Canine Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy

Why VJP Veterinary Rehabilitation?
VJP Veterinary Rehabilitation prides itself on delivering a calm, therapeutic environment with one to one patient care. Sessions are constructed with the patients needs at the forefront of treatment process and are provided by a veterinary physiotherapist specialising in canine hydrotherapy. Here we combine canine physiotherapy techniques and water based therapy to create bespoke treatment programs tailored to the patient. 

Check out what we get up to in the video below:
 

Facilities

Facilities at our Witney clinic include:
  • Purpose built centre
  • Aquatic Treadmill
  • Pool heated to 30 degrees, with underwater platforms
  • Underwater camera system
  • Shower and drying facilities
  • Calm, quiet atmosphere

Benefits of Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy can be used to improve fitness, health and performance or used as a rehabilitation tool to correct movement dysfunction of a canine patient.
Therapeutic effects of hydrotherapy include:
  • Pain relief
  • Reduction of swelling and stiffness
  • Increased range of motion of joints
  • Increased tissue healing and rate of recovery
  • Gait modification
  • Increased proprioception
  • Increased cardiovascular fitness 
  • Reduced weight bearing exercise

Conditons Treated

Hydrotherapy can support, or aid in the recovery, following injury, surgery or disease. Some conditions that would benefit from hydrotherapy include:
  • Hip Dysplasia
  • Elbow Dysplasia
  • OCD
  • Luxating patella - conservative management
  • Luxating patella - surgical management
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Spondylosis
  • Cruciate ligament rupture- conservative management
  • Cruciate ligament rupture - post-surgery TTA/ TPLO/ Lateral Suture
  • Neurological conditions, e.g:
    •  Fibrocartilaginous Embolism
    • Lumbo-Sacral stenosis
    • Degenerative Myelopathy
  • Intervertebral disk disease (IVDD)
  • Weight management  

Fitness Swims

Fitness swims are a great way to give nervous or inexperienced dogs confidence in water. As well as being an excellent alternative form of exercise and enrichment for your canine friends. 

Hydrotherapy can help to develop cardiovascular fitness which can be of huge benefit to those who compete in agility, flyball and canicross, as well as many other sports! We offer bespoke training programs, developed by discussing your needs and tailoring a program in our pool, or underwater treadmill to maximise performance. 

Contact us at our Witney clinic to discuss your requirements! 


Puppy Swims
Puppy swims allow you to introduce your new puppy to water in a fun, safe and controlled environment. 

Too much exercise before a dog is fully grown can cause damage to developing bones and joints. Hydrotherapy is a highly beneficial alternative form of exercise for young dogs, as it allows them to exercise, burn energy and develop muscular strength while having less impact on their growing skeletal system. 

Puppies can start hydrotherapy after they have had all their puppy vaccinations, this is normally around 16 weeks old. Please get in touch to find out more!
Legal
Prior to an appointment, in accordance with The Veterinary Surgeons Act (1966) and the Veterinary Surgeon (Exemptions) Order 2015, we are legally required to contact your Veterinary Surgeon to gain consent for treatment. Therefore prior to an appointment we ask that you contact us, by phone or email, so we receive the required information and are able to contact your veterinary surgeon for consent.

What to expect
The length of the first appointment will vary between cases and session type. As a general rule repeat canine hydrotherapy appointments will last approximately 1 hour, puppy swims may be shorter and will be dependent on how your dog copes within the session. Please enquire for more information on session times for first appointments. 

On the initial hydrotherapy appointment a history of your dog will be taken, discussing many aspects of your animals social and medial history. Following this, a gait and hands on assessment of your animal will be performed. Once these details have been taken the session will be tailored to the patients needs, please be aware that your dog may not enter the water on their first session. 

In a typical session your dog will have a pre-shower before entering the water, this makes sure they are clean and helps to warm up their muscles before they exercise. From here they will undertake a session tailored to their specific requirements in either the pool or aquatic treadmill. Once their session is complete they will have a final shower to rinse the pool water from their coats and then they are dried. Please note - It is advisable to bring towels and a coat for your dog as they are likely to still be damp when leaving the clinic. 
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