Our Hydrotherapy Report

[CarolC]

Imagine a glass hydrotherapy tank exactly like on the homepage of this website. Inside on the treadmill, in only 6 inches of water, is a perfect little white and fawn reindeer chihuahua, all legs and ears. And behind her is a sweet physical therapist with her pants legs rolled up, standing on the sideboards. She's bending over, holding the little dog by the tail while the track goes 4 mph. Now get down on your elbows and look at the little dog's feet underwater. They're moving, all four of them! Her back feet go half a dozen steps, then they get tangled up, and the therapist straightens them out and she keeps going. They tangle a few more times and the therapist reaches down and walks one foot keeping it straight and in time, and now she has a perfect gait. We're both cheering. That's my girl! )))

[Debbie-Spain]

Carol, we're cheering with you!! I'm so pleased and slightly jealous, LOL, there are no places with those hydrotherapy tubs here. I found a place with a swimming pool for dogs, but it's expensive and has nothing else. Reckon I could throw a treadmill in the bath tub?

Bombon got her cart this week, I watched her run through a field for the first time. It's gone back for a few readjustments so we're without it for a few days. Since she had it, she started wiggling her hips and has gained a tiny bit of movement in her tail which was also paralyzed. She also seems to be getting more strength in the movement from her hip of her back legs...

I was amazed how quickly she took to the cart, she just runs around and turns corners really well! The problem is one of her legs is really stiff and it drags on the ground, that's why they're adjusting it for her...

Keep us updated on how the hydrotherapy goes and if you see improvements, I am thinking of doing a fundraiser to see if we can get one of those tanks with a treadmill set up in Spain!

Debbie

[CarolC]

OK, first of all, it has been almost 6 months for us, so your little one has a long way to go. Second, this is really important, so I want to explain it. When my dog is in the tank, the water is *n* *o* *t* high enough to give her any kind of support whatsoever that I can see. It's like, not even mid-chest?? When I look at it, all I can think is, "Well, maybe the warmth is doing some good." If anything, I would think that the water sort of slows down her legs, like when you walk in knee-high water in the ocean? I mean, I guess it provides some resistance, maybe? We started with a low water level doing 5 minutes more each day. On the day she was supposed to do 25 minutes, the therapist had the water a little higher, which I commented on thinking it looked like a good idea, because now she would have more support. Well, it frightened her too much, and even though it was only a smidge above mid-chest she began panting because she was so scared. So we had to stop, and the therapist let some of the water out of the tank and I held her and helped her calm down, and that day she only did about 20 minutes, and the water has been kept low ever since. Therefore, I seriously think that you could accomplish everything we have accomplished with a standard treadmill, provided you have a way to keep your little one from walking off the side. That is one good thing about the tank--it's enclosed. If you wanted to give support, which as I say, my dog does not appear to be getting because of the low water level, you could make some sort of supportive sling to go under your dog's belly and fasten it to the bars, provided you had the kind of treadmill with grab bars on each side and not just a bar to lean on up at the front. As far as I can see, the only challenge would be figuring out how to turn the machine off and on while you are down at dog level. For that, I think I might try putting it close to the wall and simply pulling the plug, if your electrical outlets are low on the wall like ours usually are. So anyway, I just want you to know, I don't think the water is much of a factor here. Also, when she uses the cart my dog has the same problem in both legs that yours has in one--stiffness. It makes it really awkward to get her into the cart because her legs inevitably wind up in front of the axle instead of behind where they're supposed to be, even though I am prepared for this to happen and try to avoid it. Then as you say, her toes drag because her legs are extended straight back almost like pointe in ballet. If I bend her knees and put them into the loops and adjust the loops, before long she has straightened them again and the loops slip up her thighs and her toes drag again. Therefore, I have to wrap her toes if she's going to use her chair. (We have other problems with it, too.) I'm glad your dog is such a natural with it. I do think it encourages them to use the muscles in their hindquarters even in the legs-up position. Like you, I noticed my dog using the muscles in her tail while straining forward walking in the chair. I think every kind of activity they can do may contribute to the "remapping" they talk about. I even consider it therapeutic with I put our thick quilt on the floor, folded so it's very cushiony, and set her on it. She rolls over and points her back toes straight up in the air. I feel she's using her muscle groups and learning to control her nerves (or whatever) when she figures out how to do barrel rolls on the quilt. So just be encouraged, because it just takes time. One of these days I'm going to try to calculate the number of hours we've clocked in therapy!

