Latest / Senior Pet Talk | for dogs + cats / 19. Move It or Lose It - Safe Exercises for Senior Pets

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19. Move It or Lose It - Safe Exercises for Senior Pets · Senior Pet Talk | for dogs + cats

• Amanda Steffen: You are listening to Senior Pet Talk, the show where we combine Western and Chinese medicine to give senior dog and cat parents the knowledge, the clarity, and the confidence to make sure that your pets' senior years are their best years yet. I'm Dr. Amanda Stefan. Let's get started. Hello, senior pet parent. Thank you for being here with me today. I have been enjoying this podcast so much. We have been doing episodes twice a week so I can get a lot of content out to you. And hopefully you fall in love with it and you want to continue to follow, share it with friends and family. I was talking to someone the other day and they said they were really enjoying the podcast, which made my heart happy. Just so you know, it makes my entire day when anyone comments something positive about what I'm doing, because that's my whole goal. So ⁓ you could make my day. And I said, I know, I just when I was looking into starting a podcast, I looked for any podcasts that were out, like what I was gonna do. Anything for senior pets, anything about integrative medicine and senior pets. And if you go down To your podcast, wherever it is. And if there's something that says like suggestions based on this or like more like this is what I think Spotify says, there's nothing there, right? So this is a place where I felt like there was a huge gap and people needed this. This is something that I hope helps a lot of pet parents to become more informed. And really for me, if you know me, that is my entire goal of. What I do is to make you more informed, to make you more aware, and to help you be more comfortable based on that knowledge, help you to be less concerned, to be less stressed about what's going on with your senior pet because you're more knowledgeable and knowledge is power. So, all right. Today I want to talk to you about moving your senior pets safely. So as these guys get older. We don't want them to stop moving. I am so sorry if you heard my dog snore, but they're having a really good nap over here if you're watching. We don't want our senior pets to stop moving. We do know that they have arthritis. We do know that there's changes that happen. We do know that we have to be more cognizant of how we move them around, right? Because arthritis essentially winds up being bone rubbing on bone and that's uncomfortable. But there are safe ways to do that where we help to. keep them comfortable and moving and also to decrease breakdown of muscle and those types of things. We know move it or you lose it, right? So if you're not going to exercise, it doesn't matter how many supplements you take. If you're not exercising, you're not going to build muscle, period. And you're going to lose muscle. That's it. Right. So it is extremely important to make sure that we are still moving their bodies. In some way, which is often very much particular to that patient and will vary for a lot of these guys. So everything I'm talking about today should mostly be, depending on the pet, should often be personalized to them. That's what I do in my program and in my consultations is try to personalize what things are safe for your pet as opposed to just general stuff. On here, unfortunately, I have to give general because I don't know you and your specific pet. If you would ever like to have a consultation with me, I would love that. And I have a money-back guarantee. So if I don't find something that can help you, usually it's about three pages of stuff. But if I can't find something, I will refund you. So no worries about it, right? Why not? Okay. So 80% of dogs over the age of eight and 90% of cats over the age of 12 have osteoarthritis. That is gonna make them not want to move as much, right? It's gonna make them slow down. They're not going to want to jump up and down and do those types of things that improve their muscle mass and help them to retain that muscle mass. So sometimes we have to come in with different things to help them. I think that rehabilitation therapy, I'm not licensed in rehab, full disclosure. I have two people in my program who do. talks twice a month that are both rehab licensed. One is a technician, one is a veterinarian, and they are inside of my roadmap program to give support to pet parents and different ideas and things like that inside of the program to help their pets. Cause I think that that's how important I feel like it is. I have two different people that I pay to do talks four times a month at this point to make sure that pets have options. Okay. So I think that it is underutilized a lot, different rehab techniques and things like that. And I guess in some way it is is hard, right? It's hard to get them up and moving. It's hard to put something else on our to-do list on top of all the other things that we have going on with caregiving and and things like that. I totally get that. When Floyd had issues and he needed PT and rehab, I was not the best at doing what he needed. I would go back and change it if I could. But it is hard. You just There's a lot of life going on and it can be difficult to fit these things in. But I'm telling you from someone who experienced it, it is extremely important to get that stuff in. Okay. Okay. So an easy thing to keep them moving and keep them more comfortable. And I always want to talk about this because it's so important. And it can shorten their lifespan, is if they're overweight, if your pet is overweight, they're going to have more pressure on those joints, right? And then that's gonna worsen arthritis faster. So it is so important to make sure