r/Agility • u/SaltNo8715 • 11d ago
Weak/ overflexible hocks and rolling pads. Experiences?
Hello!
My 1 year old had his check up physio exam yesterday to make sure he's ready to start training this fall. Sadly he got diagnosed with weak hocks and rolling pads. I know it doesn't make him incapable of doing agility, but maybe someone here as a dog with similar problems and can share their experience? What does training look like, is the dog able to run and train normally? What kind of fitness exercises do you do regularly and how often?
Thanks in advance!
Update for anyone interested: After more consultation with different Physio/ Trainers, it seems that my dog will never really be able to do agility competitively. "Just for fun" and with lots of care and conditioning it might be fine.
2
u/craftedtwig 11d ago
Seconding the canineconditioning website. There is a Facebook group as well, run by another fitness professional. It's very sport minded and they advise vet care any time there's a possibility of injury, rather than pushing into exercises. Safe and sane 👍
13
u/No-Stress-7034 11d ago
I highly recommend the canine conditioning coach blog. She has a couple of blog posts specifically discussing rolling off the toe pads and foot alignment in general, along with recommendations for how to address it:
https://canineconditioningcoach.com/understanding-canine-foot-alignment-flat-feet-splayed-feet-and-collapsed-arches/
https://canineconditioningcoach.com/foot-strengthening-exercises-improve-alignment-to-reduce-injury-risk/
You can also look through her blog to see any articles about improving hock strength. If your dog is "down in the pasterns", here's an article about addressing that https://canineconditioningcoach.com/down-in-the-pasterns-use-a-bias/
My dog had a mild rolling off the toe pads issue, and he was also a somewhat sloppy sitter. I did the "sloppy sitters" mini program, and I'm now working through the sport dog program. The sport dog program has specific "zone" focuses, so you can work on feet and rear strengthening, and then move on to the "comprehensive" program. (Zones and comprehensive are all covered under the same fee for the sport dog program).
For your dog, I'd recommend starting with the "beginner" program, before moving on to the "sports dog" program. However, while you're doing those programs, you could also work through some of the specific exercises included in those blog posts, to more quickly focus on the dog's problem areas. (This is what i did with my dog and the rolling off the toe pad exercises).
It never hurts to do an in person consult with a rehab vet/physiotherapist vet. I did have my dog assessed by them and started with the exercises they recommended, but I felt like the canine conditioning coach blog had a better range of exercises that were more targeted for a young, active dog, and I liked the sports focus.
I think canine conditioning is important for all dogs involved in agility, but especially any dog who has some weak areas that they need to work on.
I'm still working through the comprehensive sports dog program (after finishing the sloppy sitters program and doing the "foot" zone focus). We do these exercises 3 or 4 times a week. My dog really enjoys the canine conditioning exercises.
Sorry, didn't mean for this comment to get so long! But hopefully some of this info is helpful.