How can we help you?

The best way to get your pup moving again, whether that means taking them on walks, playing fetch at the park, or jumping into bed, is to intervene with a tailored exercise program. The program does not need to be complicated, but it does require a progressive approach to give your pup the comfort that they deserve. During the first phase of our rehab program we will focus on getting your pup feeling and moving better, so we can then focus on teaching you a progressive exercise approach always with an emphasis on teaching you what to do at home with your dog. We need a solid foundation to build a house, and to help our aging dogs we need to build their foundation through a progressive and consistent strengthening program that you can follow at home.

The best way to answer this question would be to start by going over “the cycle of arthritis”. We need to understand that arthritis is a normal part of the aging process, both for ourselves and our pets, and the best thing that we can do is to be proactive rather than reactive. Arthritis can be asymptomatic as well, but once our pups start to show symptoms then we definitely need to start being more proactive than before.

The cycle starts when a pup with arthritis starts to show signs of joint inflammation, which can lead to pain, discomfort, and stiffness. As they feel stiff they tend to be less active, and if we let that happen over time they would lose muscle mass while also gaining weight. With added weight the pressure on their inflamed joints becomes even more uncomfortable, which in turn leads towards increased stiffness and a decrease in their level of physical activity. That is how the cycle of arthritis keeps going on and on, unless we do something about it. Read more on how we treat Arthritis here.

This is a question that we get a lot! To answer it, here at TheK9PT, we do not use the underwater treadmill as a form of treatment for several reasons as rehabilitation is much more than one modality of treatment, and underwater treadmill is just one small piece of the puzzle. The premise of the underwater treadmill is that the buoyancy of the water will decrease the effects of gravity and thus assist with gait training. The water height can be adjusted in relation to the patient—the higher the water level, the less body weight the patient uses. However, although its use could be beneficial in a minority of cases, the reality is that underwater treadmill is vastly over-used in the field of canine rehabilitation and most of the time, dogs recover much better from injury or surgery without using an underwater treadmill in their rehabilitation program. For even more in depth information, please follow this link where we discuss The About Underwater Treadmill.