hydrotherapy pools?

M

meemzul

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 October 2007
Messages
154
Location
south shropshire
Visit site
Hello all,

I'm looking into anything to help my 11 year old springer spaniel, tonight for the first time ever he has shown his age i would decribe him as 'coming up short' in his left hind
grin.gif
in horsey terms!

He has been clicking for the last couple of years after very long walks or swims in cold weather, we try not to let him swim but can be difficult especially up the yard when he dives in the water trough.
angel007.jpg

He has glucosimene if he has had one of those days which does the trick.

So im thinking of taking him to one of those pools there is one round the corner from me, so was wanting to ask if anyone had used one and what they thought!
 
We used one for our dog who has arthritis and it did him wonders for a while, he would go every week and for about 4 months it seemed to really help him then it just didn't seem to help anymore and he didnt enjoy it any more so we stopped. Then we had to result to drugs to keep him comfortable.
Give him glucosimene every day as a preventative method. This is what our vet told us.
 
I used a hydrotherapy treadmill for Buffy when she lost muscle tone in her hindquarters after an injury to her spine. Definitely helped her, and I found it better for her as she is not a great swimmer. If your lad is a water baby he would probably be fine in a pool, just be guided by him.
 
Our border terrier was diagnosed with hip dysplasia (V severe) at 6 months and we were told that she needed both hips operated on. To prepare for the op we used hydro and also MSM/glucosamine (Synoquin) capsule once a day.

She is now 5 and still hasnt needed the operation!

He will prob love the hydro, and the MSM/gluc in combination worked wonders and thats not just opinion, the later Xrays show the muscle acting to replace where the bone should be but isnt in the hip joint.
 
Good news that your border is doing so well. Years ago I had a GSD who was diagnosed with terrible hips (pre the hip score scheme). We had her x-rayed once scoring came in and she scored in the high 90s
frown.gif
She was always a very active, good moving bitch who did loads of swimming. My vet and the hip expert at Liverpool uni (sorry forget his name) also said that it was muscle holding her hips together. Also the fact that she was so bad meant that there wasn't much of hip joint to form arthritic changes, so in a weird way the fact they were so bad helped her
crazy.gif

She was put down at nearly 12 with a liver tumour, and never had a days lameness in her life.
 
If the hydrotherapy does not help ask them or your vet about acupuncture. Having had treatment myself with incredible success in eliminating the pain of arthritic changes after 2 broken knees I would recommend it. Our own vet does acupuncture and the success rate of the treatments is excellent.
 
Sorry I don't have much to add, but that picture is so cute... even though he is not helping himself at all
grin.gif


It lookes like getting in there must have taken quite some effort!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top