Everypawdy, please join us this Saturday, 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific, for a live "Ask-a-Vet" chat with Dr. Jessica Waldman, founder of California Animal Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles. Bring your questions about life on three legs, canine health, and more!

Remember, you'll need to sign up as a member before you can chime in. Give yourself plenty of time, then say hello!

Dr. Waldman is co-founder of California Animal Rehabilitation Center, one of the only rehab centers in the country with both a doctor and a physical therapist on staff, both of whom are certified canine rehabilitation practitioners.

Dr. Waldman speaks at veterinary meetings on the subject of Canine Rehabilitation and she has a special interest in neurological rehabilitation and in nutrition for all life stages. She loves to see her patients’ quality of life improve, and she counsels in nutrition utilizing a combination of Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine for the best possible outcome.

Dr. Waldman completed a certificate program from the Canine Rehabilitation Institute to become a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist. She is also a Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist through the Chi Institute. She is one of the founding members of the American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians.

We will post highlights from the chat in this topic. Feel free to reply with any questions you'd like us to ask.

Chat Transcript Highlights

12/18/10 Tripawds Live Ask A Vet Chat with Dr Jessica Waldman from California Animal Rehab

When a tripawd hurts a remaining leg:

<hockeymom> Harley had his left front leg amputated in May.  Now he's messed up his knee on his right rear leg.  Can't put any weight on it.  Anyone had any experience with leg braces?

‹Dr.Waldman› Hi there!! Sorry to hear about Harley. I have to say that I have tried every kind of knee brace on the market and don't like any of them, that is, unless most of the ligaments of the knee are torn (both cruciates and collaterals) which is rare. Likely, Harely had  a cruciate tear right?

‹hockeymom› I'm not sure what he tore.  Nothing was torn when he was at the vet two weeks ago.  But it seems to have gotten much worse today.

‹Dr.Waldman› did the limp start two weeks ago then was minimized and now he is non weight bearing today?

‹hockeymom› yes

‹admin› any options other than surgery?

‹Dr.Waldman› sounds like he went from a partial cruciate tear to a full one, sorry. these are difficult injuries but we rehab them without surgery. sometimes, when the mensicus (little pillow) inside the knee is torn which happens with the cruciate tear, they don't recovery as well with rehab alone, so we are doing a study on arthroscopy (scope into the joint to take out the painful mensical tear) for dogs that don't respond as well. I am not a fan of any surgery for cruciat tears that exist. I have an article on rehabiliating the cruciate ligament on my website that may give you some basics. See a rehab vet or rehab vet/physcial theapist combo and they can set you up for a program

‹Dr.Waldman› it's under helpful articles for pet owners.  for now. complete rest and confinement, he will start toe touching/wt bearing within a few days, lots  of ice too

Chiropractic care for tripawds:

‹maggie› yes, for Maggie:  do you recommend regular chiropractic and/or acupuncture for a Tripawd?  If so, how often?  I live 4 hrs. from my holistic vet – is it still worth it to do it infrequently?

‹Dr.Waldman› That is dedication!!  I am on the fence about chiropractic. I have seen it help somewhat but right now I am rehabiliating a dog that is paralyzed in all four legs from an adjustment so I see that a lot too…I think that inconsistent acu treatments are a good idea as tripods get pretty sore backs consistently, plus, the vet can feel the back an alert you if it's more sore. If it is, you can do some contrast ice and heat (5 min heat, ice, heat, ice) a few times a day for comfort

‹maggie› my holistic vet adjusts with an activator – considered safer adjustment?

‹Dr.Waldman› OH my, we just talked about an activator…this is a one day continuing ed course that has no research… I'm not a huge fan.

‹Dr.Waldman› Since there is a "paws" I think I'll just share with you that if you all do go to chiropracters or acupuncturists, make sure they are vets and that they are certified in these areas!

