The term hydrotherapy is being heard more and more often by dog owners. But what is hydrotherapy, and is it OK for your pet dog? Even if they aren’t recovering from an injury? Our team took a look…
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The word hydrotherapy means ‘water therapy’. It is a term that covers any use of water for therapeutic or health reasons. In people, this might include familiar activities such as swimming, jacuzzis, salt or mineral baths, and more energetic activities such as water aerobics.
Why we use hydrotherapy
The nice thing about water is that it helps dogs (and us!) be weightless. Water also provides resistance to the limbs, making muscles work a little harder against it than they might have to outside the water. This buoyancy, combined with the resistance that water offers, is the key to the success of hydrotherapy!
Being super-buoyant in water removes some or all of the weight-bearing load on the joints. Taking away a lot of the strain that exercise can have on the joints. This means that working in water strengthens and conditions the muscles without strain on the joints. Not only is this really useful for healthy dogs who do water work for fun and fitness; it’s also great for dogs that are recovering from injury or surgery.
So is it just for dogs in recovery?
Definitely not! Just like humans using jacuzzi baths and saunas, dogs also find warm water relaxing and pain relieving. Warm water causes a degree of something called vasodilation. This is where the blood vessels dilate, allowing blood, oxygen, and nutrients to freely flow around the areas in the warm water. The warmth of the water is often very soothing too. So sometimes older dogs with stiffer joints, or younger dogs that are extremely active, can find water therapy helps with joint or muscular pain.
Younger dogs are often excellent swimmers. So using a warm swimming pool for fun and fitness swims for them can be an excellent way of maintaining fitness and muscle tone. All with the aim of reducing their risk of injury when they are running around on land. Often, the therapists at the dog swimming pool, or underwater treadmill facility, will use toys to keep the dogs motivated in the water. Of course, this also adds to the fun!
So that’s all there is to it? Find a pool and jump in?
Not quite (although wild-swimming has its advantages). However, alongside all the splashing and swimming fun, it’s also important to make sure your dog is in safe hands when they are living their best life in the hydro pool. In order to do this, dog hydrotherapists must be trained and qualified. It’s advisable to find a doggy hydrotherapy centre that is registered with NARCH (National Association of Recognised Canine Hydrotherapists) or CHA (Canine Hydrotherapy Association). These centres will have undergone stringent tests to become members of these associations. Meaning that everything from staff training to water quality controls are carried out to the highest standards. Most importantly, this means your dog is in safe hands when swimming!
For fit and healthy dogs, swimming can be brilliant exercise. And for those recovering from illness or injury, it’s often recommended by vets. Regardless of your dog’s situation, your canine hydrotherapy centre should always be asking your vet for permission before they swim or treadmill your dog. This is just an added safety measure, to make sure that your dog isn’t precluded from swimming by any health conditions that they may have. Things like heart problems or certain skin issues can mean that some dogs aren’t suitable candidates for working hard in the pool or on a water treadmill. So making sure your vet is happy is essential.
So now you know all about how hydrotherapy works for healthy dogs! Do you have a canine hydrotherapy centre near you? Why not have a chat with your vet about whether hydrotherapy might suit your dog?
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