4 Furry Best Friends

........................................................................................................Diesel, Magnum, Perdie & Jade.....................................................................................................

Monday, February 7, 2011

Water Therapy for 3 legged Dogs

"Are we going on the boat?"
With a foot of snow outside and snow still falling...I had to break the news to Diesel... 

IT'S STILL WINTER! and this is the look he gave me. With a little...  
"get this thing off me."

Believe it or not a 3-legged dog can swim...but for how long? It's not safe for Diesel to be around water without his life jacket on.www.myoutwardhound.com 


WATER THERAPY
Because Diesel has severe Arthritis in his back hip, WATER THERAPY was recommended. It is an incredible invention for dog rehabilitation. The dogs walk into a small 'tank' and the water starts to fill up slowly. A therapist walks with the dogs as they are(as you can imagine) a little scared. When the water gets to a height to help support the dogs weight, they start walking on a treadmill. www.vetemergency.ca/docs/rehab_team.html This treatment is helpful for a lot of dogs. A Border Collie  was in the tank after us. He had torn his ACL. He loved walking in the tank. For dogs recovering from ligament, or hip surgery, this is excellent therapy.  For Diesel, he was so scared and he has been through so much that I felt we could try something else. 

MASSAGE THERAPY  
At the same clinic they taught me some MASSAGE THERAPY techniques. These techniques have worked really well for Diesel. I would highly recommend it for all animals. Just as we enjoy massage, animals do to. Watch your dogs movement, breathing and their eyes slowly close and you know they love it. For Diesel his muscles are so tight around his good hip. He needs a little help with massage. 

PHANTOM LEG
Writing about massage made me think of this. When I scratch under Diesel's front leg on the side where his leg is missing, his leg 'stump' goes crazy. It moves really fast as if my arm is his leg and he is scratching himself.

He is one of those special dogs that you know needs you as much as you need him. He makes me smile and appreciate him every day.



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