Get The Right Information
Our goal is to provide pet owners with the proper information to help their dogs recover safely, teaching not only the importance of basic physical therapy principles but how and when to perform them so that we could improve dogs’ chances of recovering safely and getting back to a normal life. Now after more than a decade online I want to share some interesting statistics to prove that we were right all along.
Understand The General Statistics
A veterinary study published in the prestigious Journal of Veterinary Surgery in 2009 by Dr. Nicole Buote concluded that “approximately 50% of Labradors will rupture their contralateral (other hind legs) CCL (ie. Cruciate Ligament) within 5.5 months of the initial rupture”.
If your dog had cruciate surgery then you know this statistic all too well. Most veterinarians upfront tell their clients this statistic or at least some close variation of it.
TopDog’s Statistics Look Much Better
So here is our finding. In recent months we have been surveying pet owners who downloaded the TopDog Home Rehabilitation Guide and whose dogs are now 1 year after their initial injury asking them: Has Your Dog Torn the Other ACL (ie. cruciate ligament) within the last year.
TopDog’s Findings
Of the over 200 pet owners who responded to the survey, ONLY 30% of them reported that their dogs had torn the other ACL within a year.
At first, glance that might not seem that big of a deal but the reality is, that number is HUGE. That means out of over 20,000 dogs whose owners used our instructions, we potentially helped save approximately 4,000 of them from needing a second surgery on the other hind leg.
Now please understand this data is preliminary and over the next few months we are going to analyze other variables that could have affected the results; such as how many pet owners took their dogs for professional therapy at a canine rehab facility, which we strongly encourage pet owners to do for the absolute best care and results. We also plan on looking at the individual interaction level of these pet owners in the recovery process, meaning how many truly followed the information and watched the videos. We will also be looking at the use of joint supplements in these patients both during the recovery process and after.
The Take Home
The take-home so far is this. Pet owners who took the initiative to search for information online about recovery and rehabilitation and then downloaded the Home Rehabilitation Guide from TopDog, who potentially applied even the basic physical therapy techniques, principles, and methodology were able to substantially lessen the probability of an additional injury within 1 year.
Therefore, it proved exactly what we have rationally known all along. Like humans, our dogs deserve and need physical therapy after orthopedic injury or surgery.
Looking Forward
Moving forward, this fuels our TopDog team to do an even better job than we are already doing.
- We are committed to getting this statistic even lower, by continually educating and pushing pet owners to take a proactive approach to their dog’s health.
- We will continue working on shifting pet owners’ perception that full recovery after major orthopedic surgery is not just when the dog starts walking “normally”. Full recovery most of the time takes 6 months and requires a plan in place to recondition the dog’s body.
- We will continue to stress the importance of using the right joint supplement that provides the essential ingredients needed to keep their dog’s joints healthy as a part of the overall multi-modal approach. Of course, TopDog’s flagship product GlycanAid® HA which was designed to enhance and support healthy joint structure is one of the top quality products currently available on the market.
- We will continue sharing our information and results with the veterinary community as we continue our mission and conversation of improving the standard of patient care.
Every day we receive thank you emails from pet owners who appreciate what we provide. The fact is, we could not have done it without YOU. What we mean by this is not only by helping your dog but also by discussing this with your veterinarian and also by sharing your experiences with TopDog’s Home Rehabilitation Guides ™ with other pet owners, we are spreading our message across the world. Because of YOU, we have helped well over 20,000 dogs to date recover and very soon we will hit the 30,000 mark.
In addition, because of your desire to provide the best for your dog, our joint supplement GlycanAid® HA is now available and used all across the world and even more importantly has received glowing 5-star reviews on Amazon.com which is amazing and appreciated.
Again thank you for your support and if you are an individual whose dog has just recently had surgery, please read our information, watch our videos in our online rehab center and commit to your dog’s successful recovery.