About Acupuncture:

‹littlemanjake› Recently we've been trying electrical stimulation w/acupuncture & it seems to last longer…any thoughts? Isabelle's issues are w/L-S arthritis

‹Dr.Waldman› Electro acupuncture does last longer than regualr needling alone. It can last 5-7 days while regular AP can last 1-4

Physical Therapy Work:

‹Dr.Waldman› for the LS arthritis guy, hind limb strengthening is so important, and not letting him overdo anything. sit to stands,  balance on the unstable surface, tail traction, and active hip extension which you can do by having your pet's front feet elevated ona ramp or stairs and have them reach forward so that the hips go backwards

‹maggie› Maggie has a calcified disc in her lumber area – I do PT work that you stated for Isabelle…she is a rear leg amp.  for hip extension I do it when she's laying flat. OK?

‹Dr.Waldman› Peanut weight bearing exercises to me would be considered "moderate" to "difficult" and dogs with chronic pain I don't do exercises that difficult for…I think standing on a thick dog bed woudl be easier then a peanut/disc

‹jerry› We have FitPAWS Balance Pads in the Tripawds Gear Fitness shop.

‹Dr.Waldman› Great, I think that's right. "advanced dogs' would be tripods who are not seniors and who have very little chronic pain or other issues

‹Dr.Waldman› one thought on the underwater treadmill, it's a nice tool, but just a tool. I don't think fitness programs should be centered around them, just augmented by their use.  A healthy tripod would probably do 3 min reps, 3 x twice weekly and wouuld do 15 minutes of strengthening and balance work on land twice weekly with us, not including modalities or manual work… 

‹ThreeLeggedMax› what age is considered senior?

‹admin› would it depend on other issues too?

‹Dr.Waldman› yes, a senior depends on breed, size, and health. large breeds are senior between 5 and 7, small to medium likely after 7, but if they have any chronic discomfort as lots of tripawds do, I treat them as seniors a bit younger

‹Dr.Waldman› We talked about "active range of motion earlier", an active shoulder ext stretch is to shake paws as long as they are reaching up high like a high five. do reps of these 10 x, repeat 3 x daily if possible

‹ThreeLeggedMax› Reps?

‹Dr.Waldman› Yes, repetitions. To me, 32 minutes is more than I am comfortable to do for any dog unless it's an active competition dog (with all 4!) I am conservative though, I woudl rather see 7 minutes at a time. rest for 2 min, and repeat 3 times. If she is slower or seems winded by the third set, this is too much

Cold Laser Use fro Chronic Pain:

‹maggie› What about cold laser?  And yes, my chiro is a vet – who also does acupuncture and cold laser – among other modalities.

‹Dr.Waldman› Cold laser is OK, not great. we have one and use most successfully for acute trauma or wounds. For chronic pain like back or arthritis, i don't see a big improvement and sometimes I think it makes them worse. you can stimulate acupoints iwth the laser though as an alternative

Swimming fro Three Legged Dogs:

‹jerry› Doc, how long would you exercise a Tripawd when swimming in the river?

‹Dr.Waldman› Swimming is nice b/c its not wt bearing, but it works all the joints in flexion and tripawds have issues with extension (especially of shoudlers and hips) so I would do intervals, maybe 5-8  minutes, rest, 3 sets 3 times a week, But make sure to stretch shoulders and hips into extnsion and do core work as well. 

Tips for Dogs Born with Deformities:

‹ThreeLeggedMax› In addition to my 10 year old "senior" tripawd, Max, I have a one year old honorary tripawd, Shiba Inu, Edward.  Edward has an undeveloped front left leg and it's about 2-3" shorter than the rest.  He still uses it to walk and swings it when he runs (though when running it doesn't his the ground).  I imagine as he gets older he will be hitting the ground with it even less.  Any suggestions on how to prevent contracture at hte elbow (he  tends to stand with a flexed elbow)?

‹Dr.Waldman› Due to your little guy being so young an active, I really believe in the "use it or lose it philosophy" meaning he should do 95% of activity controlled and you asking him to weight bear on the leg (he'll walk on it slowly on a leash I assume) and minimize the habits he's forming of running without using the leg. rehab is about training the brain to use legs appropriately as well.

