After a whooper of a slipped disc two & half months ago, Lucas has cheered us all up by regaining his bounce. Advised to increase exercise and get muscle tone back, is there some way I can assist to help build up his hind quarters again?
Many thanks.

i have heard from other pointer breder that swimming ie hydrotherpy in dogs is fantasic esp after injury etc have word with your vet for places in your area or google it
or to save money do u now anyone with swimming pool also try acupunter
hope lucas gets well soon

Unfortunately swimming is not an option, have discussed it with the specialist who agrees. Should have encouraged him years ago but he has always been petrified of water and neither of us think that the stress of swimming will benefit him.

Animal physio should help.

There are various different exercises that can help but a good animal physiotherapist
can put you on the right road for your boy.

http://www.iaat.org.uk/ is the official organisation for animal physio's

The best thing I find to build muscle is exercise up and down hills.  Living in sunny Scotland, we have some corkers.  My house is actually about halfway up one with fields behind it so I usually walk the dogs up the field on lead to warm up then I sit at the top tossing a ball down to the bottom.  This is a great muscle builder.  Back end coming up hill and front end running down.
Another good one is walking in heather.  The smaller dogs need to jump and pounce over the stuff and all that builds muscle fast.
Higher protein diet too.
Of course, always warm up first.

I am now wary of letting dogs chase toys downhill as a friend's dog snapped his neck and died instantly when he did this last year. Very sad and one of those freak accidents but it makes you think.

Depends on how your dogs muscles are my physio has suggested for one of mine
walking her up and down stairs indoors (in a controlled manner i.e on lead not allowing them to race up and down)
This is obviously dependant on how good your dogs front is.

We do repetition sit/stands,
Shake a Paw but bringing the leg forward - you do the opposite front leg to the rear leg that you want to work.
You have to see the muscles to move in the rear leg.

But to be honest you are better to see a physio as they can assess your dog and see which muscle groups need working
and what they need exercise wise to keep them in balance.

They honestly are worth it.

I never like dogs running down hill or downstairs too much, but I agree running uphill is great. Lots and lots of walking will build up muscle too. When I was campaigning dogs and wanted them in tiptop condition I found that exercise at a constant trot was fabulous for muscle tone.

cracar is right about the hills--one of my dogs came to me at 10 months and although his front assembly was good he just disappeared at the back. He's 3 and a half now and looks really balanced thanks to free running up and down steep hills and valleys, jumping through bracken and a lot of swimming. I was really proud when his breeder saw him the other week for the first time in a year and said he looked better than she ever thought he would.

> he has always been petrified of water

Such a shame, as there is plenty of it where you are!
I wonder if walking/running on shingle beaches would help? It's much harder work than flat ground, and my leg muscles told me it was good when I lived on the south coast.

I really, really don't mean any offence by this, Marisa, but you can't live life wrapped in cotton wool.  Freak accidents happen, you can't live thinking what if.  My cousin fell from a horse and broke her back in a freak accident and was terrified because my daughter(then 3) went riding too.  My daughter still rides and (touch wood) hasn't had a bad fall but I think of all the great times she would've missed had I listened to that advice.  I live my life to the full and I let my dogs too.

Oh, trotting by a bike is great exercise for building muscle and helps if your dog paces too! But you need to build up steady.  Our springer works constantly in fields but never looks better than in the summer when we bike a lot as a family and she trots alongside.

Very true Cracar but I don't believe in risking my dogs' lives when it is unavoidable. There are other ways to build up muscle strength that don't involve such risks. I'm sure my friend Bill never thought he would lose his young BSD in such a way but it happened and I bet he never throws a ball downhill again, I know I won't.

Many thanks for your replies.
He is beginning to run again, but for a while yet to be restricted to increasing distance, encourage jogging & the odd moment of exuberance! Stairs are a no no, and I've never been keen for them to run down hills, with a large prominent chest & short legs, momentum tends to take over. He has done stairs in the past - supervised - spent almost a year upstairs with OH - but although he is not wrapped in cotton wool think after a spell of paralysis and now this he can restrict himself to the ground floor.
I'm sure there must be a few of his kind out there able to trot alongside a bicycle but he's not one of them, endurance yes but not speed. So will be encouraging him up a few more hills and heading for the beach. He's back at the chiropractor next week and will ask for some exercises  for us.
He is allowed to enjoy himself and has been kept trim & fit but I will be curtailing some avoidable risks, slipway to the beach rather than steep steps, no more wheelies around the pond and sadly refereeing play with his cousin. Hopefully with cooler months ahead and a time of year he gets out of first gear, we will manage to make up the loss of condition to his back end. Thank you & fingers crossed.

> He is beginning to run again, but for a while yet to be restricted to increasing distance, encourage jogging & the odd moment of exuberance! Stairs are a no no, and I've never been keen for them to run down hills, with a large prominent chest & short legs, momentum tends to take over.

Buster has ED, as a pup he could barely walk, it was a slow process building up his strength and the distance he could manage. To start with, going up hill was too much for him, but I had to be very carefull about him going down hill as he often stumbles (when walking). A stumle down-hill could be devastaing for his allready rubbish elbows and he tends to take a good part of the fall on his face, so I'm never happy walking him down steep hills. So he always was kept on a short lead, so as not to pick up any speed.
It was such a relief when he was strong enough to go up the steep hill. To start with it had to be at a slow pace, but he can run up it now (if the mood takes him)  :) If he does stumble going up-hill, gravity helps soften the blow, so I have no worries letting him out on his long-line to go up the hill :)

I know you mentioned hating water, but is he ok in a bath with a tiny bit of water? We use the hydro treadmill. My girl hates water but she was fine with this as she didnt panic as her feet are always touching the floor.

> We use the hydro treadmill.

Thank you yes, had thought of hydro treadmill but the only one we have used in the past on the island has since closed & I'll do all I can to help but day returns to the 'mainland' are I'm afraid too expensive. Will try and encourage him through very shallow water at the beach!

Effective exercise for building up the muscles over-laying the spine is.... teaching ...firstly - standing on hind legs then walking on hind legs.

I used to build up the young boxers hindquarters by teasing them with my schooling whip ( with the little dangle) and then walking. They had fine big thighs. The Meercat exercise really works on the back end strength. 

Only if the dog can tolerate it of course. :-)

My 13yr old BC did her cruciate last October and after surgery and many many weeks of rest and slow gentle exercise she still had serious muscle atrophy, vet advised hydrotherapy and as we were lucky that she was a water mad dog she had 2 months of treatment, the vet also said lead walks and make her pull which wasn't difficult because even with poor muscle she still wanted to run.

She's never been keen on stairs which the vet suggested but we do have a few hills around here.

She's only slight in her build and really struggles to reach 15kg but we have managed to get a bit more muscle on to her hind quarters, she's building up slowly considering her age she's doing well.

Like your Lucas she has regained her bounce, I would say from my experience with my girl that lead walk does wonders especially if you have a water phobic lad and have hills in your area.

> she's building up slowly considering her age she's doing well

So pleased that she is doing well & wish you both all the best.
Lucas has improved dramatically in the last week & it is a joy to be able to stride out again with him able to sustain a trot alongside. For almost three months he has tiptoed down the road taking up to ten minutes for a distance he normally did in a couple. Took him to his favourite beach today & had tears in my eyes watching him explore & so obviously enjoying himself, something I was beginning to think would not happen again & just as important that cloudy pained look has gone from his eyes. We will take it slowly to build up to our longer 2-3 hour walks but it is the time of year for it & I need to loose a few pounds & hopefully he will begin to increase his hind quarters! Many thanks for your replies.