Canine Hydrotherapy for Your Dog’s Overall Health

How Hydrotherapy Can Change Your Dog’s Life for the Better

Not long ago, our sister company, Dip’n Dogs Canine Hydrotherapy, had a new client come to them interested in hydrotherapy for their dog. This woman’s 10 year old senior dog was beginning to slow down quite a bit and show signs of aging. Her dog was having trouble getting up from lying down, moving slowly and physically unable to go up the stairs anymore. She was a Labrador retriever mix with a little bit of extra weight on her, which put even more stress on her mobility. Her owner was in her golden years as well, also having trouble getting around herself which made her unable to exercise her pup enough to keep her hind leg muscles strong and her mood light. She had also mentioned that she had noticed some problems in her dog’s eating habits and energy levels, which likely resulted in her dog lying around majority of the time and not acting like her normal self. The client assumed she may have had the beginning stages of severe arthritis which motivated her to give hydrotherapy a try and to be proactive in keeping her dog’s quality of life high for as long as possible. She also wanted to explore outside of mainstream treatments such as pain medication or possible surgeries.

To be honest, during the course of a dog’s life going into their senior years, it is almost certain that he or she will develop arthritis at some point in time.

In the past, arthritis clients came to Dip’n Dogs because their dogs were already arthritic and could barely walk. Often, these dogs were seniors, sometimes overweight and did not get much exercise everyday. These combinations unfortunately make it difficult to see quick results using hydrotherapy and in rare cases can be too late.

Fortunately, most of their clients are dog owners who choose hydrotherapy because they intend to be proactive with their dog’s overall health and wellness both physically AND mentally. Dog owners like this know, that by keeping their dog fit physically and mentally, they are in fact adding quality years to their dog’s life and are potentially saving thousands of dollars in medical procedures and/or prescription medication.

Even for humans, hydrotherapy has been used since the early Greek and Roman periods as an integral part of traditional medicine to treat a variety of diseases. It’s still very much used today to help relieve  pain from arthritis, surgery and injury recovery/rehab and provide a means safe/effective exercise for those who cannot exercise on land.

What is Canine Hydrotherapy?

It is the use of water to treat different conditions in dogs. Hydrotherapy exercise uses the element of water and it’s principles for benefits:

Buoyancy, which alters the exercise intensity and reduces stress on weight bearing joints

Warm temperature and hydrostatic pressure to increase circulation, flexibility, and decrease swelling

Turbulence and surface area to increase exercise difficulty and increase resistance

Canine Hydrotherapy vs. Swimming

Water in a hydrotherapy pool is warmer than in a traditional pool. For example, we keep the temperature of our indoor dog hydrotherapy pool set at 92 degrees year round.Hydrotherapy exercises are very specific to the condition being treated, making it different from just swimming. These exercises focus on building muscle, improving range of motion, building endurance much and more.

What Are The Benefits of Canine Hydrotherapy?

• Pain relief
• Reduce inflammation
• Reduce anxiety
• Increased range of motion
• Strengthening weak muscles
• Improved mood
• Increased endurance and cardiovascular health
• Improved circulation
• Improved balance and coordination
• Retraining of muscles for correct movement.

Holistic Supplements: CBD Oil

Dog owners who inquire about CBD oil have all different types of reasons for doing so. Most of these paw parents are searching for a holistic approach to help and heal their pet. CBD oil is known to be the main ingredient in many treatment options that provide internal as well as external care for pets. It is also available in many different forms such as edibles, tincture, oils or even creams. Here at Walk’n Dogs, we’ve partnered with a local organic company who provides a few different types of CBD Oil for pets AND  humans. We offer small, medium and large breed oil tinctures as well as a standard human CBD tincture. It is a 100% THC free organic grade Phytocannabinoid Hemp oil and is organically farmed with a non-GMO formula and is pesticide and residual solvent free. Visit our CBD Oil information pageon our website to purchase your or your pet’s order!

Conditions That Benefit From CBD Oil:

• Arthritis
• Aggressiveness/Temper
• Seizures
• Cancer Symptoms
• Appetite Loss
• General Anxiety
• Separation Anxiety
• Inflammation After Surgery
• Managing Pain
• Depression
• High Stress

Overall, Canine Hydrotherapy and CBD Oil are alternative forms of treatment to help with arthritis, disease and injury. Warm water hydrotherapy is a way to exercise a dog in a completely safe environment and 100% non-weight bearing. When dogs start to become older, arthritic or develop a degenerative disease, they begin to experience pain and discomfort. This makes it so that the dog typically doesn’t want to exercise, which begins a downward spiral of muscle loss and increased difficulty getting around. Hydrotherapy helps to keep a dog’s entire body strong, mostly the hind end muscles. These specific muscles weaken and atrophy long before other muscles in the body which is why it is vital to start your dog EARLY ON. Our clients often report that through regular hydrotherapy sessions, their senior or aging dogs often become puppy like again and positively turn around their health and energy levels! By being proactive and starting your dog on their hydrotherapy journey when they’re young, will add quality years to your dog’s life, which is SO worth it, don’t you think?

About Walk’n Dogs – A Dog Walking Company | College Park Orlando, FL

Rachel has been working in the Pet Care Industry for the last few years and started her career in a local Canine Health & Fitness Center that also incorporated canine hydrotherapy, dog daycare & boarding. While working at Rocky’s Retreat, under the previous ownership of Sherri Cappabianca and Toby Gass, Rachel became certified in canine hydrotherapy and they taught her everything she knows about canine care, hydrotherapy, health and fitness.

Rachel is currently the owner/founder of Dip’n Dogs Canine Hydrotherapy and Walk’n Dogs – A Dog Walking Service in the Orlando, FL area. Dip’n Dogs provides water therapy for dogs with any orthopedic condition, degenerative disease, injury or obesity. Walk’n Dogs provides in-home visits for dog walking, pet sitting, pet taxi and pet errands. Each service is customized to fit each dog and their needs. Rachel caters to the Winter Park, Baldwin Park, Maitland and Casselberry areas.

Rachel is also the owner and dog mom to her two beagles, Leo and Lola.