Being a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist I have 1000′s upon 1000′s of observations hours under my belt. Hours of watching the “best”, the “uncoordinated”, and the “everything in between”. I have repaired and enhanced canines for about 5 years now and have loved all the creative challenges and triumphs that have come with the job (more of a passion than a job really).
I fell in love with the Standard Poodle breed about 5 1/2 year ago when I adopted a 4 1/2 year old cafe au lait, Tess. For better or for worse, Tess came along at just the time that I was embarking upon my canine rehab journey, which for Tess meant multiple “demo dog” days, hours of range of motion, strengthening, body awareness, and conditioning exercises by yours truly and other canine rehab want-to-bes at the Canine Rehabilitation Institute, my home, and at my clinic. At 10, Tess is now retired from agility (she took her first agility class at 7 1/2 and started competing at 8 years old) and as a retirement present we are getting ready to take our first rally class in a couple of weeks. Making the retirement decision was a tough one, but selfishly I wanted to continue to enjoy hiking, snowshoeing, and running (yes, running) with my best buddy as long as possible. Agility is a tough sport on standards!
Poodles are a fascinating breed. They have their own unique structure and movement patterns which facilitates excelling in multiple sporting and working venues. Their structural uniqueness if not understood correctly WILL lead to progressive joint breakdown and injury. But there’s hope! Follow me as we explore (not explode) the poodle’s potential and keep poodles in motion.
Robin Pelletier, PT, MPT, CCRT