Seasonal checks simply mean a pre-season check up, and a post season check up. Whether this is a summer season or a winter season, these checkups give a peace of mind for the season ahead, as well as for the rest or down times after the dogs have worked so hard for you. 

My personal philosophy is to get these furry friends checked at least twice a year when they are competing as a minimum. The specific pre-season check is to make sure that all the training you have done throughout the non-competitive times, re-establishing the ground rules, foundations and working on the trouble areas, have not taken its toll on the dog’s body before you have even got into a ring. They can simply iron out any kinks in the muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons, making sure the dog starts the season on the right foot. This will enable all the training to be be utilised to its full potential, not being hampered by a niggle here and a tweak there. 

Pre-season checks offered by The Renew Centre consist of a gait analysis, physical examination and check up, discussion over nutrition and supplementation to the feeding regime, and an indepth look at the training / home exercise plan you have in place currently. All this comes from the Vet, Chiro or Physio, plus a heart and lung check from a vet. If you wish there is an opportunity to get a blood screen carried out too at an extra charge. 

I have carried out countless pre-season checks, many times just found the odd few tweaks here and there, and other times found underlying issues that were causing a performance issue, and the start of poor behaviour changes too.  Now I’m not saying that we find these things on every dog, but over 20+ years of carrying out these checks, we are bound to find some anomalies at times. If we can access these niggles before they manifest within the dogs body or create compensations throughout the rest of the body, we can generally sort them out readily. 

After all going into the new competitive season we want our dogs on tip top form and in peak condition… we don’t spend all this money on training, equipment and shows to fall at the first hurdle.

Season checks – After the party…

Once we have completed our competitive season with our dogs, and before they enter the full rest periods of the down times, it is wise to get these faithful creatures checked out by one our qualified therapists. 

Ideally, once our dogs have finished for the season, we allow a down and rest time. This is hopefully scheduled for a 6 week optimal rest time.  During this time the microscopic muscle tears, the micro damage that is found throughout the body is relaxed and repaired correctly. The dog (or any mammal) can realistically only do this if they have a prolonged rest period in their calendar. This repair is crucial to the longevity of the dog to the sport. After all, we invest much time and effort into our dogs, that allowing them this rest time will pay dividends over the career of the dog. 

A post season check up will allow any niggles and pains to be assessed and treated, then the dog can rest up properly. The dog will repair itself on a correctly maintained frame, rather than being out of kilter and then resting up – the repair then happens around a locked up frame, and the tendency to injure themselves further later in the year only gets greater.

Many of my clients have employed a post season check before the rest, and seen the difference when they start to bring the dog back into work. Often the dogs will keep the majority of their strength as well as the muscle tone, only requiring a short fitness strategy to get back into full training mode again. 

Post season checks can be carried out by our physiotherapist, chiropractor or rehab vet here at The Renew Centre, and will incorporate a full physical hands on assessment, as well as gait analysis, sometimes we need to see video footage of any issues that the dog has carried throughout the competitive season, and a treatment plan will be put in place. Often times it is a one off assessment for this post season check, and then we are happy for the dog to go into their down times and recover well! 

At The Renew Centre we can also offer a fitness plan for when you bring your dog back into work after this essential down time. Do speak to your therapist at the time to get a plan in place to optimise your potential for the competitive year ahead – now is the time to sort this!