Exercise After Injury: Knowing Their Limits

Did  you know that it’s really easy to over exercise a greyhound? You’d  think as retired racers, dogs capable of such athleticism, that they’d  be energetic and raring to go out on great long walks and adventures  straight out the gate…but that is far from the case!

Despite  their background, retired greyhounds are far from the energetic  athlete’s people believe them to be and, as a generalisation, have a  very low exercise requirement when compared to other breeds.  

Though,  while some may never get out of bed and can’t be bothered to walk most  days, there are still many more than love their walks and really benefit  from long walks and adventures.  However, it isn’t something you should  dive straight into.

Overdoing it  in those early weeks, and months, of settling a new hound into domestic  life can lead to a host of behavioural issues, if not injury and/or  exacerbating an existing injury.  

And  given that well over 4000 greyhounds retire from racing due to injury  each year, it is statistically likely that the hound you have in your  house has a pre-existing injury, even if you weren’t told about it.

Care  needs to be taken when exercising a hound with injuries, even well  beyond those early settling in days.  Development of or aggravation of  an injury, arthritis, or other physical conditions can result in  behavioural issues which are largely missed due to greyhounds being  infuriatingly stoic.

Yes…we said  it!  While they may demonstrate an exceptional talent for the ‘greyhound  scream of death’ when they are minorly inconvenienced, they are  exceptionally good at hiding serious injury or illness for extended  times!  They will still be doing zoomies, willingly going for walks and  bouncing around as if nothing is wrong.  That is, until they can’t mask  the pain anymore, and that’s when the issues start to arise.

Many  of the behavioural issues such as reactivity, sudden aggression or  defensive behaviour toward both familiar and unfamiliar humans and dogs,  difficulty settling and getting comfortable, toileting indoors,  excessive barking, chewing or licking are all signs of pain.

And  we know that it can be daunting, and disheartening, to have your  previously angelic hound start displaying behavioural issues.  But  because these issues are largely misunderstood and taken at face value  rather than understanding the causation behind them, many dogs are  returned to rehoming centres they came from.

So,  while in our previous article we discussed this from a behavioural  standpoint, as all these issues can be as of a direct result of the  stress and sensory overload, today we want to discuss this from a  physical standpoint.  For these behaviours can also be the result of  pain.

The most common injuries we  have seen in rehoming greyhounds are broken hocks, hock sprains, torn  gracilis muscles, wrist sprains (or fractures), torn TFL muscles,  shoulder sprains and broken toes…and that information is not always  communicated.

When that  information isn’t communicated, the rehoming centre cannot advise  adopters.  This then means hounds can be very easily over-exercised or  allowed to run off lead, which can cause all sorts of issues moving  forward.  Injuries need to be rested, and exercised appropriately, even  after the initial months of recover.

Even  the best of rehoming centres may not have the full veterinary history,  often because there isn’t one, and so are unable to provide information  of pre-existing injuries or illnesses to adopters.  They rely on the  trainers or kennel hands to provide the information when handing the  hounds in for rehoming, and as a lot of minor injuries (or what is  considered to be minor) are just treated in-house, there is no vet  record or management plan to fall back on.

One  such example, which one of our admin team resolved in a previous  position, was an owner who adopted a beautiful big black boy that needed  help and advice due to increasingly severe behavioural issues and an  occasional limp.

In discussing  his exercise routine, the owners explained he had been having three very  long walks per day and had been since they had adopted him. They had  not been given any information suggesting he had an injury by the  rehoming centre.
The immediate concern with this  situation was over exercise, resulting in pain, which was causing in his  reactivity on walks and defensive indoors toward the child.

On  examination, it was found that his back was out in several places, was  very tense and painful in his lower back/pelvic area that when pressed  caused weakening of the back legs. In tracking down his origins and  speaking to his original trainer, we found he had sustained a serious  injury to his hip/upper leg. He was sent for rehoming, and adopted in  quick fashion, which meant that the injury was never appropriately  rested, treated, or exercised because the family were not made aware.  The extensive exercise he then underwent in the home caused a lot of  pain which led him to become reactive and defensive.