‹admin› the tough love approach eh? :)

‹Dr.Waldman› I know, my clients sometimes use tougher words then that to describe me!! haha

‹Dr.Waldman› you'll also need to do lots of shoulder extension (active and passive as menitoned before) and elbow extension… Don't let him get in the habits of disuse and I think he'll do great

‹Dr.Waldman› Also, you'll need to work on standing weight bearing exercises with him using the leg, place the affected leg on a firm surface and rotate the other unaffected legs on an unstavble surface to promote weight bearing.  Guide his head difffernt directions for treats to promote weight shifting as well.

MSI injury (Medial Shoulder Injuries):

‹maggie› My question on Haley – my quadpawd…has an MSI injury(medial shoulder injury) – been rehabbing for 2 months – eggball work and other land exercises – restricted exercise – on leash.  Trying to increase walking time but winter delaying that.  Do you have good luck in rehabbing this type of injury without surgery?

‹Dr.Waldman› It's a hard q for the MSI… It depends on the severity of discomfort she has. Is she always weight bearing?  Does she have a consistent limp? Has she improved with therapy?

‹maggie› She has been completely sound since restricted exercise.  Handling PT work excellent.  NO limping for 2 months.

‹Dr.Waldman› That is GREAT news. Here's the tough news. Lots of injuries ( like in us) don't rehab to 100%, scar tissue is real and overuse will make it worse. Often times these dogs will always be lame with overuse and endurance work. Unless she is a working dog/competition dog, I would recommend long term exercise alteration to gradually building up to 15-20 min walks 2-3 x daily and 15-20 minutes of strengthening long term. It' s AMAZING how much better ALL dogs feel with strengthening on board and less play/endurance activity….

‹Dr.Waldman› Also, once ther is a MSI injury, they can reinjure it so even more important to keep them strong and controlled in exercise

‹maggie› she WAS an agility dog :-(  I have retired her.  Her degree of instability is around 90 degrees on that left shoulder.  45 degrees on right.  Was lame on left.

‹admin› so instead of fetch, a few minutes on the buja board?

‹Dr.Waldman› I only do "modified" fetch with any pet with any ortho/neuro issues. I have them back up and wait for the toy and slowly roll it right to them, the brain gets a work out but the body doensn't pay the price.  The  buja board sounds fancy!

‹admin› sorry, buja board is a wobble board: http://download…..ard-plans/

‹admin› those are our plans for building one.

‹maggie› Buja board named after my old agility instructor Brenda Buja here in Maine!  No joke!

Regarding Supplements:

‹travisray› Can I ask a question? What do you think of muscle building supplements like K9 Superfuel?

‹Dr.Waldman› I don't know it. Here is my skinny on supplements. I use supplements whether they are for people or pets that are third party tested by consumerlab.com.  I never use combination supplements because I like to think about what I am giving, dosages and why and combinations don't work for me.  I do like some muslce building supplemets that have amino acids like L carnitine and L arginine as long they are third party tested and it is is in combination with strengthening exercsies and a good qualtiy protein diet

Tips for Young Tripawds

‹aekwolf› I've got a pretty young tripawd, and his leg was amputated before he was even a year old. He recooperated very quickly, and has shown no health issues so far apart from panting/hiccuping at night. Is there anything I should be doing to prevent him getting any three-legged related injuries?

‹Dr.Waldman› for your young tripawd question/prehab… I am super conservative but I really think that 15- 20 min leash walks 2-3 x a day, play activity restricted to 10 minute interavals with forced breaks, 2o minutes of strengthening a day and stretches daily is the BEST prevention…

‹Dr.Waldman› Just like us right. what if we all spent 1 hour EVERY day on our strengthening and flexibility, we would be doing a lot of prevention too!!!

Stay tuned for more posts and video interviews from our recent visit to CARE! Lots of footage and notes to wade through, so it may be a while…