Here at Canine Therapies we offer a number of therapies that complement many treatments provided by your Vet.
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy can have significant benefits in aiding your dog’s healing and recovery rate after surgery or injury, increasing the chance of a successful return to full fitness.
Just like humans, following injury and during recovery, our dogs exercise level becomes limited and their muscles lose strength and tone due to the enforced inactivity. Once the rest period or confinement is over it is vital to rebuild muscle. But care must be taken to ensure a complete recovery without jeopardising the veterinary procedures and treatment they have received. At Canine Therapies we have the knowledge and training to provide the optimum recovery programme.
Perhaps your dog falls into one of the following categories, which can also gain significant benefits from hydrotherapy:
- Overweight dogs who need to shed pounds to regain their zest for life;
- Elderly dogs and those beginning to struggle when they first waken up: treatment may help to reduce pain and stiffness, and reduce the need for medication;
- Puppies, particularly a large or giant breed, who can suffer long-term damage to joints if over-exercised on land while they are growing; non-weight bearing exercise tones muscles and helps to stabilise loose joints without pressure;
- Dogs who compete in the show ring, agility or flyball: swimming can keep them in the peak of fitness and help to maintain an ideal weight;
- High energy breeds: a 30 minute session in the pool can burn the same energy as a 10 mile brisk walk;
- Those who would benefit from the improved mental wellbeing which exercise produces: it releases feel-good endorphins just as it does in humans;
- Gundogs who are hesitant about retrieving from water.
Magnetic Therapy
In recent years, therapeutic use of magnets has gained a large following among some pet owners.
It is seen as a safe and simple method of treating various disorders, often producing positive results without side effects or much expense. This type of treatment is often used in conjunction with or to replace other canine therapies including traditional medications, surgery, and hydrotherapy.
Massage Therapy
Most people know the pleasure and relief massage can bring, particularly to relieve aches and pains caused by tense or over-worked muscles.
Massage is one of the oldest known techniques for healing, pre-dating orthodox medicine and other complimentary therapies.
Canine massage is gaining recognition as a powerful tool in the natural healing processes of the body. It benefits the overall well-being of a dog, whether or not he has a medical problem, helping to maintain the immune system, and providing positive benefits to all the major systems of the body.
This experience is now available for your dog, whether he is an athletic agility competitor, a family pet who loves to chase, or an elderly, arthritic dog whose mobility is becoming restricted.
Massage is a gentle, non-invasive ‘complimentary’ therapy, which means it works alongside any treatment your dog is receiving from the vet. It is therefore important to have the consent of your vet before treatment can start.
Physiotherapy
Canine Physiotherapy is “passive” stretching, when the action is brought about by the therapist and not by the effort of the dog.
Experienced therapists can “feel” when the dog reaches his or her limit in the extension or flexion of its joint, so it is not something to attempt to perform on your dog without training.
There is some controversy about whether stretching is valuable during warm up routines prior to racing, agility or flyball because muscle must be warm before any stretching is performed. Clearly there is an element of risk if this is done incorrectly, so we take great care when putting a dog through stretches, whether passive or active.
Frequently Asked Questions
everything you need to know
We know that you may have lots of questions about Canine Hydrotherapy, Physiotherapy and Massage, and how they relate to your dog. So, we have attempted to address some of the more common questions that our customers have asked about the treatments we offer.
