'Dancer', a 5½-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, was at the height of her agility career, competing three out of four weekends with her owner, Suzanne Birdsall of Long Beach, Calif.  Dander had her MACH and was competing in AKC Excellent B and USDAA Masters Classes, and Birdsall had her sights set on the nationals.  dancer had always been in perfect health, so when the terrier started showing periodic lameness, Birdsall was puzzled.  Dancer occasionally skipped, briefly holding up a hind leg.  Then, at class one night, Dancer hit the teeter slightly off center, and didn't want to continue.  The next morning, she couldn't get up.

"I was shocked.  In a matter of hours, she went from a little bit of skipping to not being able to walk," say Birdsall.  The next shock was the challenge she was about to face in finding out what was wrong with her dog, how best to rehabilitate her, and how to return to the sport they both loved.

In last month's column, we heard about dogs and handlers who found physical conditioning programs to enhance their agility performance.  In cases where there has been no injury or lameness, it can be relatively easy to chart and implement such a program.  Not so in cases like Dancer's.

Birdsall remembers the difficulty just to reach a diagnosis:  "I took her to my regular vet, who took X-rays which showed no breaks.  They didn't know what else it could be.  I took her to an orthopedic specialist who looked at the X-rays, and recommended an MRI.  The MRI showed possible compression of the [sixth lumbar] vertebrae.  I took her to another orthopedics for a second opinion, and he didn't think the L6 was the problem, so he did a bone scan.  The bone scan showed 'hot spots' in the left hock and right knee.  He prescribed crate rest and Deramaxx for a month.  When we rechecked at a month, there was only slight improvement.  He said just keep at it.  I really felt that since there wasn't an obvious surgical resolution that the orthopedists washed their hands of me."

Two months and $2,200 later, Dancer was still lame and had lost a lot of muscle tone in the process.  It was at this time that Birdsall's research turned up a physical therapist that could help her create a rehabilitation program that included exercise on an underwater treadmill, massage, and stretching to improve flexibility and range of motion.  After four months, she saw enough improvement to start Dancer on a general conditioning program.  She hired Desiree Snelleman, of Fido'N Friends in Long Beach, Calif., who specializes in fitness and conditioning programs for people and their digs.  "We created a program that consisted of cardiovascular work and skill work specifically for the agility dog," says Snelleman, an agility competitor herself.  "It's very hard to find veterinarians who truly understand agility.  Unless they've done it themselves, they think that it's just running and jumping.  There's so much more to it structurally and mechanically."

"It was very frustrating, trying to find out what was wrong with Dancer," says Birdsall.  "I can only imagine how much quicker we would have returned to agility if more orthopedic vets had expertise in evaluating and treating performance dogs.  I really go the feeling that these kinds of non-surgical problems fall outside their normal billing structure, and if there's no money in it, they don't concentrate on it."  Birdsall's persistence in spite of these challenges paid off.  She and Dancer went on to qualify for the AKC Nationals in both 2003 and 2004.

'Maybie,' a 7-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, was more fortunate than Dancer.  She suffered injury while doing agility in the greater Chicago area, where there is a veterinary clinic that specializes in sports medicine.  Maybie took off six feet early for the first jump at an AKC trial.  Although she cleared the jump, she ran the rest of the course with her rear legs tucked under her rather than stretched out over jumps.  In the next day of competition, she crashed into the first jump, and when she crashed into the second, she let out a yelp.  Another agility handler told owner Dana Pike, of Wilmington, Ill., about TOPS Veterinary Rehab in Grayslake, Ill.  She called Sunday evening, and was able to get a Monday morning appointment.

TOPS' evaluation determined that Maybie had sprained a ligament in her knee, fortunately not the more commonly diagnosed torn cruciate ligament that would require surgery.  "We treated Maybie with acupuncture, chiropractic therapy, and cryotherapy [cold therapy] at home, and Hako-Med therapy (micro-current therapy to relieve pain).  With three consecutive days of therapy, she was back to being able to giddy-up, but not doing agility yet," says Laurie McCauley, DVM, and TOPS' Medical Director.  As luck would have it, a week after the treatment started, Maybie tried an eight-inch jump, twisted her body over it, and dropped the bar, straining two muscles in the same leg.

Pike continued treatment and after just two more sessions, Maybie was able to jump without twisting, and sail over a jump in the classic full-stretch position.  Just in time to go to the 2003 AKC World Team Invitational!

"The staff at TOPS is at the top of their game," says Pike.  "We did three of four sessions a week for two and a half weeks, and were amazed [at Maybie's progress].  And she's been doing great ever since!"

McCauley is well aware of the dearth of veterinary sports medicine expertise in many areas of the country:  "American Canine Sports Medicine Association -- is small compared to some of the other veterinary associations, but it is a start.  They have meetings in association with the American Veterinary Medical Association meeting each year, and a quarterly newsletter.  Their website is www.acsma.org.  And Dr. Chris Zink, along with myself, Dr. Jan VanDyke, and Laurie Edge-Hughes, PT, teach veterinarians, vet techs, and physical therapists what to look for and how to treat these dogs through the Animal Rehab Institute in Florida."

What can the average agility handler do in the meantime?  Research -- before you ever need the services -- what canine sports medicine expertise is available in your locale.  Go to the ACSMA website, and contact the people listed.  Talk to other competitors about who is good in your area, and go to seminars presented by people with expertise in gait analysis, structure, and conditioning.

McCauley stresses that handlers should become more aware of normal and abnormal gait in their dogs.  "I was recently at an agility competition," she said, "and noticed at least two lame dogs."  I think some of these dogs may go back to competition whether they should nor not.  Not because the owners want to hurt them, but because they don't see the lameness.  I also see the dogs that started agility too early having problems at 2 to 6 years old, compared to the dogs that waited until they were 18 to 24 months to start jumping, competing into the double-digit years.  I also think the more veterinarians who participate in and pay attention to the demands of the sports, the faster the canine sports medicine community will grow."

If the phenomenal growth of canine performance sports is any indication, it will only be a matter of time before that happens.