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262 Section IV: Postoperative Care and Rehabilitation

space, and to work on posture, balance and range of motion. (Figure 29.16) are most common for neurological rehabilitation
Perform one to five sets of 1–5 min, one to three times daily. and they can be permanent or temporary (Figure 29.17) depending
on the severity of the lesion. In stable lesions, it is recommended
Poles that cart‐work exercises begin as soon as possible. Some dogs might
Set a few poles in a row and have the patient walk through the need some time to adapt but most will get used to it very quickly.
obstacles in a zig‐zag or figure‐of‐8 fashion in both directions while Cart‐work exercise can start with 2–5 min walks and be increased
avoiding contact with the poles. This exercise encourages weight up to 30–60 min.
shifting to the limbs, and stimulates balance, proprioception and
posture. It also increases range of motion and flexibility of the spine. Passive/Assisted‐Active Exercises with Patient
Perform one to five sets of 1–5 min, one to three times daily. in the Water
Exercises in water provide additional benefits derived from the
Cart‐work physical characteristics of water, flotation and viscosity being the
The patient needs to be fitted for a cart that contributes to postural two main properties of hydrotherapy [10]. Water stabilizes the
correction and allows the animal freedom to move around. Several patient and increases the resistance against movement, thus
wheelchairs for small animals with different indications are availa-
ble on the market. Front‐wheel, back‐wheel, or four‐wheel carts

Figure 29.9 Example of a paraparetic patient in the sitting position with the
hind limbs positioned abnormally. This is a common bad habit in patients
with hind limb issues. If the orthopedic examination is unremarkable, this
posture could be a result of maladaptive changes and should be corrected Figure 29.11 Weight‐shifting exercise performed on balance boards for
immediately. extra balance and proprioceptive training.

Figure 29.10 Weight‐shifting exercises performed
on a therapeutic peanut‐shaped ball. Patient is shift-
ing the weight to her hind limbs while the front limbs
are on the ball. Her hind limbs are on a foam board
for additional balance training. One of the therapists
is in front of the patient for support and encourage-
ment, the other is holding the patient from a thera-
peutic two‐piece harness and doing some gentle
rhythmic weight shifting side‐to‐side and forward/
backward.