Guide dogs lend their eyes to blind people. In order to steer people safely through everyday life, these four-legged friends wear a harness with a bracket that transmits the dog's movements to the owner. This harness is indispensable for communication between dog and human. However, this limits the mobility of the dog to a certain extent. Since the dog always has to pull a little, there is also pressure on the dog's chest. In a scientific study by the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, we were able to show the enormous tensile forces that guide dogs are subjected to. Our clinic for physical medicine and rehabilitation examined the pressure distribution of various harnesses and thus made their contribution to keeping these animals healthy. However, the development of harnesses that enable perfect communication between dog and human and also lead to the least possible strain on the dog's musculoskeletal system is not yet complete. In our state-of-the-art movement analysis laboratory, we take a close look at the movement of guide dogs for the blind. We already had a pressure measuring plate that we use to investigate how a harness changes the weight load on the legs or the stride length. Thanks to your donations and with the finance support of the Vetmeduni, we now can analyze the movements of the joints with a special camera system and our own software. And that's not all: Movement analysis using special cameras can also be incorporated into routine examinations in order to detect problems in the musculoskeletal system of your four-legged friend at an early stage in the future.

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