Never a moment to rest or catch a breath, we recently had a follow-up physio appointment.
Several dog professionals had noticed that it looked like George might be in pain in his hind leg. So we embarked on various pain trials, eventually had X-rays done, and received a referral to a physio.
Pain is very closely linked to reactivity and anxious behaviours, particularly when it comes to noise sensitivity.
Obviously, I don’t want George to be in pain. But I had hoped that if he was in pain and we could fix it, it might help with his reactivity and anxiety.
Anyway, we’ve been working on various physio exercises over the last few months. At our previous visit, the physio noted that she was pleased with his improved muscle tone.
At this visit, she turned to me and said, “I don’t think his reactivity is caused by pain.”
A bit of a mixed blessing.
Of course, I’m relieved that he hasn’t been suffering (although there was something amiss with his leg previously).
But the X-rays under general anaesthetic (which led to another lockdown), the multiple physio appointments (requiring annual leave and stressing George), and the anti-inflammatory and pain meds… I guess I thought we were working to fix something.
And we have. It’s great news that George’s leg has improved.
But it’s also a bit rough. I’ve been told many times that if you fix the pain or discomfort, the reactivity just fades away. Not for us. I had some hope that we were working towards fixing something much bigger.
So we’ve been signed off by the physio. It was a particularly challenging visit: George really struggled with her walking away from him (something he’s always found difficult, but which he hadn’t shown with the physio since his medication was increased). There was also that shrill demand barking he directed at the VB.
On the plus side, he was much more comfortable with the examination and with the physio manipulating his joints.
The physio recommended that we continue the exercises to maintain George’s core strength. She said she sees a lot of reactive dogs with injuries—particularly to their paws—because they’re not using their thinking brain or self-preservation instincts when they react. We’ll add that to the very long list.
It was a useful process to go through to rule out joint or muscular pain and, although he struggled at the last visit, George added the physio to his circle of trust.
Still, it’s a little frustrating not to finish the process with a clear pathway forward to a solution.