you
know when's it safe and how do the owners know is it breed dependent is it size of the dog dependent um because we're into that now year and a half of age kind of thing where Maybe we're in that window. How should those, you know, pet parents or if you're a handler with
your future World Team dog, how do you know when to to get the spay or the neuter or to consider having it performed? >> Well, there's multiple research articles. So, there's one in Frontiers that looks at 35 different breeds. And they say for this breed, for this sex,
at what age they recommend doing it? And there's a couple, I think it's a Doberman and a Golden that they're like, if at all possible, don't spare neuter at all. right? Um, you know, and the in general, the larger the breed, the later
the growth plates close, the longer if you can push it off. Now, if you have a border collie or Rottweiler who's testosterone is like going through the roof and trying to kill you, right? That's right. You you balance everything,
>> right? Um, and there's certain breeds that have more cancer if they are spayed and neutered early, right? But that is a genetic breed thing. So, it's not like your mixed breed dog is going to have a higher risk of cancer. So, you do want to look at the different breeds. But in
general, the in general, the bigger the breed, the later the growth plates close, the later you want to spay and neuter somebody. So if we talk about sporting dogs, so we're going to change, we'll we'll change from the
K9 companion to the canine athlete, same trajectory then when they are eight weeks of old, you know, of age, everyone has this little, this is my border collie puppy and he's going to be team USA, you know, that's what we're gunning for. >> And oh my lord, they want to start doing some, you know, backside wraps and weaves and things when they're a little
black and white fuzzball. >> So we have to counsel there. I'd love to know your thoughts on on that. And then for those guys, as we're talking about early spay and neuter, are you recommending that some of these sporting dogs, whether they're field trial or IGP or dock diving or agility, should they
still consider spay and neuter or do you recommend maybe they can stay intact because we're trying to keep their muscle mass up, their act, you know, cognitive function, lean. Um, what? Help me with that. help me understand your your take on a little bit of a different trajectory of the I'm a future world
team dog from when do they safely start to do some work with this dog >> and should they also consider the spayneuter when and should they yeah can you take me through that just like we're just doing yeah >> companions yeah >> so so your companion dogs will run and
play and roll around and be a puppy my competitive athletes my baby world team dog >> I I have no problem if you start working on commands, right? I'm not a big big fan of heal, right? Because that affects the neck, right? If they're constantly in that
>> good point >> position, um they can do a little bit, right? Baby amounts of it. But having a dog where you teach them what a um a serpentine is, right? You teach them what a wrap is, but without a bar,
right? or a line on the ground so that they know there they will expect later on that there's something there but they can learn the threddle all of that stuff that's neuroplasticity that is wonderful for the brain >> right and again you you you build up to
that but they don't have to jump to do that >> right >> jump will come later >> and then as for spay and neuter if you can keep them intact like you said we know that those sex hormones help build muscle if at all possible
keep them intact. >> Yeah. Yeah. And do you say that to the companion owner or do you feel that with population density with dogs? I mean, these dogs are living in homes and they're being well taken care of and they're flying with the owners and they're out at the dog parks and they're
very well controlled. I don't think we have to worry as much about them running the streets with the population of dogs that we're talking about. But do you still counsel east for for your pet parents um spaying and neutering these dogs throughout their some at some point in time throughout their life? >> What's your goal? Right. Understand that
if you spay and neuter um you're more likely to gain fat over muscle, right? And we know that over twothirds of the dogs in the American population are either overweight or obese. So
pick your battles, right? If you can wait, wait. Again, if your dog is lifting the leg in the house and you can't stop it, right? Or if your female is going into heat and you can't handle it because you've got three kids
under the age of five. Okay. Right. But at least go in making educated decisions, not just this is a blanket statement and is right for everybody. >> Yeah. No, that makes complete sense. So, we're talking about motion as medicine,
motion is mobility. What are some of the early signs that owners should look for? Because they don't know, they don't know that if their dog's in pain that, you know, I have owners that come in and their dogs holding one of the legs up and walking on three legs and he's like, you know, he's not in pain. He's not in