our pets are an ideal body condition score and not overweight and putting more unnecessary pressure on those joints. The other thing we can monitor is our muscle condition score. This is a great thing. There's a dog and a cat scale you can use. I have them free in my program for people to go through and we'll go through them together. But there are muscle condition scores that you can print out and look at your pet and see where you're noticing differences and are they having muscle wasting and where is it at? And it gives you a good baseline to know are they having some muscle loss and where is it? So where can I focus our treatments and our rehab at? All right. What I'm gonna talk to you about today definitely cannot take the place of an in-person rehab appointment. I have watched these, they are amazing. They do lots of measurements of the limbs and compare things and checks and things like that. It is incredible. So if you have the capability to go to a rehab specialist and have them at least do an evaluation and give you some some insight, that's great. Especially if your pet is having some ambulation issues, that will be extremely helpful. I have three cats that I see in my in-home service. That go to the rehabilitation specialist. So do not think that cats can't go. They definitely can. Often we're gonna go and then they're gonna get a lot of at-home things to do as opposed to like going in weekly, like a lot of dog patients, but there's still a lot that could be learned from those in-person appointments. Okay. So senior dogs and cats lose muscle mass with age. That muscle mass loss is going to worsen joint pain. Because we don't have as much muscle to support our bones and our joints. And there's not as much helping to protect those things. So we're gonna get a lot more instability. We're gonna get a lot more pain. And we also know that muscle loss is directly correlated to a shortened lifespan. So it's extremely important to make sure that we're trying to maintain their muscle mass to the best of our abilities. There are some supplements that can be done, like myos pets and Arsolix. Can be used and maybe like changing their protein intake. We talked about that in another episode. Are they getting enough protein? Those types of things. Those things can definitely help. But the thing I want to focus the most on today is what things can you do? So physical rehab, if you're going to a facility, a lot of times that's going to be like some underwater treadmill, potentially some strengthening exercises. And, you know, those things are going to be ideal. They have these little Balls like half dome balls that they'll have them balance on. They have balance boards. They have a huge plethora of all these different things to use and to help them. And it is just an incredible environment. So what exercises can we do? I'm gonna go into a couple that I recommend for senior dogs and for senior cats that you can start to implement as long as your pet is comfortable with them. I don't want to do things that they are struggling a lot with. So maybe this is something we work up to. And I have that conversation a lot with my in-person clients. Because for senior dogs specifically, a lot of times a sit is actually not something they're capable of at this point. They tend to just lay down. And we will work up to that. So we will do some modifications and we'll figure that out, right? Okay. Exercises to try. My favorite is a sniff walk. We are moving. It's not a lot of specific activity you have to have, just going outside and let them do a little snifferoo. People call them sniffaris, where you just get to take them out and let them sniff all the things that they want outside. You may only go two to three blocks, but they're standing and they're often shifting their weight when they're trying to like sniff something far away or like sniff something over in the grass. So a lot of times there is some pressure that goes on different areas and it can help them. And it's very simple, right? So sniff walks. We don't need to go on these long two, three mile walks. We just need to give them time standing, focusing on other things when they're standing to be able to, you know, help those joints and move the body a little bit. Okay. And then the sit to stand. This is basically like a doggy squat, right? So we're gonna use a treat. If your pet knows sit, same type of thing. So we're just gonna use a treat, help them to sit. And then you can use treats or you can use positive reinforcement, whatever works best. And then just like five reps a day. It does not have to be anything crazy. And a lot of times we're like, ⁓ we're gonna do all these things. We don't really have to. You can also modify this if they can't do that. So if they can't actually do a sit and then stand back up, that's difficult for them, which it can be for a lot of older pets. It can be on like a dog bed. So over here I have my dog beds stacked on each other. So the dogs can be in the picture. So even something that high, if you have a bigger dog that has like two dog beds where you have them sit and then they sit down on a bed as long as it's orthopedic and it has some, you know, good foam to it that they can get back up from, that can be an easier choice or even like a stair or a step or something. So they're not having to go all the way down, but they're able to get back up. And even if you can just do two or three a day until you work up, that'll be extremely helpful. Weight shifting. So if we can get their front feet up on like a dog bed or a yoga block, or I used like a stack of outdoor cushions the other day at a client's house on a stair, anything like that that's sturdy, yoga blocks are great. But if you have like a sturdy block, they put their front feet up on that. It doesn't need