[shantel mccook]

I am wondaring of anyone out there has any ideas on making thier own hydrotherapy pool. I have a 115 lb mastiff who just had a TPLO surgery for a cruciate repair and ther are no places for her to swim or pet therapists here in Utah. Too cold to go to a lake and I would worry about bacteria. Just curious if any one has used a large trough or any other suggestions or any websites to browse.

[Debbie-Spain]

OK, thanks, now I got the picture! After Bombon's exercises I stand her on all four feet. Her stiff leg tends to act as a crutch and hold her up, her other leg which is better in terms of flexibility tends to give way. But I have found I can keep her up without supporting her for a few seconds longer if I just hold her tail (without pulling on it). It seems to me that it helps them keep their balance.

Hmm, haven't looked at treadmills yet, but I am wondering whether it would be possible to find some way of hanging a sling down so that it supports her from underneath, maybe adding some bars over the top or something. If I have any ideas I will let you know!

Hope you keep seeing improvements!

Debbie

[CarolC]

Hi Debbie, That's a neat idea, letting the water out a little at a time. The only thing that keeps my dog on her feet is that the therapist is *always* holding her, either by the root of the tail (doesn't sound very kindly but it seems to be standard) or else by the legs, or by the tail and one leg. If she holds her only by the tail, then my dog is able to walk her little back feet on the treadmill until they get tangled, which I am so pleased about. Then the therapist, still holding her tail with one hand, takes her free hand and untangles her legs and my dog keeps going. If she holds her by one leg plus the tail, or by both legs, and manually does the walking motions for her with her back legs while my little dog walks with her front legs, then she does not get tangled. The other very interesting and important thing is that her hydrotherapy began with the therapist doing only two-handed manual walking of her back legs throughout every session. This means the therapist was standing astraddle her with her feet on the non-moving sides of the treadmill, and bending from the waist for 20 minutes, holding her back legs and making her step in rhythmic fashion. She was *not* necessarily keeping the back legs stepping in time with the front legs. It was not necessarily a proper gait. I'm sure that might be more natural for the dog, but it would be hard to do for 20 minutes with a small dog taking many rapid steps at 4 mph. In spite of the off-rhythm, it seems to be working so far. If I were to get a treadmill, which I am still considering, I think I would find some way to manually walk her back legs without so much bending! Will be interested to learn how you do with the wheelchair adaptation, keeping the feet up. If you find a better way to get her into it, too, I'd love to know. Best wishes to you and little Bombon.

[Debbie-Spain]

Carol, that's really interesting, though I still can't quite see how your dog stands up if the water doesn't hold her up? With Bombon in the bathtub, I put the water in high to keep her spinal cord straight while I'm doing the exercises then I let the water out bit by bit to see if there is any way she can hold herself up with less support, but those back legs just float around all over the place...I use a rubber mat in the bath for her to get some grip but the back legs just hover above it in the standing position.

The wonderful people who made the wheelchair for Bombon (their own dog is paralysed too) are doing some adaptations for her, they are going to put some kind of bar on the back to hold her legs up, further down the leg (your bit about trying to put her feet in the loops is EXACTLY what happens with Bombon). I made a temporary set up with a tupperware container on wheels that held her back legs off the ground, LOL, but it made a noise like a wheeled suitcase on a cobbled road even on my tiled floor. It didn't look very elegant but it worked, and it acted as a pee container if she wasn't wearing a diaper!

I'm sure that I'm seeing more movement in her just from a few days of using the cart a few times a day. Her tail is definitely quivering, which it didn't do before, so I'm looking forward to getting the cart back.

I'm going to have a look round and see if I can find a normal treadmill second-hand, or somebody who has one and will let us try it out. Totally agree with your "remapping" comment...

Will let you know when I get the cart back if it has solved the problem!

Debbie

[CarolC]

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[CarolC]

Hi Shantel, I'm not sure if everybody read your question because the bb got really busy and now it is pretty far down the page. You might want to post again higher. There is someone on this bb who was thinking about exercising their very large dog in a hot tub. Do you know anyone with a hot tub? Other people have exercised their dogs in a horse hydrotherapy pool, like by a track or at an equine hospital, if you have one there. There used to be an ad in the Classifieds on this website of someone selling a pool for $125. It was the kind like they used to sell in the Sears catalog, where you set up a round frame and put a liner in it. I don't see the ad anymore, but you might check around for one of those. The ad had a picture of the dog swimming in the pool and it looked like it worked fine. Also, I read about someone who took their dog for therapy at a pet therapy facility and boarded him during the week and brought him home on the weekends. It was an hour or two away, so that was the best arrangement for them. Best wishes to you and your mastiff.