Dixie's Physical Therapy- is this right???

[jojov]

Sorry guys, but I need some help again. (Needy little thing, aren't I?) I finally called to schedule Dixie's therapy and got an appointment for tomorrow, but something just doesn't seem right about how they do things not to mention it's even more inconvenient and expensive than I thought.
I don't know how therapy for pets is done, but they want me to drop her off between 8-9am tomorrow and leave her for the day (which now means 200 miles of driving to go back and pick her up later). They said they do a morning session, give her a break, and then do some more stuff in the afternoon. And all this for the small fee of $150. First of all, why don't they just do a 45 min or 1 hour sesion a couple of times a week and a more meager cost like they do with humans? And for this fee how much time will she actually be spending in a pen or cage? And I haven't even gotten to the question of how many times a week they'll be wanting us there.
Anyone have any input on the type of therapy and average costs their pets received? I know cost varies greatly by region, but I'm still curious.
Thanks again for any help/advice!

[CarolC]

I agree, it seems like they need to meet you halfway. They need to understand that you are doing enough to drive 100 miles, you should not be expected to drive 200. I ran into the same thing on a lesser scale here. I'm in a city where there is only one facility within driving distance with canine PT. Fortunately, it is a good facility and the therapist really cares. They used to schedule appointments and let your watch your dog execise. Then they moved to a new facility clear across town and changed to drop-off only. It is a 40-minute drive one way for me and I work full time. So they arranged 2 regular days a week for me, Tuesday and Thursday, and I have to be there at 8 am sharp. They give my dog her half hour of quality exercise (which my dog loves!) and we go home. Then they proceed to handle the other dogs as you describe, working them in during the day because they are all drop-offs.

I am very, very grateful I have a choice of not doing that drive twice per day, but unfortunately I am always on the night shift every Tuesday and Wednesday so that means I get as little sleep as possible because I have to get up at 6:40 Tuesday even though I'm working late (making for a long day), and then when I get off the late shift Wednesday, I have to get up at the crack of dawn Thursday to get her over there again (making for a very short night). I do not have the option of getting enough sleep. But we keep going because it is really good for her.

On the price, it sounds a little high but in some parts of the country it may not be too out of line. As I recall, the initial appointment where my dog was evaluated cost more than the regular PT sessions. Maybe they can work something out for you. Did you check the link to see if there were any other PT faciliities nearby? Also, if you are trying to save money this may not be an option, but several times on this message board there have been people who lived at a distance and boarded their dog for PT because it was in another town. I hope something can be worked out for your dog. The good thing is, it probably won't be necessary long term, just for a while.

One other possibility is to have your vet phone them and say he is prescribing two 1/2 hour sessions per week, and maybe they will listen to him and try to comply. They want him to refer other clients to them, don't you think?

[jojov]

Thanks so much for the input. I had already thought of requesting at least a half a day session so I can just kill some time in the area and then bring her home. I actually ended up rescheduling today's (Fri.) appointment until Monday so that I would have time to work something out. This IS, however, the only facility around unless I'd like to increase my drive to 300 miles!
I am also quite sure Dixie will love therapy- now I just have to find something for Willie (her husband) to do so he won't get jeleous. I guess I could bring him with me when I drop Dixie off and then take him to the beach or a park. That would be awesome- for everyone to come home happy and tired!
I just want her to get better, of course. It will be an absolute dream for the three of us to be able to walk every day. I was really counting on these two to help me lose some weight by bugging me for walks every day and this way she'll lose some too.
Again- thanks for the advice. We'll keep you posted!

[Diana R.]

I do not recall what Dixie's disability is but I have a pitbull Jack in physical therapy now 1 time a week who does the treadmill in the water enclosure. Jack has congenital partial paralysis of his back legs and use to use a wheel chair. I suppose I am fortunate to live in the Denver, Colorado metro area (although I do not live in Denver due to their pit bull ban) but Jack's physical therapy for 1/2 hour costs roughly $40.00. Quite honestly I am not sure if it was the physical therapy or simply time that allowed him to walk and even run now. Diana R.

[Tiffany]

Hello
I know you posted this a while ago but just in case your still looking for help maybe you could call around your local vets or if you have a university hospital you could call them and maybe they can put you in touch with a private physical therepist. TUFTS university set me up with a physical Therepist that works out of her home(she had an indoor pool but Eros wouldn't go near it and I never actually found out if she had an underwater treadmill (We didn't try very hard to get him in it because due to outstanding circumstances He didn't get the chance to go in it till he was almost recovered to the point of no longer needing it) but she was great she did alot through E-mail and her rates weren't rediculous either. I would take him in for an hour she would help teach me how to do excersizes at home and give him a good session and then help me with anything I needed in between apointments . I don't know if thats the kind of thing your looking for, but it worked for Eros when he came home he couldn't even turn himself over now he is almost onehundred percent recovered and can do ALMOST everything he did before.
We wish you the best of luck!
Eros & Tiffany

[jojov]

Dixie finally had her first P/T session on Tuesday. She only went for a half a day, but I still ended up having to drop her and then pick her up. Hardly worth it- at least in this facility. I drove almost 4 hours round trip to find out she hated the water treadmill and other than that all they did was a regular treadmill and some massage therapy. I can do that from home for free. She is nearly 2 months post-op from her Elbow surgery and we've been doing contolled walks at the beach and in the soft sand in the woods behind my house. She has already progressed so much since the surgery that she is now able to be a strong contender in wrestling matches with her hubby, Willie, a male chocolate lab the same age but 20lbs heavier! (Yes- the wrestling matches are closely supervised in the backyard and Willie is SO good with her- probably from being yelled at so much in the beginning to go easy on her!) As she progresses, the playtime gets a little rougher, but when she sees him charging, she just lays down and rolls over so as not to take a full "body check" from Willie. God, ya just gotta love Labs!
Anyway, I have decided not to take Dixie anymore unless I see a real need, and one of the main reasons is because they didn't even take the time to sit down with me when I went to pick her up and tell me in detail how she did, what I can do at home, what to expect in the future, etc. Yes, I got there close to closing due to miserable traffic, but it didn't think it was too much to ask for an update. I guess they just assumed I would be bringing her back.
So- that's our experience with P/T. I'm sure there are a great many awesome facilities across the country, but I live in an area where doing business with almost any type of business is a trying experience (close to NYC), and I guess the P/T is no different. It's a sad state of affairs here and that's why the family is looking to relocate across country where things are a little more laid back. I'm tired of fighting the NY attitude and crankiness!
By the way, what is Eros recovering from? So glad to hear a happy ending! Hope I will be reporting the same soon!!!! Thanks to all who replied, and again- we'll keep you posted.

[CarolC]

Well, that's a darned shame, to spend that much and not get a whole lot for it. If you can do it at home (and it sounds like you are just fine there) then I don't blame you if you don't go back. As far as the treadmill, my dog hated it at first, too. They had to acclimate her to it. 5 minutes the first session, 10 minutes the second, etc. At one point she started panting with fright and we had to take her out and calm her down. But after she got used to it, she loved it, and now when we go to PT you should hear her squealing in her carrier when we pull into their parking lot and park. She is so excited. I wish it had worked out better for you.

It's kind of scary to think of her playing, glad she's being careful. Congratulations on the progress!