to be just a few inches tall, depending on their body size. And you have their them put their front feet up there. And then you take a treat and you basically take the treat from one side of their face and they kind of tilt over to that side, you know, to try and get to it. And then you take the treat around and you go to the other side and then they shift their weight to the other side. And they're just following that tree, right? So they're shifting their body weight back and forth. And that's gonna help build the core. That's gonna help with the back legs. That's gonna help with a lot of strength in the body. May not seem like much, but I promise it is. And Another thing would be gentle hill walking. So if you have some hills in your area, especially if there's like a park with grass, that isn't most ideal. So there's not like slippery or hot or you know anything like that. They can't fall. Just like a very slight incline can be extremely helpful. We know I used to play soccer and there's always your coach can always find a hill somewhere. Even in flat South Carolina where I grew up. They find a hill. And you're going to sprint up that hill and back down. And I'm going tell you, you get some good calves and hamstrings on the other side of that. So it is going to help build a lot of their leg muscles. It can be really helpful for them. You're not having to sprint them. They're not going to be a whistle involved, ⁓ a little PTSD there. But just, you know, gentle incline walks. You can go up and down a few times and that's it. All right. We want to avoid again, like aggressive sprinting, sharp. turns, cuts, jumping down off furniture or the car. All these are going to load those joints in ways that we do not want. Okay. So these are some simple exercises. Again, if you have any interest in some more direct exercises, we can do a consult or you can look into the program. Again, I have two different rehab specialists in there multiple times a month to help you with those things. I'm also in there. Two to four times a month, and I have a grief counselor in there twice a month. So it is a fantastic community to be inside of. Okay. All right. When we're talking about these exercises, it can seem again a little daunting, but most everyone that I've talked to that's done these, their pet winds up actually liking it because they like to have things to do. They like to have a job. So if you're doing these things, even cat parents, I had a a cat. Who recently went over the Rainbow Bridge and Fonzi was so wonderful about his exercises. He loved those exercises. He would beg his mom to do his exercises. There's a client I had a virtual consultation with a few months ago, and she reached out to me. We went over some simple exercises like this, some simple protein changes, a couple of changes to her pet. Her pet was having some accidents, some incontinence that was starting to happen and things like that. We talked about all these different options. She implemented what we talked about and she sent me a message last week that said, since they started doing the plan, her pet has not had a single episode of incontinence. ⁓ man, that made my day. So that is that is what I live for. That is what I want to do. The idea that I get to do that even without putting my hands on that patient. And I get to help from, you know, across the US. ⁓ my god, it's so cool. I this is the coolest thing ever. I love my job so much. Okay. I'm sorry. Have you ever left the vet with more questions than answers? And then you drive home and you go straight on to Google. Yeah, I hear that a lot. And honestly, it's exactly why I created my senior pet virtual consultations. Imagine we have 45 minutes where we go through everything. Your pet's full history, their specific challenges, their daily life, no rushing. We're gonna cover nutrition, integrative options, whole modifications, and quality of life. And I send you a personalized plan after so that nothing slips through the cracks here. But don't just take my word for it. Chelsea called it a senior pup therapy session and said she felt so much better afterwards. Adiba got recommendations her own vet had never thought to suggest, and Denise said that the consult was incredibly informative and helpful, giving her many options to help her dog Loki feel better. This is the conversation that your senior pet deserves. And honestly, The one you deserve too. The link is in the description. I'd love to help you. Okay. Exercises for cats. Again, cats can totally do exercises. Cats are fully capable. They can be a little bit more difficult to start on these things because they're not, you know, always as food motivated. Churu tends to be a really good option, but I know Fonzi's mom used to use like frozen rabbit treats and he loved those because he had some allergy issues. So he had to have like novel protein. It can be really simple things. All right. Some things with cats, cavaletti are really wonderful. I don't know a rehab specialist that doesn't love a cavaletti. And cavaletti, it sounds complicated, but it's not. So a cavaletti is essentially taking like a couple broomsticks or poles, spacing them the distance that your pet would walk, and then having them walk over it. Especially with cats, it does not need to be anything that goes very tall. It can just simply be a broomstick on the floor. And like five of them spaced across. And then they're going to walk over those. And then you walk them back. And then you just keep walking over them five, 10 times. Very simple. It does help a lot more than you would think. It's going to help build that hind leg strength, but it can cause some soreness if it's overdone. So make sure we're starting small on that. Okay. When we're talking about a second option, front paws up, weight shifting, same