Inspired by Dr Canapp

Recently Dr Sherman Canapp from VOSM posted photos on Facebook from an Agility dog. This dog had injuries that it had been able to cover up to continue having fun. By the time complete diagnosis was made the dogs career was over. You can read the full post here.

This prompted me to sit down and write. This blog was originally also a Facebook post, however I believe that it is worth preserving here on the website. There have been a few tweaks but this is really a 'stream of consciousness' post. Hopefully i will get the chance to pick apart a few of these ideas further in the coming months. But this is the raw and honest truth. 

I am an Australian Canine Sports medicine and Rehabilitation Veterinarian. I have traveled to America for further training and even seen Dr Canapp in action. I also arranged for the Canapps to come and train more vets here in Australia. 

I do have a Musculoskeletal diagnostic ultrasound- the same one that the best human MSK sports medicine doctors use. It is less than a year old and amazing. I have also invested in the same PRP machine that has been scientifically validated at VOSM. I know the special screening tests to perform on the joints of your dogs to assess the ligaments, tendons and muscles. 

I go to MANY agility trials and in all honesty I now do not actually watch dogs compete. It was far to depressing to see dogs with physical limitations that I could not help. When I did approach owners they were not open to my offers of help. 
Your videos of your dogs runs do show subtle issues and I have started to assess them for owners to see if there are signs that their dog needs further assessment. 

I am also demoralised when I see people comparing my training with the training that Lay practitioners have. They do not have the skills to be telling you that your dogs are free from injury. They do not have the skills to diagnose early problems. This is HARSH but it is a reflection of the number of dogs that have come to me after months of treatment by lay practitioners. In many cases we have months of rehab due to misdiagnosis or mismanagement of conditions that could have been treated quickly and efficiently. In some cases it has resulted in me only being able to offer management techniques because the damage is permanent. 

I offer seminars to help people see early warning signs. I offer lectures to educate people on these conditions. I offer private consults to check for injury. My website is www.primalpaws.com

I want to offer Australians the same level of care and in all honesty I can diagnose the conditions that the Canapp's currently are. I can also either treat them myself OR recommend a surgeon to perform the appropriate procedure. 
I am happy to invest in more equipment to help your dogs but ultimately I do need your support to achieve this.

***********THIS IS MY OFFER************

Send me a video link on this page  I will look at one of your dogs runs to screen them for injury. If i see something I will tell you. From there we can decide if your dog needs a consult. 

If you can organise a group of people (regardless of me finding something in the video of your dogs performance) who would like consults and seminars I will then come to you. Any where in the world. 

I will bring my MSK ultrasound and I will screen your dogs. I will give you exercises to prevent injury, and manage weaknesses. I will educate you and your friends so you can see the early warning signs. I will come back in the future to share new things that I learn. This is a new field of veterinary medicine so we are REGULARLY discovering new information. 

I will do this for you because I WANT to be able to watch agility again. I want to see happy dogs. I want to see healthy dogs. But I cant do it alone. I need you all to team up with me to achieve this in Australia.

So here is the link again to send me your video and get the ball started to a safer and stronger future.