Home Rehabilitation Advice Please

Question
Dear Amanda,

My 3 year old Pom was hit by an suv three weeks ago.  Although he suffered no apparent damage to the bones, he did have extensive bruising to his leg.  The vet has cleared him of most longterm handicaps, and said that he should be able to engage in a normal level of activity in a couple of weeks.  Now that three weeks has passed, my dog can run around almost as well as before. Only problem is that he refuses to use his injured leg more than 20% of the time.  Instead, he holds his leg close to his body most of the time. The doctor does not see anything out of the ordinary though.  So, I want to know if there is any physical therapy that I can do at home to help my dog use his leg more. Please let me know. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Janet

Answer
If its possible swimming would definitely help - I can't imagine he is going to be able to swim with three legs.  As odd as it may sound he may have gotten into the habit of not using the leg and so now is reluctant to put weight on it.  Taking a soft bandage to restrain the leg on the other side may help as well.  Do this in short periods of time however as the muscles in his injured leg have most likely had some atrophy from disuse.  Laying him on his side and extending his injured leg in repeated motions can also help. Truly though swimming is the best exercise so if you don't have somewhere you can take him speak to your vet to see if you have a physical therapist in your area that has one.

Amanda