Reflection: Internal Placement Day

On our first weekend we were shown the general procedures that are followed when meeting with a new client in both a canine and equine setting. I will be focusing mainly on the canine for this reflective. How a new client is approached is important as a Physiotherapist as you want to keep both the animal and their owner as happy and as comfortable as possible. If a client is happy with the way I work the more likely they are to return as a client or recommend me as a professional to their friends and family (Barsky, 1992) We learnt step by step the process in which a physiotherapist assesses a new client. Starting with understanding the animal’s history as this can give an indication to problems that may occur from previous injuries. The next step is to observe the dog. I learnt that it is best to ignore the dog to start with and allow the dog to come to you. Once the dog has come over to offer your hand and stroke their sides and chest as this is least threatening (Vas et al., 2008). As well as learning how to notice signs of stress such as, licking, panting, low growling and being able to see the white of their eyes, (Beerda et al., 1999) and how to deal with this situation by not keeping eye contact with the dog (Blackshaw, 1991) and asking the owner put a lead or muzzle on the dog depending on what the situation required.

Palpation is one of the next steps and is important for assessment as it indicates the clients range of motion, muscle strength and joint mobility (Goff, 2016) which, alongside other assessments, will give a good indication on what treatments are needed (Veenman, 2006). When watching the palpation's I started to doubt myself and my abilities as the process looked complicated however I had to remind myself that this is not something we are taught yet and not expected to know.

Another important step is the walking and trotting up of the animal. I found when watching the dog it was much easier to notice issues than it was in the horse, even though I have spent more time around horses I thought it would be the other way round. Recently, I have been visiting friends that have horses to practice noticing differences in the horses build and way of going so I will eventually find it easier.

References

Barsky, J. (1992). A strategy for customer satisfaction. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 33(5), pp.32-40.

Beerda, B. et al., 1999. Chronic stress in dogs subjected to social and spatial restriction. I. Behavioral responses. Physiology and Behavior, 66(2), pp.233–242. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938498002893 [Accessed October 27, 2017].

Blackshaw, J.K., 1991. An overview of types of aggressive behaviour in dogs and methods of treatment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 30(3–4), pp.351–361. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/016815919190140S [Accessed October 27, 2017].

Goff, L., 2016. Physiotherapy Assessment for the Equine Athlete. Veterinary Clinics of North America - Equine Practice, 32(1), pp.31–47. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0749073915000875 [Accessed October 27, 2017].

Vas, J. et al., 2008. Consistency of dogs’ reactions to threatening cues of an unfamiliar person. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 112(3–4), pp.331–344. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159107002924 [Accessed October 27, 2017].

Veenman, P., 2006. Animal physiotherapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 10(4), pp.317–327. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1360859206000362 [Accessed October 9, 2017].