💦 Splash into Saturday 💦
Levi the Labrador, loves nothing more than to play with a squeaky toy during his sessions - here he is, in the Aquatic Treadmill, having a wonderful time 🤩
Levi was referred by Eastcott Vets following surgery to stabilise his hock joint after a road traffic accident 😳 we have been working alongside Three Shires Veterinary Physiotherapy to improve Levi's strength and weight distribution, and we're pleased to say that he's making great progress 🥳
Levi likes to make the most of his session (or in his eyes, playtime 😆) and enjoys throwing the toy at Lianne in an effort to play 🤪 or ensuring that he (and everyone else in the vicinity) has a good soaking💧
Can Hydrotherapy treatment be fun in the Aquatic Treadmill? 🤔 the answer is YES! 🤩
Smudge has been receiving physiotherapy and hydrotherapy treatment💧 following surgery to stabilise her knee due to a ligament rupture 😟 Smudge's owners started an intensive course of treatment to ensure she had the best possible chance of recovery 💕
Here are her muscle measurements initially:
LF 22.5cm. RF 22.5cm. LH 45cm. RH 46.5cm
Here are her muscle measurements now:
LF23.5cm. RF 23.5cm. LH 48cm. RH48cm
This is fantastic progression 🤩 Smudge's efforts (with thanks to a "bit" of cheese 🧀) mean that she can return to her showing career 🥳 and after all her hard work, we celebrate with a play session whilst the water is draining💧just look at how happy she is 😍
💛 Labrador by name, Labrador by nature! 💛
Charlie attends the centre for hydrotherapy in the pool💧unfortunately, his osteoarthritis has advanced in his elbows over the years, which can make exercising on land uncomfortable 😟
In the pool, Charlie enjoys nothing more than playing with a ball 🥎 an activity that can elicit pain through the joints if repetitively carried out on land 💥
The non weight bearing exercise of swimming in a warm pool encourages limb use whilst reducing pain - a lovely relief for Charlie 😌
Here he is, feeling fruity after his swim 🤪 seeing a dog's expression change after their treatment, is the most rewarding feeling 🥰 (Can you tell that Charlie is well rehearsed to where we keep the treats? 😆)
❄️ How is winter affecting your dog? ❄️
We have found that the majority of our arthritic patients are struggling with the drop in temperature🌡 this could be due to heightened pain sensitivity, muscle spasms, and stiffness 😥
Treatment in warm water allows the patient's muscles to relax, thus reducing pain 😌 the buoyancy eases impact through joints, which reduces stiffness💧
Here, we are using our underwater cameras to assess Denny's mobility, allowing us to provide detailed feedback in his clinical notes 📝
If your dog is struggling with the cold weather, please feel free to contact us ☎️ our rehabilitation team are happy to discuss how we can help 💕
🐾 Meet the Patient Monday 🐾
Meet Mimi 🐻
Mimi suffered a disc herniation and underwent neck surgery in January this year 😣 Mimi was unable to walk, so she was referred to us for rehabilitation 💕
We commenced intensive physiotherapy treatment to support Mimi with her recovery, encourage movement, and gait re-education 😌
This video was taken in March, and shows Mimi after three physiotherapy sessions, now able to walk - albeit quite unbalanced, but this was huge progress for her 👏
Mimi continues to improve with her maintenance sessions 🙌 check out the video in the comments to see her most recent walking 😍
Hydrotherapist: "I'll put the biscuit there until we've done the next exercise, then you can have it, Sonny."
Sonny: "Nevermind exercise, it would be awfully kind of you to just feed me that biscuit."
*Spoiler Alert* - Sonny had many biscuits 😋 because, we can't resist the way that he asks, so politely 🥰 elderly dogs are just the sweetest 🖤
🐕 Canine Conditioning 🐕
Hydrotherapy is not only used for rehabilitation, we also have facilities that are perfect to keep canine athletes in the best condition possible!
Canine athletes like Missy require conditioning to improve their ability to complete dog sports and reduce the risk of injury 😌 Missy competes in agility, which means her sessions need to be tailored to focus on strength and power 💪
Trotting in low water works on core stability and strength, limb power, and muscle strength 💦 the intervals are high intensity and low frequency to recruit the correct muscle fibers specific to her sport 🎯
Last month Missy attended an agility competition and won the round!🥇not only that, but she beat her competitors by an impressive seven seconds! 😲
Benji's groom
🎬 Behind the scenes 🎬
Here's a snippet of one of our grooming sessions ✂️ carried out by the very talented, Mel ✨️
This beautiful boy is Benji 🖤 Benji has a full groom every 6-8 weeks to maintain a healthy coat and skin condition 💕
As you can see, Benji is such a good boy having his haircut and being handled 😍 have a look at Benji's finished groom in the comments 😌
What happens if we don't maintain limb motion? 🤔
• Disuse of joints and muscle wastage
• Increased stiffness
• Increased discomfort and compensatory stresses
What happens when your dogs have hydrotherapy?💧
• Increase flexibility and muscle activity
• Improved limb range of motion
• Reduced tension and stiffness
Here's Bobby in the hydrotherapy pool, wearing proprioceptive equipment on his hindlimb, providing stimulation for improved function of movement 🥳
Alfie - Ambling
🤓 Fact Friday 🤓
Spot the difference!
You may have heard our team using words like gait pattern, flexion, extension, and stride length...but what does it all mean? And more importantly, how is it relevant to your dog's physical wellbeing? 😵💫
Read on to learn more...📖
We use these terms to describe your dog's mobility on land and in the water💧hydrotherapy helps to target weakened muscle groups to enhance movement, leading to increased strength 💪
The video below shows Alfie walking in the Aquatic Treadmill 🐾 he is wearing neoprene bands on his hindlimbs to gentley encourage movement through stiff joints 😌
We'd describe Alfie's gait pattern in this video as an amble - which is a transitional gait from a walk to a trot. Some dogs, however, will move using this gait instead of a walk as it can be easier to compensate, reducing load through stiff or tense areas of the body 😓
Hydrotherapy gives us a chance to retrain gait patterns using therapeutic benefits of the water and hands on techniques - providing support, relief to stiff joints and improved range of motion 🙌
Have a look at the video in the comments - this is the following interval in Alfie's session, which shows an improved gait pattern, he has a more consistent 4 beat gait 😄
We achieved this by using hands on techniques to provide support to Alfie's trunk during his walk - better quality movement will help to reduce compensatory stresses that contribute to pain and stiffness 🎉
Joey's Christmas Present 🎁
Happiest boy Joey 💛
This morning Joey got to pick out his Christmas present 🎁 check out the video to see what he chose!
If you've not finished your shopping yet, there's still time to pick up Christmas goodies at our branch ⏰️🎄
😲 Before and After 😲
What do you notice when you watch this video?
We've previously introduced you all to Murphy the cracking little Schnauzer 💫 this video of his hindlimbs shows tremors that were becoming more pronounced over recent months 😟
Following a vet consult, trails of medication and the possibility of a secondary condition causing the tremors, we discussed the option of Physiotherapy and K-Laser 🤔
Check out the video in the comments to see the difference one session made 😍
🎥 Tuesday Time-lapse 🎥
Last month we noticed Ned was showing weakness through his right hind 😥 it was suspected his previous muscle strain through this limb had been aggravated due to increased exercise over the summer ☀️
We started intensive K-Laser and Hydrotherapy to reduce pain, build strength and aid range of movement 💪
Here's Ned doing his Hydrotherapy session in the Aquatic Treadmill💧after 2 weeks, Ned's weight bearing and movement had improved through his limb 🎉 consequently reducing pain through the muscle 🙌
Watch this space for Ned's stance analyser comparison case study! 😯🤓
And relax... 😴
Here's a wholesome little video of Redley taking a moment to rest his chin, and relax before his K-Laser sessions begins 😌
We strive to ensure our dogs are as comfortable as possible when they're with us 🐾 this is why we like to get to know your dogs and go above and beyond to provide the best care suited to them 💖
Rest assured, our brilliant team will always do what is in your dog's best interests - every dog is different, and we reflect that in our practice 🌟
Below is a video that is sure to make you cringe 😬 dogs + slippery floors = injury ⚠️ repetitive injuries will lead to acute inflammation and soft tissue tension, which then leads to pain 😢
To avoid this, the amazing Canine Arthritis Management have created a product that helps to make household flooring easier to navigate 🙌
Check out the video in the comments to see the difference anti slip tape makes to Fib's walking 😍 CAM's anti slip tape is available in our shop! A must for a pet friendly household 🐾💕
Day 1 Plank for Pups Challenge
Here's a clip of us starting our Plank for Pups challenge 👊
Fib decided that we had created an obstacle course and army crawled underneath us 🐾 hopefully our posture will improve by the end of the month 😆
Don't forget to donate to the Dogs Trust to support their work caring for dogs in need 💛