as like with dogs, or putting their little feet up on like a yoga block. And then we're we're kind of moving them back and forth with that, right? And if you have like a two-tiered kitchen island or something like that, ⁓ you can actually like put the food up on the counter edge just before mealtime. So they kind of have to prop their feet up on that. Just make sure it's non-slip if you can for that too. So potentially just putting their front feet up on like a stair and then, you know, having their food before mealtime is often a good time to do this because they're rather motivated. Then bringing that food around each side. So they're doing a little bit more shifting of their limbs back and forth. Again, working that core really well, working that hind in a lot. Senior cats get muscle wasting very aggressively. And it is hard to see that happen and know that there are things we can do about it. Fonzi went from looking like a 18-year-old cat, muscle wasting-wise at the age of 14 to looking like a 10-year-old cat at the age of 15 with his muscle that he had regained. He looked so much better. And that's just because his mom dedicated time to doing this as well as the other things that we were doing to help him. You can also do things like wand play, hunting style games. If they really like to do like feather ones, you can do like treat trails, like moving things back and forth. You can hide food in little like cat congs around the house. Snuffle mats are a good option. You can do some puzzle feeders. All of these are gonna help with some mental stimulation, but they're also gonna help with, you know, them moving in a way that they would in their natural environment. And it's gonna help them to build muscle and maintain that muscle. An environmental setup that supports movement for cats can be really important. So doing like rugs and runners, I really like to give cats like stairs up to a like nice little window seat or hammock or something. We don't want them to have to jump too much, but if they can still jump and they're comfortable doing that, then you can make it just a little bit taller than a step. So they do have to kind of jump up a little bit. I like to just use stairs. I think those can be really beneficial and very easy and underutilized a lot of times, just to have them walk up and down them. So again, cat specific rehab is very much growing. There are a lot more cats than I'm sending to rehab. I wish I would have done it so much sooner. Seeing such amazing results with it. So there are plenty of case reports that are going to show really meaningful improvements in hind limb strength and quality of life using these simple routines. Again, we know muscle wasting is directly correlated with end of life. So we want to make sure we're combating that muscle wasting as much as possible. All right, guys. So there are, from an integrative perspective, there's also a lot of things we can do. I do believe acupuncture ESTEM definitely helps with these guys. PEMF therapy can also help a lot with them. There's also Western versus Eastern. I don't know what shockwave therapy would be considered, but I know the rehab specialist that ⁓ is here locally has shockwave therapy, which is really cool. It's just another like light wave therapy that helps to break up inflammation and, you know, help with improving joints and things like that. Underwater treadmill is amazing. Cats can do that too. They may not like it as much, but If you have a place you can take them to go swim as a dog, there's a lot of like doggy swim places here that you can go just book some time and they can go swimming. That is so good for the joints because there's no pressure on the joints, right? As I get a little older and I have rheumatoid arthritis, I realized like swimming is actually very good for my body because I can exercise a lot and build a lot of muscle, but it's not as much as I used to love running. I used to run very long distances and it hurts my knees at this point to to do these types of things. So I think that it can be extremely helpful if we can get some water therapy in there as well. Some of our smaller dogs, it may just be like you can get a pool at home and use, you know, something to help keep them up and obviously always supervised. But I just want you to remember overall, muscle wasting and frailty is reversible. This is something we can reverse in dogs and in cats. So There is never a time where I'm going to tell you it's absolutely too late. Just for this, we can always work on it. And every pet, I feel like can benefit, especially seniors, from some nice rehab PT type exercises integrated into their day-to-day life. Okay. All right. This one's going to be a little shorter today. I think we covered everything we need to. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me. You can always find me on socials. You can find me at the senior petconnection.com as well. And if you have anything you would like to hear a podcast on, I would love for you to tell me in the comments section. And please subscribe so you don't miss another episode. Thank you. Have a beautiful day. You're doing such a fantastic job as a pet parent. I want to remind you every single day, because you don't give yourself enough credit, you're doing a fantastic job. And I am so proud of you. That's it for today. If this episode helped you, please leave a review or rate this podcast so we can get the word out to more pet parents who need to hear that they are doing a good job. And if you're interested in working more with me, you can find me on social media or at senior petconnection.com because we all need to stay connected. Remember that you are doing a great job with the information that you have in this moment. And I am just here to give you more of it. See you next week.