4 Steps Forward Animal Physio & Rehab

06/05/2026

Coming into winter? This is the step most dog owners skip—and it’s when injuries spike 🥶🐾

Cold weather changes everything.

Muscles are tighter, joints are stiffer, and that “quick walk” can turn into a strain—especially if you skip the warm-up. I had already warmed up doing Pilates this morning, but Ember had been snoozing before our run.

Before every run, I take Ember through a simple prep to switch her body and brain on:
→ gentle movement to warm cold muscles
→ mobility to support and protect joints
→ engagement so she’s focused, not frantic
You might notice I change our warm ups around. I’ve got ADHD, and being a working dog Ember also thrives off variety 😂 So keep it fun for us both I mix it up but focus on key areas to warm up ie. spine, hind limbs, front limbs, and whole body.

If your dog is older or dealing with arthritis, warming them up before a walk in winter isn’t optional—it helps reduce stiffness, improve movement, and set them up to recover better after. The above exercises are for a young dog, with no current injuries so always consult your animal Physio for exercises with the appropriate challenge for your dogs specific injury/condition.

The goal isn’t just exercise. It’s longevity.

A few extra minutes now can mean years more of comfortable, pain-free movement.

Don’t just get out the door—prepare both of you first.

Save this for your next cold morning run🐕💨

12/03/2026

This is the post graduate diploma I did to get my animal physiotherapy training.

It’s currently the only one supported by the Australian Physiotherapy association to get the level of training required to be an animal physio in Australia. 2 years of intensive university level training, and learning about animal specific rehab. It’s important when looking for an animal rehab professional that you understand how much training they have had as the animal rehab world doesn’t have the same level of regulation that the human one does.

Any colleagues interested in getting into the profession it is worth signing up to the live sessions to see what it is all about ☺️

The University of Liverpool’s 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮 / 𝗠𝗦𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆 is a specialist programme aimed at Chartered Physiotherapists who wish to translate their knowledge and skills developed on humans into practice on animals. The programme is recognised by the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy (ACPAT) as an upgrading route for ‘Category A’ membership. The programme is available on a full time or part time basis either to PgDip or MSc level.

As part of the University of Liverpool's 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 we will be holding a live session with Em. Professor Catherine McGowan, Programme Director on 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝟴𝗽𝗺. Register your place here: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/postgraduate-taught/postgraduate-events/register/live-sessions/

12/03/2026

Most people don’t realise how important rehab is after spaying surgery.

Spaying isn’t a small procedure. It’s an ovariohysterectomy — the uterus and ovaries are removed, which means cutting through the abdominal wall and core muscles.

In humans, this kind of surgery would mean 12+ weeks of reduced activity and structured rehab to rebuild core stability. Yet many dogs are expected to bounce straight back into running, jumping, and sport.

That’s a big ask for a body that’s just had its core stability temporarily compromised.

This is YOLO, a sports dog who recently had spay surgery. Before surgery we were already working on rear-end awareness, psoas activation, and stabilising her left hind limb, where she had a bit of imbalance.

Post-surgery you can still see that imbalance.

In the first video, she struggles with body awareness and limb placement during a puppy plank into an elevated puppy push-up. The platform helps with proprioception and positioning, and while she’s getting good psoas activation, she’s still offloading the left hind.

So we adjusted the exercise.

In the last video, I added a scrunchie to the opposite leg to improve limb awareness and reduced the hip extension demand to make the movement easier to control.

Small changes like this can make a huge difference in motor control, symmetry, and rebuilding core strength safely after surgery.

She’s making great progress and getting closer to returning to full sport.

Because recovery shouldn’t just be “rest for 10 days and back to normal.”
It should be rebuild, retrain, and return stronger.

01/03/2026

Evie is one special little doggo that I am lucky enough to get to work with. Biopaws is helping to get more people to be able to access life changing detection dogs for POTs like Evie! This gives people with this illness visibility, and safety when navigating the community.

As a human and animal Physio I love seeing human health, and animal worlds collide. Show Biopaws your support and follow their page to spread the word.

Meet Evie, our Chief Detection Dog for the POTS Division. Evie is Western Australia’s first exclusively scent‑trained POTS alert dog, known for her reliability, calm nature and exceptional scenting ability. She has alerted multiple people to incoming medical episodes, supported other assistance dogs in learning POTS alerting and even generalised her skills to detect changes like low oxygen, high heart rate and low blood pressure. Evie attends medical appointments, community events and training sessions, and was a finalist for Australian Dog of the Year in 2024. Whether she’s working, learning or enjoying a long sniffy walk, Evie loves using her nose to help people. See our website to learn more about each team member: https://www.biopawsdetection.com.au/

26/02/2026

Just a quick notice to let you know I will be on leave for most of April. My last animal working day will be the Thursday 2nd of April before Easter.

