Kent Canine Rehabilitation Ltd

21/01/2025

Did you know that dogs can have acupuncture?
It can be used for a range of conditions including pain management.
The needles are very fine, much finer than a vaccination needle so are usually tolerated well.

12/01/2025

Stanley has been having hydrotherapy in our underwater treadmill to help with his recovery following cruciate surgery.
Yesterday he had a swim to help prepare him for being let off lead in a few weeks time.

05/01/2025

Eric has been such a rewarding dog to treat.

He came to us following hip surgery. He was not using the leg much to start with but is now back to running around on 4 legs. We are now helping him to build up the muscles.

Eric had a very unique swimming style and despite his size needed two hydrotherapists to safely swim him. This video shows how much progress he has made.

He has made us very happy 😊

31/12/2024

We would like to wish all of our clients and followers a very happy new year.

Thank you for all of your support, we look forward to seeing you in 2025

24/12/2024

A couple of santas reindeer popped in for a swim before their busy night tonight.

Happy Christmas to all our clients, followers and of course the dogs

19/12/2024

With the big day approaching fast we wanted to wish all our clients a very happy Christmas.

Rather than giving cards we have made a donation to Many Tears Animal Rescue

If you have any Christmassy photos of your pets we would love to see them.

06/12/2024

Beautiful girl Jazz having a shower after her swim.
Our water is chlorinated to keep it hygienic. We regularly test the water to check that the chlorine and pH are within a safe range but we still shower the dogs after their treatments.
After her shower Jazz had a blow dry.

05/12/2024

We often take photos and videos during treatments this allows us to make cute videos like this one of Gizmo but more importantly it allows us to objectively see improvements in their movement.
It is also a good way to show owners how hard their dog is working and what we are doing to improve their movement.

01/12/2024

27/11/2024

Interesting read and something I hadn’t considered. It is interesting to think how other conformational problems may influence behaviour.

I often post about little easy things that you can do to make your dog’s life a bit less stressful (covering slippery floors, taking collars off at the end of the day etc).

However, what about the things we can’t change and that many guardians don’t even realise could be an issue for your dog. I’m talking about how your dog is put together: their confirmation.

Some of our smaller companion dogs, such as pugs, shih tzus, chihuahuas, have been bred to have larger eyes. This is because humans have a bias to large eyes and it was thought that we would make some breeds ‘more attractive’.

To make eyes bigger the dogs have been bred to have shallower eye sockets. So the dogs have normals sized eyeballs that don’t completely fit into the eye socket, meaning that the majority of the eye is protruding and exposed to the elements.

Large bulging eyes are more susceptible to eye injuries, there is a risk of prolapse (which is what Flea had a few years ago which was extremely painful & distressing for him), infections, corneal ulcers, cherry eye to name a few. Some eyes protrude so much that the dog can’t fully blink and are therefore even more sensitive to windy, rainy, cold and hot weather. Eyes can become dry in some places but can also often weep. Tears, mucous, skin cells can gather in the corner of the eyes which can be uncomfortable.

Yet another example of breeding without considering the welfare of the dog.

So next time your small dog doesn’t want to go out, could it be because they have sensitive eyes?

Big, ‘bug eyes’ are extremely common but by no means normal.👀

26/11/2024

Morgana has had a hair cut so now we can see her beautiful happy face.
Her lovely family have also brought her a drying coat for after her hydrotherapy. Her tail was so happy it is blurred.
If you think that your dog could be a happy hydro hound give us a 😁

25/11/2024

Did you know that for hydrotherapy we have to maintain the water temperature between 28 and 32 degrees centigrade?
This temperature range has many benefits for the dog including pain relief, increased oxygen supply to the muscles, removal of toxins from the muscles, reduced muscle spasms and increased cellular metabolism.
When dogs swim in cold water the cold causes the blood vessels to constrict reducing blood flow to the skin and muscles. Due to the reduced blood flow there is an increased risk of damage to the muscles.
During the hydrotherapy session we regularly rest and monitor the dogs to make sure they are not getting too hot especially if they are heavy coated or very active dogs.

20/11/2024

As most of you know we love working with dogs and for most of the time we have the best job in the world. The downside is the admin. Luckily today I had Barley to help me.

18/11/2024

It was great to meet some new dogs yesterday for our first Sunday swim day.
Our next Sunday swim day is 15th December so put it in your diary and type ‘Sunday’ in the comments so we can contact you to make sure that your dog does not miss out on this special offer.

17/11/2024

Cute puppy alert!

Little Finn came to watch big brother Nuri swimming. When he is a bit older Finn can have a go so we took the opportunity to familiarise him with a floatation jacket.

Hydrotherapy is a safe way to introduce young dogs to water. It is useful to know that your puppy can swim incase they accidentally fall into water.

If you have a puppy or are thinking about getting a puppy and would like to make their first experience of swimming a positive one then contact us on 07837570173

10/11/2024

It was good to see Reggie in his poppy collar yesterday.

07/11/2024

Now that the weather is getting colder and wetter it is time to talk coats and also to appreciate how cute Ben looks in his Ruff and Tumble coat.

Dogs natural coats vary a lot depending on where they originate from and what they were bred for. An obvious example would be the difference between a Newfoundland which originates from Canada and was used by the fishermen in cold wet conditions and a greyhound thought to originate from ancient Egypt and used for hunting and racing.

So if dogs have their natural coats do we need to put coats on them? This is not a simple yes or no answer and a more appropriate question might be why are we putting a coat on? Generally if a dog is single coated (doesn’t have an undercoat) and is lean they probably need a coat when walking if the weather is cold or wet.

Other occasions when a dog may need a coat for walking is if they are elderly and are not moving around enough to keep warm, have had surgery where they have metal implants that can make their joints feel cold, have had a large area of fur clipped or if they are underweight.

A dogs normal body temperature is 38.3 to 39.2 degrees Celsius compared to 36.9 for humans so care must be taken to make sure that if a dog is wearing a coat it does not overheat. This can be a problem when coats are put on young, healthy active dogs.

Another time that a dog may benefit from a coat is when they are wet as they will lose more heat and the heat loss will be more rapid. This can be a problem especially after exercise as blood flow to the muscles will be reduced to maintain the core body temperature. Reduced blood flow to the muscles leads to muscle stiffness and pain. We do recommend a coat after hydrotherapy treatment.

So what coats would we recommend? Equafleece coats are good for walks as they are light weight, breathable, come in lots of colours and are non restrictive. Some of the styles with legs can be difficult to put on especially if the dog has joint issues but a zip can be put in on request.

Ruff and tumble are great drying coats for after a wet walk or hydrotherapy they are a bit pricy but very good quality (top tip if the Velcro is done up when not in use it will last longer). A cheaper version is available from dogrobes. Web addresses are listed below.

Please let us know your recommendations.

www.equafleece.co.uk
www.ruffandtumbledogcoats.com
www.dogrobes.co.uk