dvm360 podcast urges earlier mobility screening for aging pets: full analysis

A new dvm360 podcast is pushing mobility higher on the preventive-care agenda, arguing that veterinarians can catch decline earlier if they stop relying on a simple “Is your pet limping?” and start looking for subtler functional changes. In the May 7, 2026, episode, Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, spoke with Kara Amstutz, DVM, DACVSMR (Canine), CVA, CVPP, CCRT, about a multimodal approach to keeping pets moving, with an emphasis on proactive screening during routine visits and earlier intervention for aging patients. The episode is part of dvm360’s Pet Mobility Awareness Month coverage and is sponsored by Virbac. (dvm360.com)

The discussion lands in a practice environment where mobility problems are increasingly framed as chronic, manageable conditions rather than inevitable signs of aging. AAHA’s 2022 Pain Management Guidelines and 2023 Senior Care Guidelines both support a broader approach to chronic musculoskeletal pain, including rehabilitation, structured pain assessment, environmental modification, and caregiver education. International COAST guidance on canine osteoarthritis similarly recommends staged, multimodal management, with supervised and at-home exercise as core tools rather than add-ons. (aaha.org)

In the podcast, Amstutz said the biggest missed opportunity is assuming pet parents will recognize limping or pain on their own. Instead, she recommends asking about concrete changes in daily function, such as difficulty standing up, navigating stairs, jumping on furniture, or getting in and out of the car. She also urged teams to ask what a dog’s “job” is, since sport, farm, police, military, and even highly active household dogs may place very different stresses on their bodies. Just as important, she said, is slowing down enough in the exam room to watch how a patient stands, shifts weight, and transitions from lying down to standing. (dvm360.com)

That advice is consistent with published guidance on how chronic pain is identified in practice. AAHA recommends combining clinician assessment with pet parent questionnaires such as the Canine Brief Pain Inventory and Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs tool to track function over time. For cats, FDA educational materials note that mobility changes may show up as altered activity, behavior, or willingness to jump, and that home observations can be essential because feline osteoarthritis is frequently underrecognized. (aaha.org)

Industry context also matters here. Virbac, the podcast sponsor, has built a broader mobility education and product platform around joint and muscle support, including continuing education resources and a Mobility Ambassador program for veterinary professionals. The company also announced a 2025 collaboration with the Senior Dog Veterinary Society focused on education, awareness, and science-backed mobility support for aging dogs. That doesn’t diminish the clinical message in the episode, but it does place the conversation within a larger commercial and educational push to make mobility screening a more routine part of companion animal care. (vet-us.virbac.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams, the practical takeaway is less about any single product or therapy and more about workflow. Earlier recognition of mobility decline can start with better intake questions, a few extra seconds of gait and posture observation, and more deliberate follow-up on function, pain, and lifestyle. That approach may help clinics identify osteoarthritis and chronic pain sooner, open conversations about rehabilitation and weight or nutrition strategies, and set more realistic long-term management plans with pet parents. It may be especially useful in senior care, where “slowing down” is still too often normalized instead of worked up. (dvm360.com)

There’s also a communication opportunity. Because pet parents may notice task-specific decline before they identify “lameness,” practices that ask about stairs, car entry, rising, play, and work or sport demands may get a more accurate picture of early disease burden. For cats, environmental changes and subtle behavior shifts may be more informative than overt gait abnormalities. Inference: clinics that standardize these conversations could improve both case detection and adherence to multimodal plans, because the discussion starts with daily function that pet parents can see. That inference is supported by the podcast’s recommendations and by guideline emphasis on repeated, structured assessment. (dvm360.com)

What to watch: The next step is whether awareness-month messaging translates into routine protocols, such as mobility screening questions at wellness visits, formal pain scoring, and earlier referral to rehabilitation or sports medicine services, especially for senior pets and high-demand canine patients. (dvm360.com)