Canine Hydrotherapy

[davyh123]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Hi i run hydrotherapy facility in lanarkshire and am doing a bit of research in the canine community.

I would like to know whats the general consensus towards hydrotherapy?

Is it somthing you have used before or would like to use but dont know any local facilities?

What do you belive are the pros and cons of hydrotherapy?

What would you consider value for money per session for hydrotherapy?(i've seen prices range from £12 to £25)

Just a couple of questions to get the ball rolling

Any feed back will be greatly appriciated or if you have any questions for me feel free to post them

Thanks for reading

David

 

[~Annie~]

Can I ask what size your pool is ... for me that is the clincher. I have access to a 12' x 16' pool and the dogs swim there every other week or so for fun and conditioning (they are lurecoursing and agility whippets). I would use a small pool post injury but would not think it had the same value for conditioning ... just my opinion of course but I much prefer the bigger pool. So to me value for money is about the facilities available ... size of pool, drying facilities etc. etc. I do think whippets benefit enormously from swimming.

 

[davyh123]

Can I ask what size your pool is ... for me that is the clincher. I have access to a 12' x 16' pool and the dogs swim there every other week or so for fun and conditioning (they are lurecoursing and agility whippets). I would use a small pool post injury but would not think it had the same value for conditioning ... just my opinion of course but I much prefer the bigger pool. So to me value for money is about the facilities available ... size of pool, drying facilities etc. etc. I do think whippets benefit enormously from swimming.

my pool is 10' by 20' and roughly 4' deep you can see a picture of it at www.loganville.co.uk under the gallery tab :thumbsup:

 

[Dar Khan]

They also have a pool ,this is my lurcher syd having his workout

 

[Dar Khan]

In answer to one of your questions ,if you can make it cheap "for cash " and you can build up custom from serious dog people . Then you are on to a winner :thumbsup: but when you get a visit from the tax man ,fill in the pool ! :thumbsup:

 

[cyfrin]

Is it somthing you have used before or would like to use but dont know any local facilities?

I would love to have a facility like that near me! (SW Wales)

What do you believe are the pros and cons of hydrotherapy?

Conditioning, exercise, and post injury. Cons - are there any?! Maybe non-trained attendants?

What would you consider value for money per session for hydrotherapy?(i've seen prices range from £12 to £25)

I think you would get more customers if you kept the cost down and each visit was timed. Maybe £10 per 30 mins? Bookable in advance.



 

 

[meddling]

that doesn't look as much fun for the dogs as when they properly swim

in fact looking at it again, the poor dog looks desperate to get out by the end, wouldn't want my dog in a thing like that

 

[jakers]

Hi

We have our own hydro pool, we are trained hydrotherapists but only run our pool on an appointment basis, vet referral system, even if it's a dogs swim for fitness only.

We are in a remotish location and run the pool as a second business. We have found that people want to know first and foremost that you are trained bearing in mind you can do more damage than good if you don't know what you are doing and then in the current climate the price. We run a 'club swim' for a much reduced rate which proves extremely popular but unless there is a specific rehab for customers dogs and then if only the insurance will pay for it are customers happy to pay a higher rate - this could be more to do with our location and local economics.

We have found that not many are aware of the benefits of hydrotherapy, but having said that in our very short time of running our pool ( approx 12 months) we have rehabilitated 1 whippet with a severe muscle strain and several agility collies including cruitiat damage - we try and avoid spinal injury as we believe that that requires real specialist hydro. We have/are developing a decent customer base and are currentlt swimming on average twice per week other business interests have priority so have to come first.

This is us Water Waggers

Pm me if you wanna know more of our experiences.

Liz

 

[jakers]

Is the lurcher on the treadmill for fitness or for treatment of a condition?? Having been on the water treadmill training this is not how we were taught to swim the dogs, the water level should be above all joints to prevent impact damage being done

 

[littlenell]

Before Ozzy had his accident, he used to go to canine hydrotherapy for fun. He hated the swimming but loved the water treadmill. Here is a short video of him



A lot of you will remember that Ozzy had a bang on the head, and is left brain damaged. This next video shows him a month or so after his accident (not a nice video to watch)



as you can see his balance had gone, he had lost weight and muscle tone - and this is a video of him a few months later.

http://www.k9community.co.uk/forums/style_...efault/w00t.gif



as you can see, because of his coordination, we didnt continue with the treadmill. I think if he had been able to balance it would have helped him build up his strength again alot quicker. It was a shame as he loved going. Swimming would have been better for him but I didnt want to stress him by making him do something he didnt really like. :thumbsup:

 

[Dar Khan]

He looked a bit spooked because i moved to turn the camera off . Have a look at the date on the footage and tell my why he still gets excited to go everytime ? Dont be spiteful you wanna be bully !

 

[Dar Khan]

He looked a bit spooked because i moved to turn the camera off . Have a look at the date on the footage and tell my why he still gets excited to go everytime ? Dont be spiteful you wanna be bully !

 

[Dar Khan]

Before Ozzy had his accident, he used to go to canine hydrotherapy for fun. He hated the swimming but loved the water treadmill. Here is a short video of him


A lot of you will remember that Ozzy had a bang on the head, and is left brain damaged. This next video shows him a month or so after his accident (not a nice video to watch)



as you can see his balance had gone, he had lost weight and muscle tone - and this is a video of him a few months later.

http://www.k9community.co.uk/forums/style_...efault/w00t.gif



as you can see, because of his coordination, we didnt continue with the treadmill. I think if he had been able to balance it would have helped him build up his strength again alot quicker. It was a shame as he loved going. Swimming would have been better for him but I didnt want to stress him by making him do something he didnt really like. :thumbsup:

Sorry only watched the first one .

 

[milly]

Looks a good workout Dar Khan :thumbsup:

 

[Dar Khan]

It is a good workout for him , the mental stimulation also is very beneficial . Syd is 8 years old in July and still looking well .

 

[Dar Khan]

Sorry , just spotted this now ! the footage you see was the first time that the dog had been on the treadmill . The dog has osteoarthritis in his feet and ankles and also hip dysplacia .

 

[jakers]

:thumbsup: thanks for answering, just a few things to look out for get the hydrotherapist to slow down the treadmill first time on the treadmill should be much slower, the speed should increase very gradually with more sessions, especially for a dog with a condition such as osteoarthritis the very nature of the treadmill even with the water could aggrevate the condition, likewise and its only my opinion for what it's worth the water level should be much higher kinda mid way up his tummy further reducing impact for both hips/feet and ankle joints. Unlike 'swimming' the treadmill still impacts on the joints the water helps via the heat and a little weight bearing, it is a fantastic piece of kit and after initially being very scepticle I saw so many benefits, its just a shame that they cost so blumin much!

 

[Dar Khan]

The treadmill you see the dog was made up from stuff ,not bought from a maker of these things .If you like can put you in touch with the people that own it ? Oh and by the way dont slag em off ! they may be able to help you make one of these treadmill thingys on the cheap :thumbsup:

 

[jakers]

Thanks for the offer but we have a pool already and have attended the training for both k9 pool, k9 treadmill and k9 first aid, BTW I have no intention of slagging anyone off, why would you think that?? I haven't commented on the people who operate this treadmill simply offered a little advice of what to look out for with your own dog. :wacko: Hence my original question of whether your dog was on for fitness or for treatment of condition.

 

[Dar Khan]

ok mate ! not a problem :thumbsup: