Dog Physiotherapy North West

11/02/2023

Have you ever wondered what modalities are available to veterinary physiotherapists to help your dog!
Laser therapy is one of them. Tea on if you would like to know more about how laser therapy can help your companion animal (because it isn't just for dogs!) 🐶

Canine laser, photobiomodulation, cold laser therapy, low level laser therapy. It has so many names! Photobiomodulation is the most recent term that is used for laser therapy.

How does it work?
Phototherapy uses light waves which are then absorbed by the cells in the body. The effect is that the cells activity levels are optimised through absorption and conversion of light energy. Different types of light waves (visible red, infrared and blue) have different effects in the body and are effective at a variety of depths in the tissue.

May be used for:
• Wound repair
• pain relief
• scar tissue
• soft tissue injuries
• muscle tears
• osteoarthritis
• haematoma
• antibacterial effect on skin conditions and dirty wounds

How does it help?
• Relieves pain in joints and muscles
• Optimises conditions for the healing of wounds
• Kills bacteria in dirty wounds
• Remodels scar tissue to increase elasticity of tissue
• Application to specific points provides pain relief

I must say, I love my laser. It has been very well studied and is a highly effective piece of equipment. Many of my clients have benefitted from the laser as part of their treatment.

If your dog has any of the above issues, contact me to find out how I can help your dog feel better, move better and become fitter :-)

03/08/2022

Over the next few weeks, I will be explaining to you how physiotherapy can help your wonderful dogs. How physiotherapy can help your dog, the techniques I use and how I can help your dog feel better and be their best selves.

If you have any specific questions, either pop them below or send me a DM and I will include the information in my posts or send you a message, whichever you prefer.

19/07/2022

f you have always wanted to learn some TTouch techniques to help your dog or clients dogs, but not close enough to a practitioner to attend an in person course, or dates clash then this is for you. On 5 consecutive Monday evenings I will be providing support to the online videos, information which you have lifetime access to.
For more information read the event listing, or contact me if you have any questions.

24/02/2022

Question for you: what would you like to know about physiotherapy for dogs?

07/01/2022

Hello and welcome to Dog Physiotherapy North West. I started this page a while ago, but have not posted so thought it would a good time for me to officially introduce myself on here.

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Rachel and I am the founder and therapist of Well Balanced Animals. I am a veterinary physiotherapist and Tellington TTouch Method Instructor.

I live with my husband, Jay, and our three rescue dogs, a lurcher and two greyhounds, Idris, Amaya and Harrison. You will definitely hear more about them, as they are often the inspiration for my posts, as well as clients dogs. I have been working with dogs as a dog trainer using the Tellington TTouch method for 18 years and as a veterinary physiotherapist for the past 3 years. It was three years ago I set up Well Balanced Animals, however predominantly work with dogs.

I am hugely passionate about your dog's health, mobility and well-being. I have a special love of senior dogs and dogs with chronic health issues such as arthritis and hip dysplasia. My TTouch clients are frequently reactive and anxious dogs and I love being able to give these dogs a different view of life and happier days.

I set up this FB page to give dog guardians information about physiotherapy and how it can help your dogs be more mobile, have less pain, be happier and live a long life. Veterinary physiotherapy can help your dog in so many ways and it is not overly well known, I want to change that!

Please say hello below, I'd love to see the dogs you share your life with. so do share a photo below and keep in touch.
Love Rachel

04/10/2021

Schedule your appointment online Well Balanced Animals

24/09/2021

Did you know that September is Animal Pain Awareness Month? The International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management IVAPM has announced September as Animal Pain Awareness Month to coincides with human medicine's Pain Awareness Month, as a way of highlighting how animals suffer pain the same way that people do.

Being able to spot the signs of pain in our dogs can be difficult. These changes can often be very subtle and dogs tend to hide pain as a way of staying safe and self preservation.

Our dogs often suffer pain in silence, they can't pop into the bathroom and get a couple of paracetamol and rest. Whether it is because of an injury or an underlying issue. There are some tell-tale signs that may give you a couple of clues, some of these are more obvious than others, they include:
~ difficulty going up and down stairs or jumping into the car
~ Excessive licking/grooming of a joint or area
~ Difficulty getting up after they have been lying down
~ Less active / not playing as much
~ Grumpy with other dogs

I gave a talk on exactly this topic a few weeks ago for the Empowered Dog Community - which has been uploaded to You Tube. If you would like to learn more, watch my masterclass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm1360PuknE&t=8s
To book a personal and unique consultation to help your dog, contact me to discuss your needs and book an appointment: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=21561259

09/07/2021

Learn how and why dogs pull on the lead and one method that can help your dog be in their own balance.

Lead pulling ~ One issue that troubles many dogs and their guardians. The guardians are the ones who struggle with the pulling, but it is also certainly to the dog's detriment too.
You may wonder why it is a problem for the dog? Well, it puts them out of balance and changes their posture. This affects them physically, creating asymmetrical muscling and putting pressure on the neck being just two of these effects. It affects them emotionally as well. If you had a constant pull on your neck, it would certainly make you cranky, if not out and out grumpy, it would to me.

With us on the end of the lead we restrict their choices too. Many dogs would prefer to have more space between themselves and other dogs, not wishing to interact with them, yet we casually walk along the pavement, directly towards other dogs as our own start to tense, maybe get higher on their toes and tail raised, or the opposite response, tail tucked and getting lower to the ground. Both of these will create pulling on the lead, or more accurately pulling against the person attached to the lead.
There are many different TTouch leading techniques, which we use to benefit the dog to encourage them back into good balance and self-carriage. This in turn encourage calmer walking on the lead.
If you struggle with lead pulling or a tight lead, firstly look at yourself and your own balance. Do you end up in the water ski position, behind your dog, leaning backwards while your dog's weight is forward? Assess the equipment that you are using. Is it a good choice? A harness with a clip on the front of the chest and one on the back so you can attach a double ended lead, one clip to each ring on the harness allows us to take the pressure off if the dog does go to the end of one and the lead tightens, we can then meet that pressure and then slowly release it, while maintaining a connection with the other end of the lead. This alternating between the connections means there is nothing for the dog to pull against and create that triggered leaning against the lead.
This is only one of many methods we use to help dogs that are out of balance and need help with their self carriage. Each dog is a unique individual, meaning it may require more than one method to help your dog find their own balance.

If you have tried all the recommendations you have heard or read up to now and are still struggling, get in touch with Rachel to find out how she can help you really help you and your dog walk in harmony together.
www.wellbalancedanimals-vetphysio.co.uk [email protected]

19/06/2021

03/06/2021

Even though the sun is not out today, keep an eye on the temperature rather than the sun, as it is still warm. Please be aware of the risk of heat stroke, what the signs may look like and what you can do to avoid this potentially fatal problem.
Especially at risk are the brachycephalic, or short nosed breeds as they are sometimes called, dogs who are older, those with heavy coats and those with illnesses are more at risk.

Please read the post below from Eden Vets and share, they could save a life :-)

04/05/2021

Have you ever really looked at your dog's feet? Do they have feet designed for rough terrain or are they more like Formula 1 cars? Find out below 🙂

Fact Friday - Did you know?
There are two broad categories that dog's paws fall into and this depends on the breed's original function.

Cat Feet - 🐱 the breeds whose original function was to move over rocky or uneven ground tend to be in this group. Their digits are of equal length and form an arch around the central pad. The Dobermann and Akita fall into this group.
Hare feet 🐰 breeds whose function was to run in straight lines tend to have this shaped paw. The third and fourth digits (the middle two) are longer than digits two and five. These are similar to slick tyres on a F1 car.

Paws are often overlooked, but it is really easy for a dog to damage one of the small bones in the paw or if of senior age to have osteoarthritis in them. This will drastically affect how comfortable they are walking and will affect their gait, so don't forget about the paws.

23/11/2020

Anatomist's eye

02/11/2020

A post I have written on my main page, Well Balanced Animals about helping your dog with their firework fears.
Please feel free to share🙂

30/10/2020

Tomorrow is Halloween, a night when spooks and ghouls abound, humans in outlandish costumes and travelling from door to door, bells being rung repeatedly in one evening. A night of noise and music, of fun and games. For many dogs though, they would choose not to get involved in Halloween celebrati

23/10/2020

Just two places left on this workshop (online) this Sunday. Contact me for a booking form :-)

12/10/2020

Well, I have done it, I have given in. It is clear we are unable to have face to face workshops in the near future, so I have taken two workshops to date online.
This Sunday I will be giving an Introduction to TTouch on your Settee interactive seminar :-) 1pm-5pm. Send me a message for booking details :-)

15/08/2020

09/08/2020

Hi everyone. I started this page to encourage people who have heard about physiotherapy for dogs but don't know anything about it to find out more. I am a fully qualified and insured Veterinary Physiotherapist which means I can work with your dogs and horses, however I specialise in dogs, having spent the previous 20 years working with them in a training and behaviour capacity. I will be posting about what physical issues we can help your dog with and what techniques we are able to use to help your dog's health and well-being improve.
If you have any questions, please do ask below or PM me :-)

27/07/2020

If you need help solving your dog's health issues or training and behaviour problems, please visit: facebook.com/wellbalancedanimals/ or www.wellbalancedanimals-vetphysio.co.uk