The following story is excerpted from my award-winning, Amazon #1 best seller, Grow Young with Your Dog. Click here to learn more about the book.      

Painful hips, stiff hips, dysplastic hips and arthritic hips. Many people worry about their dogs’ hips at some point. And as dog lovers themselves age, they may notice that their own hips are not as flexible or comfortable as they once were.

Many will simply accept these limitations as inevitable aspects of aging, but what if you are no longer able to take your dog on a nice, long walk? Did that get your attention? And is hip trouble really inevitable?

 A Young Dog Overcomes Hip Dysplasia

Emma the Border Collie

Emma was even more energetic than your typical Border Collie pup. And if you’ve spent any time around Border Collies, you know that is saying a lot!  Strikingly marked, the active black-and-white puppy enlivened Akiko and Michael’s household...

Chilee’s First Session

Alighting from the Cadillac, Marion placed the small bundle gently in my arms. I looked down to see a tiny tan head peeking out of the swaddling. Wrapped safely inside the blanket was Marion’s precious companion, Chilee the Chihuahua, who had suffered a stroke 18 days before. The stroke left the little dog unable to move his right side.

Chilee had just been released from the care of the a specialty animal hospital, where the team of veterinarians and support staff had fallen in love with this little tan dog.

Even with their veterinary skilled care, the Chihuahua hadn't moved in 18 days. His right side was completely still and he barely anything else. The vets recommended euthanasia, as they held little hope for his recovery.

But Marion had read about my work with animals and hoped that Debono Moves would help her dog regain the ability to walk and joyfully engage in life again.

Before his stroke, Chilee had served as a Delta Society...

For human Rib Ropes: You can purchase rope for your human Rib Rope from Horse Rope Connection.  This link takes you directly to the 3/8″ soft yacht rope. We usually use about a  5′ length for the human Rib Ropes. The way you order 5′ of rope is to type “5” in the quantity field, since they sell the rope by the foot.When you order, in the comments section, ask that the rope be cut and the ends glued to prevent fraying.   

If you don’t have a human-sized Rib Rope yet, you can use your horse’s lead rope or a similar type of rope for the time being. I’ve found that people generally get the most benefit when they use high-quality yacht rope which has more “life” or “feel” in it. This transmits the movement to your rib cage more clearly. But any rope is better than nothing. Please use very, very gentle pressure and don’t do anything that causes discomfort. Check with...

Have you ever looked at your aging dog, with her stiff back and arthritic joints, and wished you could help her move easily again?

But you assume that there’s nothing else you can do. You’re already providing your dog with regular vet exams, a high-quality diet, joint supplements and lots of love and attention.  The increasing stiffness and fatigue is just part of getting older, right?

Whether your dog is already a senior or still an active pup, I’m betting that you would like her to be as active and happy for as long as possible.  So I invite you to read how an arthritic senior dog – and her person – regained the spring in their steps!       

The black and tan dog looked like an adorable cross between a Beagle and a German shepherd.  Her name was Princess, and she walked with mincing steps into my office, her lower back rounded as if in pain.

Princess was accompanied by Janet, a tall, blonde woman in her late...

When Natalie was told that her three-year-old dog needed hip surgery, she was devastated. She wondered if her little terrier mix, Zoey, would ever be able to run, play and chase squirrels after femoral head ostectomy (FHO) surgery[1].

After being assured by her veterinarian and other experts that small dogs do especially well with this hip surgery, Natalie began to breathe easier. Everyone she consulted told Natalie that her canine companion would be running around again in no time!

After more than three months post-surgery, the terrier still wouldn’t use her leg.

But that was not the case with Zoey. While many vets say that dogs should be weight bearing two to three weeks after FHO surgery, Zoey was still not standing on her leg after three months!

Worse, the dog’s leg was stiff and her muscles were atrophied. Natalie, an experienced physical therapist, did rehabilitation exercises with her dog. She also took Zoey to swim therapy (canine hydrotherapy), which was...

Sarah, a 43-year-old brunette with the tan, toned arms of a longtime equestrian, was visibly frustrated. She had hit a disappointing roadblock in her training.

Despite working with a respected dressage instructor, Sarah was beginning to feel as if her imported warmblood would never do well in dressage.

Her horse, an eight-year-old Dutch warmblood named Ace, had lovely conformation and an impressive pedigree. Generally easy-going and amiable, the bay gelding became tense whenever a rider asked for any degree of collection.

A tenacious researcher, Sarah had already explored medical, diet, training, turnout and saddle-related reasons that could prevent a horse from rounding his back and engaging his hindquarters. But despite all her expensive efforts, her horse was getting more resistant. She constantly worried that his back might be sore and tight. No wonder Sarah was frustrated!

When Sarah heard about my work, she figured that one more opinion couldn’t hurt. And less than five...

A young woman named Terra was suffering from pain and tension in her upper back, shoulders and neck. She often felt hunched over and uncomfortable.

 How I helped her may surprise you.   

Since Terra is an equestrian, I invited her to sit in her saddle.

I asked her if she felt balanced and level. Was her weight evenly distributed over both seat bones? Terra replied that she felt that she was sitting with a little more weight on her right seat bone, and she wanted to shift more weight onto her left side to even herself out. 

But looking at Terra, I could see that her weight was already concentrated on her left side, not her right. Check out the photo above to see for yourself.

Do you see how Terra’s right ribs are scrunched together? This makes the right side of Terra’s torso shorter than her left side. Can you see how her uneven rib cage has thrown her weight onto the left side of her pelvis?  To confirm, I...

Vicki found her black-and-white dog suddenly unable to pick up his head. The dog, whose name is Nicky, was moving very slowly, holding his head unnaturally low and still. Vicki immediately rushed the 17-pound dog to the veterinarian, who fortunately ruled out a spinal injury. Nicky was diagnosed with a soft tissue injury and prescribed anti-inflammatories and rest. The vet also gave the okay for me to work with Nicky to help him recover fully.

How exactly the dog injured his neck was anyone’s guess, but the ten-year-old canine dynamo was often seen jumping off beds, couches and stone walls. Nicky, who was probably a mix of Chihuahua, Cocker Spaniel and Rat Terrier, may have had a collision while roughhousing with one of his larger canine siblings.  He also excelled at doing the “zoomies,” running in circles at top speed around their expansive back yard. It was this enthusiasm for motion that helped him become a fine canine flyball athlete. Nicky...