Achieving the successful recovery of sled dogs is one of the Wooden Train Set key tasks for veterinary teams involved in clinical care for middle-distance sled dog competitions.This study compares the efficacy of capacitive-resistive electrical transfer (CRet) with that of massage in the treatment of lower back pain in 40 short-haired sled dogs during a medium-distance snow sled race (LekkarodTM-2021).The dogs were divided into two groups: a CRet group (20 dogs) and a massage group (20 dogs).
All subjects received a single 18 min treatment session and were evaluated one hour after the end of the treatment.A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed in which Diecast Truck pre- and post-treatment pain measures were evaluated in relation to age and type of treatment.Older dogs were found to have higher significant pain scores before starting treatment.
Both treatments reduce pain short-term in all cases.However, post-treatment pain values were significantly lower in dogs treated with CRet when compared to dogs treated with massage.The results show that capacitive-resistive electrical transfer has better short-term results and is beneficial in both younger and older dogs, making this technique attractive to veterinary teams working in canine sporting competitions.