pain. So, I don't Yeah, I mean, I think they have a hard time and I get it. Um, understanding because the dog's not sitting there whining or crying. You know, most of the breeds that you and I see, especially this morning dogs, a light could fall off and they still want to do wee pulls, right? I mean, that's they're they're 11 out of 10 constantly, they never shut off. Um, but what are
some of the early indicators or signs owners should look for that says, "Hey, my dog may be having a mobility issue." Um, thoughts. >> So, I look at the functional daily living scale. So, to me, it's can they rise independently, right? If they can
rise, so get up from a down and a sit, then can they go up the stairs? If they go up the stairs, do they go up one foot, two foot, three foot, four foot, or do they go up one up, one up? Right? Because if they're only going up one at a time, the one they're pushing off on
is their healthy leg, and the one that you're just coming up with it is their painful leg. Right? Can they get on the couch? If they can get on the couch, can they get into the car? Can they get into um onto the bed? Right? Because those are all different levels of having a
problem. The other thing, hi sweetie. In with stairs is do they hesitate at all? Right? Because the dog, you go up the stairs and if the dog is like, I really want to be up there, but I know it's going to hurt. They'll hesitate even for a split second and go, okay, it's going
to hurt, but it's worth it. And then boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, they'll go up or boom, boom, boom, boom. Right? And if they have hesitate going up, back or back legs. If they hesitate coming down, front legs or neck, right? So things to think about like that. >> That makes complete sense. And and
actually it it reminds me in the paper, it may have been Doug Lales that said with cats, you know, we don't think cats are ever painful or have mobility issues or and and the number one thing is jump height. You know, all of a sudden, we finally thought we taught the cat not to jump on the countertop, and now it just
can't physically jump on the on the countertop. So, stairs on and off of furniture, just getting up from a down, those are things that owners right now should be watching for say something may be off. >> Yeah. >> Let's change gears. So, when it comes to
sporting dogs, >> Yes. >> any thoughts on early indicators in the sporting dog because again, these dogs are high drive, 11 out of 10. They are go, go, go. They love the sport. They want to please the handler. Um leg could fall off. They're still going to compete. So what are some of the early
indicators for you that handlers should be watching for that says there could be a mobility issue here? >> Popping out of the weave pulse, right? Huge. >> Okay. >> Especially if the dog knows, right? If they're competitive, they know what to do. So especially if they're popping out
at the same place or on the same side, something's going on with the spine, right? or one of the limbs they're pushing off of >> knocking bars, right? I can't tell you. One of the most rewarding things is um I worked with Murray uh who literally got
20 mocks. No, I'm sorry. He had 24 mocks and he got his Mach 20 in 20 shows, right? So, he literally didn't >> a show doing getting his double queue. And um I was there and at one event, not
at that in a separate time that he knocked three bars and the handler's like I I don't get it. And he was slower, right, than normal. And I worked on him and the next day he won everything, >> right? And it's fixing the spine, fixing
the small things >> so that they can be the best they can be because that's who they want to be when they compete. This segment of K9 Longevity is brought to you by Equisir for dogs. Combining light therapy, infrared, and neuro stimulation to help
support K9 comfort and movement. >> That brings up another fascinating concept. Then body work. I mean, look what you did for that competitor. Okay. So, should they Let's go back to pet parents and companions. Do you recommend that a happy, healthy, you know, canine
partner who likes to go hiking in Asheville and be out there, you know, swimming on, you know, playing in the water and um should they be periodically just be checked by someone that does body work, whether it's a canine, you know, massage therapist that's trained in that or a certified rehab therapist
or should they just check in? Like you and I would go to a massage therapist. We may see a physio periodically and they were like, "Whoa, your soaz is tight or your QLS are on fire or you can't your infra won't shut off." Um, what are your thoughts on that for we know that they do it on the K9 athlete
side? I mean, they travel with they have their Cairo and their acupuncturist and their physical therapist, rehab therapist, trainer. I mean, they're like human athletes. But what about companions? Should they check in periodically and have some body work assessment or body work done?
