Navigating Rough Seas
Navigating Rough Seas focuses on managing serious medical conditions with compassion and expertise. From neurological diseases to chronic pain management and orthopedic injuries, we offer specialized therapies to improve your pet's quality of life.
We have a lot of fun in the Ruff Day Pet Gym, to be sure, but we also find ourselves treating some very serious medical conditions on a regular basis.
Many of our clients find us after being told by other Veterinarians (sometimes several other Veterinarians…) that their pet will never get better and it’s time to give up.
Sometimes we see these cases, and we verify what other Vets have told them, and we compassionately help these dedicated pet owners through the very difficult process of providing palliative care, or making the painful decision to say goodbye.
Much of the time, however, we find solutions that help improve their pet’s quality of life, and even the medical condition itself, often to the amazement of our highly qualified colleagues!
Our goal is to learn from each patient and owner, and to share what we learn through improved patient outcomes and empowering owners with actionable information.
Minimize Pain
Acute Pain Control for pets
It is a common misconception that a pet should wait to pursue acupuncture or physical rehabilitation until their acute pain is under control. The truth is that many of our treatments are aimed to help pets through the acute pain stages of an injury or surgery. This helps improve their quality of life, can often help lower doses of pain medications needed to keep them comfortable, and can help prevent acute pain from turning into chronic pain syndrome.
Chronic pain management
Acute pain, while unpleasant, is an important protector to our body. When we put our hand down on a hot stove, it is this beneficial pain that makes us pull our hand away, saving our skin from burns and other damage. Chronic pain is an awful beast that doesn’t benefit the body one bit, and is actually considered a brain and spinal cord disorder (i.e. a “Neuropathy”). It’s very hard to treat because most medications, especially that are safe for pets, don’t help with the cellular abnormality that develops in the spine that causes chronic pain syndrome. Acupuncture and exercise are some of the best treatments we have for chronic pain, and Ruff Day is the very best place for patients with chronic pain to find relief!
Maximize Mobility
Advanced, chronic mobility disorders
Have you ever met a Frenchie in a wheelchair? A tripawd Aussie? A Labrador with a knee brace? We do the measurements, fitting, training, etc, that goes along with all of those devices. And we help pets live their best lives despite their (sometimes very severe) mobility restrictions!
There are many types of devices with many manufacturers creating solutions to many conditions that we see in our patients, so in some cases we learn about the products as we go, with the guidance of the manufacturer’s dedicated Veterinary team. This isn’t to say that we will blindly install parts on your pet, but rather we will use our expertise to help guide the process of matching our patients to the solution that works best for pets and their owners.
Some people adopt pets in these conditions, and some find their pet in a serious state after an unexpected accident or illness. Most people experience overwhelm and frustration at the lack of high quality educational resources available to them. This is why we place a heavy focus on education, coaching, and real-life problem solving tailored to their individual needs.
Soft tissue and orthopedic injuries
Humans are familiar with the importance of physical therapy after an injury or major surgery, but pets are often told to rest in a crate for days to weeks (sometimes months!), and when they come out of their confinement after the allotted time, “they will be just fine.” Unfortunately it rarely turns out that way. Movement is actually a critical part of healing, but it needs to be thoughtful movement that targets specific functional goals. This is what we do!
Improve Function
Neurological disease and dysfunction
Whether the source of the neurological problem is the brain, spinal cord, or peripheral nerves that connect the spinal cord to the body’s systems, the therapies provided by Ruff Day are not only beneficial for improving quality of life, but often we can help improve nerve healing!
Calming the Amygdala
Anxiety and confidence building
Those of us humans who’ve suffered from anxiety know how important exercise is in its management. This is true for pets, too. It’s also true that pain, chronic illness, and simply aging can all contribute to anxiety in our pet population, and a fitness plan, appropriate nutrition and nutraceuticals, and environmental management helps them feel better in their heads and bodies!
Vet phobic patients who thrive in an alternative environment
The first thing people notice when they walk into the Pet Gym is that we look, feel, and smell nothing like a traditional Vet clinic. We also treat patients differently than in a traditional Vet clinic. For our treatments to even be effective, our patients have to be willing participants. They learn quickly that they’re allowed to say “no” at any point, and our staff will listen. Over time, often a friendship of sorts develops, and we can usually get some pretty exciting improvement in their behavior, comfort, and mobility!
Hospice and End of Life
Helping Pets Sail Smoothly into the Sunset
Though as inevitable and painful as taxes, navigating the end of life can be a positive, life affirming experience for some. For others who have a paralyzing fear of death, we can help by providing tools and practices that ease a degree of suffering and aim to make their pet’s transitioning a less painful process.
We don’t want to tell you somebody else’s private story here, though we have helped many through the decision-making and coping that comes along with this process. Instead, we’re going to get a little personal.