No better time to get your pets in to see me, and to set up management plans to keep them in tip top shape in my absence.

As I will be in America my emails will be mostly unattended during this time so it is a good idea to lock in appointments now for May to ensure you are seen timely on my return.

Feel free to get in touch to organise your appointments via email amy@4stepsforward.com.au

26/01/2026

You don’t earn speed or agility. You prepare for it.

This is an easy but effective warm-up addition before agility or running work.
Figure-8s and tunnel patterns help integrate all four limbs, improve coordination, spinal mobility, and prepare the body for changes in pace and direction.

You can layer in speed by moving through the pattern faster — but the goal stays the same: control first, speed second.

Whatever variation you choose, keep it balanced.
Aim for 3–5 reps each direction to make sure both sides are working evenly and you’re not feeding asymmetry.

Prep the system properly, and performance follows.

22/01/2026

Your dog’s harness can either support their movement… or quietly break it down.

If a harness blocks scapula (shoulder blade) glide or loads pressure unevenly, you’re setting your dog up for restricted range, muscle trigger points, and uneven stress through joints and soft tissues. That’s not a training issue — that’s biomechanics.

A well-designed harness should:
✔️ Allow free scapular movement
✔️ Distribute pressure evenly across the body
✔️ Support full, natural range of motion

Get this right and you reduce the risk of pain, compensation patterns, and chronic overload — while helping your dog move the way they’re built to move.

Harnesses that respect canine biomechanics and that I regularly recommend:



( has both WAGD, and Ruffwear so tried, tested, and Physio approved)

It’s an upfront investment that pays off in long-term soundness, comfort, and performance.

💥 Bonus: Get a discount with
Use code 4STEPSFORWARD10 at checkout

Your dog only gets one body. Choose gear that supports it to move the way it was designed to.

19/01/2026

“Why do we warm ourselves up… but not our dogs?” 🐕‍🔥

Dogs aren’t machines. Just like us, their muscles and joints need to be prepared before a run to prevent injury, improve performance, and support better recovery.

You only need less than 5 minutes (we were done in 2)
Before Ember and I ran, we did:
• 5 sit-to-stands
• 5 drop-to-stands
• 5 dynamic bows
• 4 spins/turns (one each direction)
• Dynamic hip flexor and thoracic stretch flowing into spinal mobility and shoulder extension

Simple. Efficient. Effective.
Warm dogs move better, stay sounder, and feel better long term.

Five minutes now saves months of rehab later. 🐾💪

14/12/2025

Christmas and the holiday period is fast approaching.

I have 1 appointment available Thursday 18th, and 2 available Friday 19th otherwise will be taking a few days off over Christmas, and back on the 2nd of Jan.

Email and phone communication will be limited from the 23rd Dec-1st Jan so best to get in touch now so I can support your pets into the new year.

09/11/2025

Puppy ownership can feel like drinking from a fire hose — there’s so much information and no clear starting point.
When I got my first puppy, Rollo, at the start of my animal physiotherapy post-grad, I was overwhelmed by what to do and what not to do. Years of study, hands-on work, and collaborating with great trainers changed everything — especially with my next pup, Ember.

This series, “Things I Wish I Knew the First Time Around,” is for anyone wanting to raise a healthy, confident dog without the chaos.

🎥 Episode 1: When play turns into chaos — it’s not cute, it’s stress.
Puppy play should build confidence, not push them past their limits. Monitor play intensity, style, and recovery. Learn your dog’s social limits and notice when they’re getting tired — physically and mentally.

Forget the old “5 minutes per month of age” rule — your dog’s activity should be guided by fatigue, not a formula. Puppies’ joints are still mostly cartilage, which means everything is wobbly and unstable. Overdoing it now can cause injury and increase the risk of osteoarthritis later in life.

And just as important — pushing a puppy past their social limits can have lasting effects too. When a dog feels overwhelmed and their subtle cues are missed, they’re more likely to escalate in behaviour to communicate their need for space.

Our job is to set them up for success — strong, stable, and confident, both physically and emotionally. 💪🐶

03/11/2025

🐾 When your patients can’t wait to see you, you know you’re doing something right ❤️

Physiotherapy isn’t just about exercises and treatments — it’s about trust, connection, and making every session a positive experience. The more our dogs enjoy their rehab, the better their outcomes, confidence, and long-term recovery.

Every wag, wiggle, and happy jump means they feel safe, supported, and understood 🐶💪