>> Yeah, absolutely. Again, it's and I say this lovingly, you pay now or you pay later, right? You can pay now and have them checked out and have the small things fixed or you pay later because they're in pain, they have arthritis and all these other things that could have been preventable and now you're paying for the drugs and the
surgeries and all of that, right? So, and if you pay later, they have pain issues. If you pay now and you keep them healthy, they don't have pain issues later. >> No, that's huge. So, I I think for everyone listening out there, who should they check in with? Is this something
that everyone wants to do everything right for their dog and they want them to live, you know, it's all about longevity, but not living longer, but living healthier longer and enjoying life. If you're listening right now or watching this and you have that laboratory retriever that you just love hiking with, um, and you want to have
him assessed, I mean, who do you feel do they schedule an appointment with your general veterinarian just to look at some mobility and motion and make sure that they're on target? Should they look for a certified rehab therapist? You know, we're both ACSMR boarded tips. I mean, where do they go? Like, what would
your recommendation be to the house pet owner, right, pet parent to have some body work done or just checked out? And how often should they do that? >> Great question. And it depends upon who's around. Right. So you and I know there's what 130 of us worldwide that are boarded in sports medicine and
rehab. Not everyone's going to have access to that. >> Yeah. >> Right. Most vets, they don't have time to check that stuff out. You come in with a vomiting dog, they're like they have what, 10, 15, 20, maybe 30 minutes with you. And I teach, right? That's one of the reasons I'm I'm traveling and
teaching so much is so I can help people help the dogs. Right? If you have an acupuncturist by you, they may be able to help. If you have a chiropractor by you or someone who does manual therapy, if you have a physical therapist by you, someone who's it's certified in sports
medicine and rehab or um you know, we there's what five different schoolings now that people can get certified with, right? F look for those people, >> right? There's different levels and you may be, you know, there's a difference between I'm in New York City and there's
10 people within five miles of me or I'm in South Dakota and I have to drive four hours to find somebody, right? So, it's and there's never any blame or shame ever. You do the best you can and then you're happy with it. >> Do you recommend that they do that? How
often how often should the average pet parent take their dog who's an active dog and they just want to do the best they can from a standpoint of you know nutrition and supplements and exercise. how often should they have because we know their general vet you just mentioned it's like us going to our doctors they sit there they're typing
the whole time they have 10 minutes they're like are you good okay you're good out next you know so they don't have time to talk to us about nutrition and supplements and and and overall longevity um so if their general practitioner vetinarian doesn't which we get >> how often should they seek out one of these you were saying acupuncture or
cyro or rehab or an ACVSMR um should they do that annually you think just for the average you know check in to make sure body mobility is is functioning the should >> the first thing to do is get evaluated, right? Because we may think the dog's running, playing, jumping, and they are
and they have a fusion in both knees, >> right? And that's a cruciate waiting to happen, right? So, being evaluated or they have arthritis, but they're so excited that they're not going to show you a lameness, but then they're going to come in and lay down and maybe they're going to get up a little bit
slower. Right? So, the evaluation is the big thing. And then it's up to the practitioner to say, "You know what? He's good. I'll see you in six months to a year." I do that all the time. >> Y >> or, "Hey, we have this problem. Let's fix this and I'll see you once a week for the next month and then I can see
you in six months." Right? Or, "Wow, your dog has arthritis in eight different places. I'm going to see you twice a week for a week or two and then once a week and then once a month and then I'm going to give you a whole bunch of information so you can work on your dog at home." Right, Michael? And I
always tell my clients lovingly, I want to teach you as much as I can so that you can be a bigger part of your dog's health. Not because I don't love you, but because if you're doing that at home, that frees my time up to take care
of somebody else and teach them. So, I try to teach them as much as I can to help them, empower them to help their dog. >> That is brilliant. I I love that approach and it speaks to data and it speaks to the baseline. So, no time is the wrong time. You're that Labrador
Retriever right now could be 12, >> but still thinks he's five and still hikes with that owner. It's not wrong for that 12-year-old to come in and see you or another, you know, rehab, bodywork specialist to say, "Let's get a baseline and then we know where we're
starting from." They find those areas of restrictions, tightness, arthritis, and say, "Okay, we know where we're starting. Give them a home program." I love your idea. What can they do at home? Um, and then you check back later. So, I think for those listening, no matter what age your dog is, it's
appropriate to come in and get that baseline. And that's what I do with the sporting dogs. You know, I want I want I call the race ready assessment before the season starts, like before I take my race car out on the track. Is it ready? Yeah. The wheels going to fall off or am I okay for the season? Is this thing set up? And that's the same thing. I think
data is so important. And regardless of the age, they should see people like you just to make sure that the wheel is on the bus and they can go enjoy their hike. Good girl, Fachi. K9 Longevity is presented by Myios Pet,
the leaders in pet muscle health.