Alternatives to water therapy

[Erniefood]

Hi! I’ve been reading this forum for a few weeks and have gotten a lot of great info regarding our dog’s condition. So thank you!

Are there dry land alternatives to water therapy? Ernie doesn’t like water and maintaining motivation in water seems like a challenge. Also the closest place for water therapy is an hour away. Our bathtub is too shallow for him. So we’re wondering if we can do some excersizes using his sling or his wheelchair that will be arriving tomorrow.

For reference, here is a little about him:

He’s 7 years old, 32 lbs, probably basset hound/chocolate lab mix and looks like an enormous daschund. Hence the back problems. A month ago he was limping and the vet told us it was a sprained ankle. That was a misdiagnosis. The next morning he woke up and couldn’t move his back half. Went to the vet again for a cat scan and confirmation that it was a slipped disc not a sprained ankle. Got surgery within a few hours. Had deep pain sensation. Next day he slipped another disc and got a second surgery. No deep pain since then. No control of the turds. We express his bladder every 4-6 hours. He has reflexes and sometimes holds his tail up and we can spur on reflexes in his legs by tickling his toes. Lost a bit of muscle mass in his butt.

We are doing other physical therapy at home with him: assisted standing, bicycle range of motion, assisted sitting, reflex kicking.

This month we are doing laser treatments 3x per week and acupuncture 2x per week.

His spirits are very good and we wonder if he even knows that he can’t move his back half.

He seems happy and our goal is to maximize his happiness whatever level of mobility he may have but obviously it would be ideal if he might walk again! Ernie: what a champ!!!!

Thanks for any advice you have!

[critters]

Could you do hydrotherapy in a kiddie pool, stock tank, or the like? Even natural bodies of water can be used. Personally, I recommend a life jacket for swimming, and most critter life jackets have handles, which can be a big help getting them in and out. Swimming really is terrific, and it can be a bit of independence for them, although your baby can get some independence with the wheels.

[Erniefood]

Thanks for the reply, critters! We will try to get him water time whenever it’s possible but we were also thinking that with him hating water it would also be good to have alternates that are dry for motivation purposes and for our own scheduling purposes since getting to a natural body of water isn’t really an option on, for example, a Monday night. We live in an apartment building so though a kiddie pool might work, it would have to be a deep one and we would have to set it up and then take it apart every time we used it and stay out of everyone’s way somehow so I know we would be much more regular with dry alternatives.

[critters]

Hmm, yeah, that breaking down part would be really hard. A stock tank should work, depending on size, but if you have to fill it up and dump it every single time it kills the utility.

[CarolC]

http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingdisc.htm

Yes, you can do assisted walking with the sling or wheelchair or by grasping the root of his tail to support him. While he is supported, you bend from the waist and hold his hind feet and put them through stepping motions. It is easier with a wheelchair and you can probably get better support along the length of his body. If he is really long bodied, you don't want to put a lot of lift on the extreme rear of the dog without supporting his midsection. I just have a feeling this dog would do better with a wheelchair, or with a belly sling.

However I would not be doing anything except passive therapy yet, if it's only been a month. Dodgerslist recommends 6 weeks of strict crate rest after surgery (see link above).

For the toileting, there are ways to make your dog eliminate at a time and place of your chosing. Here is an article describing them. I like the ice cube method or the squeezing method best.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18586

P.S. I thought there used to be a stationary swim harness for dogs where it tethers the dog to the side of the pool, which means your dog is not swimming around in circles, he is only swimming in one place, therefore he needs a much smaller pool (less filling and dumping). If he hates water and you live in an apartment, I can totally relate to that, just thinking out loud. I can't find the harness now searching online anyway.

[Erniefood]

Thanks Carol! Good advice. We’re looking at all options and will see how he takes to his wheelchair before we start therapy. I’m sure YouTube will be a great resource and I’ll take a closer look at the link you sent too!!