During the month of February, Assisi Animal Health celebrates the dog sport of Agility. In what is essentially a canine obstacle course, humans direct their dog through tunnels, between weave poles, over jumps and more in a race for time and accuracy.
Agility dogs are athletic, obedient, intelligent, and really fun to watch – and February is a perfect month to celebrate them, because the Westminster Kennel Club is hosting its 2nd Annual Masters Agility Championship on February 14th in New York City.
What’s more, Assisi Animal Health will be there, live-Tweeting the whole event. Follow the @assisiloop Twitter account to keep up-to-date on all the goings-on at the championship! Follow @assisiloop for a chance to win prizes during the competition, and one lucky Tweeter who follows us before February 14 will win a $25 PetSmart gift card. Check it out!
Agility dogs are a nimble bunch, but when it comes down to it, they participate in demanding sport that can cause injuries – just like human sports. The Assisi Loop is an excellent healing tool for treating the types of injuries that agility dogs might face, whether it’s a sprain, pulled muscle, or any other type of inflammatory condition.
One agility dog that Assisi recently helped was our “cover dog,” Mila (or, to be formal, MOTCh Mila von Grunheide TD RA AADC HIC). She’s a champion agility, obedience and tracking dog in her home country of Canada, and she was injured – not in the field in her sports, but just while playing frisbee in her downtime! The Loop helped get her back in prime shape for masters-level runs, and she continues to make her owner Shannon (and Assisi!) proud as a high-drive competition dog. Read Mila’s whole story here.
After last year’s first-ever WKC agility championship, the blog at Speaking for Spot featured an informative post about the risks of agility. It discusses the results of a 2009 survey of agility dog handlers published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 31.8% of the agility dogs in the survey had experienced at least one agility-related injury. The most common injuries reported were soft tissue strains, sprains, and contusions (bruising), and these are all conditions that are perfect for treatment with the Loop.
The Assisi Loop has been shown, in human studies, to reduce pain and swelling significantly. For example, in a study of post-surgical patients, PEMF technology reduced pain by 2.7x. In a study of ankle sprains, PEMF therapy reduced swelling by 7x. The mechanism of action of the Loop, which enhances the nitric oxide cycle and allows the body to heal itself more quickly, has the same effect in humans and in dogs, so it’s easy to see how these results would travel across species. Read more about the Loop and pain management here.
If you are interested in learning more about how the Loop can help your dog – whether an agility competitor or a champion couch potato – don’t hesitate to contact Assisi Animal Health.