In  drastically reducing his exercise, going onto pain medication, and  receiving physiotherapy, he became a calmer, happier, and much more  relaxed hound. This was one of the happier endings, but others aren’t so  lucky.

The known injuries are something that can be worked around, it’s the unknown ones that are the problem.
We  have heard of hounds re-breaking their legs having been allowed to run  off lead because their owners didn’t know they had an injury, or worse  still, when they do know there was a previous break there…this can be  massively traumatic for the dog, and the owners!

If  you are looking to adopt a hound, it is vital that you ensure that the  rehoming centre you have chosen has performed thorough assessments of  the dogs and to ask what, if any, injuries the dog has prior to  adoption.  

These assessments can  include a full veterinary assessment, qualified physiotherapy, or  chiropractor consultation (or all of the above) on admission into the  rehoming centre to identify or clear them of any issues.  Or, if they  did not receive any of these while with the rehoming centre, is there a  veterinary history from the hound’s previous kennels?

If  the rehoming centre genuinely do not know if the dog has an injury, or  your question is just brushed off as the hound only having a ‘niggly  wrist sprain’, one of the best things you can do is seek out a qualified  veterinary physiotherapist to give your hound a once over, if only to  give you peace of mind.

Physiotherapists  have intricate knowledge of every muscle, tendon, and bone in the body  and how to assess their condition.  Regardless of whether they have an  injury or not, any newly retired greyhound will have very tight muscles  and restrictions in their backs and joints that benefit from being eased  out.  We greatly prefer physiotherapists as they are gentler, more  versatile and more appropriate, in treating greyhounds and their  specific issues than other specialists like chiropractors.  They are  also much more thorough than vets (no offense to any vets reading this,  but our physios have found countless issues missed during veterinary  health checks!)

Physiotherapists  also have numerous electro-therapies that are massively beneficial in  supporting greyhounds recovering from injury.  They will be able to give  you clear instructions on the appropriate amount of exercise and rest  needed for your hound and provide you some massages or therapies you can  do at home to keep your hound in tip top shape!

In  addition to seeking a physiotherapist, as we discussed in our previous  article, take it slow!  Keep exercise simple for the initial weeks, if  not months, as your hound adjusts to their new life.

As  humans, we need to train, build muscle mass, hit the gym and otherwise  gradually increase our stamina and endurance.  It’s the same for your  hound.  You may already be someone who does 5K runs every morning, but  that doesn’t mean your hound is suitable to head out on a 5K run with  you the day after adoption!

For  any hound that has had a break (regardless of how minor), we would never  recommend allowing them off lead.  Not would we recommend allowing any  hound with an injury partaking in physically and joint-health demanding  sports like an agility, flyball or hobby coursing.

It  may be that you will forever have to maintain your greyhound on a lead,  due to an injury they have sustained, but if it is a choice between  keeping them safe, healthy, and happy, or letting them run wild only to  hurt themselves because they have no concept of self-preservation…we  know which one we’d be choosing!  

While  there will always be those die-hard dog ownerships who insist a dog  can’t be happy unless they’re off lead, and that greyhounds love and  should be able to run free…sod them.  Don’t put your hound at risk  because some Karen told you to!

Greyhounds  are a sensitive breed, and pain can have such a massive influence on  behaviour.  While you can’t just wrap your hound in bubble wrap and  prevent them from ever enjoying life, each hound needs to have their  individual personalities, needs and physical condition considered when  it comes to exercise.  

One may  thoroughly enjoy, and be capable of, going for three long walks a day  while others may only be allowed one!  It’s all about knowing what works  for them, and their injuries, because they won’t tell you either way.   You must make the decision for them, to ensure they’re cared for.

At  the end of the day, all that really matters is that your hound is happy  and healthy both, physically and mentally.  Finding the right balance  for exercise is important for this, and not letting anyone judge you for  choosing to keep your hound safe on lead!