My lovely old dog, Alf, a Greyhound-Saluki cross recently had and an operation to correct a disc hernia which caused him pain and stiffness in his back and legs......a huge amount of dosh later he is better, but suddenly has become old. Well, he is 11, but was always playful and able to belt around a field at 100mph until 6 weeks ago.

I know he is still healing, big op for an old dog, but I just wonder if hydrotherapy would be any good. Has anyone done it for their dog? Anyone know anywhere that does it that wont require me to take out a second mortgage?

A neighbour's dog had hydro therapy for a similar problem. The treatment was very beneficial. Give Alf a hug from me!

I've done hydrotherapy with my two DM dogs; I believe it was quite helpful in maintaining muscle strength as the disease progressed. I would certainly consider it again should the need arise with any of the other mutts.

We did it at Kynofit in Effretikon:

http://www.kynofit.ch/

I see that they now offer a swimming pool - when we did it (8 and 5 years ago) they only had the underwater treadmill. One of my collies didn't like the treadmill, he tended to panic in enclosed spaces. Because of that, after the first course of sessions I decided to continue with the therapy plan on my own, swimming in the lake. (My guy's behavioral issues meant that he was not the easiest of patients.) I think if we had been able to do more desensitization work he would have been more receptive of the treadmill.

But my other guy had no problems with the treadmill, enjoyed his hydro sessions very much. Now that they have a pool all the better.

If you are doing this as surgical after-care, be sure that you are proceeding under the direction of your vet or veterinary physiotherapist.

Hydrotherapy (or plain old swimming) is a great way to give the dog the exercise he needs without stressing joints/muscles, or to help a dog with limited mobility. As long as your vet agrees, why not give it a try?

All the best to your Alf.


(Do you have a physiotherapist? I know a very good one in the ZH/ZG area...)

You might want to see if there is a chiropractor in your area that also deals with dogs. Don't laugh, I had my dog treated a number of times and it works wonders.

Typically using the "activator" technique, the chiropractor can easily re-align any discs that are out of place. Since he has had disc issues, I would see what you can do in the way of an adjustment rather that looking at muscle issues.