Sloping or slippery surfaces and various other types of obstacles are a normal part of our environment. Dogs with mobility problems may have difficulty coping with uneven ground. Gait analyses using force or pressure plates, which are well established for characterizing limb loading in human and veterinary medicine, are usually limited to flat surfaces. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cross-slope walking in ten healthy Labrador retrievers using a pressure plate walkway system. Dogs walked on a pressure plate on a level surface with a lateral elevation angle of 10° or 15° until five valid trials were performed. Three measurements were obtained at weekly intervals.
The dogs adjusted their gait pattern and stride length to compensate for the difference in apparent leg length caused by the lateral inclination. The results suggest that walking at a lateral incline requires functional locomotor adaptations that may be difficult for animals with locomotion impairment. Furthermore, these findings could have clinical relevance for the early diagnosis of neurological disorders, mild lameness and proprioceptive deficits.
The results of this study show that walking on a transverse slope requires substantial modifications to the Ground Reaction Force (GRF) response to allow unimpeded locomotion, maintain vertical balance and prevent falls. These adaptations may be difficult for geriatric animals or for animals with orthopedic or neurological diseases. The results contribute to the understanding of canine biomechanics and will be useful in the early diagnosis of dogs with neurological and orthopaedic diseases, in the treatment of animals, in the design of rehabilitation and prevention programs for animals with locomotion disorders, and in screening the progress of therapy.
Strasser T, Peham C, Bockstahler BA. A comparison of ground reaction forces during level and cross-slope walking in Labrador Retrievers. BMC Vet Res. 2014 Sep 28;10:241. doi: 10.1186/s12917-014-0241-4. PMID: 25262070; PMCID: PMC4181697.
