Wobblers Home Test, a Canine Body Awareness Test
Our wobblers home test is often used by Veterinarians to evaluate canine body awareness.
The Wobblers Syndrome Canine Body Awareness Test
Having witnessed this test being performed by various Veterinarians over the years, it has become a pretty common procedure to us. Nowadays when one of our Danes is moving suspiciously or a friend may have concerns about their dogs, we perform the test ourselves. After reading this how to, you'll be able to do the same!
Disclaimer: This procedure is offered to you for information only! Should you employ any of the techniques detailed on this page, you agree to "hold harmless", all-about-great-danes.com, its assigns and heirs. Further, this test is often used in conjunction with additional procedures, "tests", including a sway test, as well as, physical manipulation of a canine's body, more specifically, the head and neck. We have not included information on these additional tests nor do we recommend you perform them. Lastly, poor results DO NOT indicate you have a dog suffering from Wobblers Syndrome. Any such diagnoses should be made by a licensed Veterinary practitioner, DVM.
How To Perform a Wobblers Home Test
With this home test we are looking to see if our Dane is aware of its body position.
Grab a friend to help you to maneuver your Dane up close to a wall. Your dog needs to be standing and steady, we've found that a wall works wonderfully. Lean against your Dane, gently pressing him/her against the wall, all the while keeping things normal and calm.
Lift a rear paw and turn it down, similar to you trying to touch beneath your wrist with your fingers.. really curl it under. Now place the rear paw back on the floor.
Did your Dane right its paw?
Your Great Dane should correct this "knuckling over" position in about 1 to 2 seconds. The faster the better, 1 second great, 1.5 seconds OK, 2 seconds hmm.. may have lurking coordination issues. You get the picture. Try the test and make a note of the time it takes your Dane to correct this unnatural paw position.
Remember, all Danes are different and will have different response times in correcting this unnatural paw position. For instance, a petite female will most certainly correct the paw faster than a huge cumbersome male. Performing this Wobblers home test multiple times over a period of three or four weeks, will also help you assess if coordination is deteriorating, or improving.
Best of luck :)
