Hydrotherapy

Registered to another vet?  That’s not a problem, if you think that Hydrotherapy can help your pet you can ask your vet to complete our Veterinary Services Referral Form.

What to expect?

Initial consultation We must obtain a signed referral form and clinical history from your referring vets before hydrotherapy treatment can commence. If you are a registered veterinary client at Mochdre Vets we can do a in-house referral.

On the day of your session Please do not feed your dog for at least 1 hour before their session. When you first arrive please toilet your dog, there is a grass verge beside the practice. Please pick up after your dog.

At the session During an initial consultation we conduct a thorough assessment of your pet, make a treatment plan and have a session in the pool or treadmill. Initial assessments last for 1 hour. After that, standard sessions last for 30 minutes though your animal may not spend the entire time in pool or treadmill. Dogs will be showered before a session and will be fitted with a harness or bouyancy aid. We will remove their collars at this time.

After the session Your pet will be showered and dried. Your hydrotherapist will discuss progress and make recommendations for your pets recovery.

FAQ

Hydrotherapy is derived from the Greek word for water healing. “Any healing in water”. It is a therapeutic whole body treatment that involves non weight bearing or controlled weight bearing exercise.

Hydrotherapy provides;

• Relief from pain
• Increased circulation and cardiovascular fitness
• Reduction of swelling and stiffness
• Increased muscle strength
• Increased joint movement
• Correction or improvement of gait
• Mental stimulation

Lots of dogs have never had the opportunity to swim before and they are certainly not all water babies!  Your dog will be fitted with a suitable harness or bouyancy aid and there will always be a hydrotherapist in the water with them. Our pool has an easy access ramp and a rest platform for your dog and is the ideal place for your dog to gain confidence in the water. The advantage of the aquatic treadmill is that the water fills up slowly from the bottom so this can be perfect for dogs who are a little water shy!

Yes, we ask that you have a consultation with a vet before hydrotherapy treatment. We can arrange for this ourselves, or if you’d rather use your existing vet they can complete our referral form.

We use chlorine in our pool and bromine to our treadmill to ensure it is hygienic and safe for your pet and our hydrotherapists. The water is tested 3 times a day to ensure it is safe for our hydrotherapists and dogs to swim. We also have the water tested by an external lab every month. Your dog will be showered before and after the session to ensure the water quality.

Yes, the water is heated between 28°C and 32°C. This temperature is therapeutic for our pets and also keeps our hydrotherapists happy!

All insurance policies are different so you should check with your insurer, though in our experience we have found that the majority of major insurers do cover hydrotherapy as a complementary treatment.

Your dog’s veterinary consent form if your vet hasn’t already sent it over. Additional towels (we do have towels) and a dog coat in case it’s cold outside. We do have a blaster hair dryer that clients can use. You should wear suitable footwear as the flooring can get wet and suitable clothing as you may get splashed!

Initial assessments are 1 hour and standard session after that are 30 minutes long. Your dog may not be in the water the entire time depending on their fitness or other requirements.

To give the best one to one care for the patient as well as the safety for the dogs and staff we only allow 1 dog to be swam at any time.

Unfortunately we can not allow anyone other than the hydrotherapists and your dog in the pool or treadmill.  However you can walk around the edges of the pool if your doggie needs encouragement.