Hydrotherapy for dogs?

[cymruambyth]

Hi everyone, following an injury and operation to reconstruct a hip (shame we didn't have insurance ), the vets have recommended hydrotherapy to get the dog to use his leg.

Due to the lack of insurance, this is going to be quite expensive. Does anyone have any experience of this please?

[gezwee]

Hi Cymruambyth

 

Yep, our local vet looked after our 6 yr old staffie when she broke a hind leg......... dunno how she did it, running round the garden like a looney and snapped it like .........erm, like a snapped thing!

 

Anyway, home hydrotherapy was one of the options they suggested - buy a paddling pool and let him exercise as much as possible out the garden to help build some muscle tone round the joint to support the leg. Its the mildest form of resistance training for him and gets them back on their feet in no time.Would give him a couple of weeks though as its not a minor op for an animal to recover from.

 

Ours still had a bit of a limp to the day she passed away but she could still run at a good pace and was (I think) pain free once she'd healed.

[ukaviator]

Hi

 

This may help:

 

The Canine Hydrotherapy Association

[cymruambyth]

Thanks for the replies. It's given me food for thought. We may have to try to come to some arrangements for paying for this. A pool in the garden may not work due to our other dogs who love water, but it gives one of them major ear infections!!!

[Guest wino]

My dog loved nothing more than swimming in the local canal. There was a slope she could walk down. When she got back home I would just hose her down in the back garden. Much cheaper than hydrotherapy centre:)

[Jan4a]

I used to know someone who showed GSD's and they took one pup for hydrotherapy sessions to build his chest muscles so he'd show better. He won shows in pup classes afterwards so it must have worked. Turned out he fired blanks though so he was a pet in the end rather than a show dog!

 

Hope your dog gets better.

[cymruambyth]

Thank you for all the comments. As he is so young, I may try to get a deal on the hydrotherapy. The vets are not related to this so they don't have anyhting to gain (I think!!!)

I'll keep posting on his progress.

[caro]

If you're on Housing or Council Tax benefits you may be able to get help from the PDSA. PDSA - What is a PDSA PetAid practice?

[jackieandwayne]

Yep, I took one border collie down to the local beach at the crack of dawn for several weeks last summer, for just this purpose. I had to wade in with him, I kept him on a lead, and made him swim after a ball in my hand, in the end I started swimming with him. Better than hydrotherapy, and kept me fit as well! However, not such a good idea now its getting colder.

[cymruambyth]

An update for all dog lovers. Our vet is doing a certificate in acupuncture; after a free course of 4 he is much more mobile:( and appears to be pain free,

[Jan4a]

That is good news. Glad it worked.

[hightail]

our other dogs who love water, but it gives one of them major ear infections!!!

 

I've only just noticed this comment. Have you ever used Thornit ear powder? You can Google it to find suppliers. I only wish I'd discovered it before I'd spent a fortune at the vets on a dog with ear problems. All that money never solved it but Thornit did. I now use it once in a while as a preventative measure and never had a problem since I discovered it.

[cymruambyth]

I've only just noticed this comment. Have you ever used Thornit ear powder? You can Google it to find suppliers. I only wish I'd discovered it before I'd spent a fortune at the vets on a dog with ear problems. All that money never solved it but Thornit did. I now use it once in a while as a preventative measure and never had a problem since I discovered it.

 

Thanks, I've never heard of this but will certainly get some, anything is worth trying if it makes him more comfortable. As his ears play him up so much we are trying 4 treatments of acupuncture to see if this eases the irritation.