Canine Fit – The wonderful world of physio

Lisa first treated one of my dogs Lucy back in 2015 when she was newly qualified and starting Equifit Physio. Lucy was 13 at the time and had surgery to repair a shattered femur after being attacked while out on a walk. Due to her age and having age related arthritis the vet was sceptical about Lucy regaining full use of the leg. So Lisa came and worked on mobilising the joints and strengthening her leg. I was given daily exercises to do with her between visits and slowly but surely Lucy fully regained the use her leg which was fantastic to see as we were worried that if she didn’t it would have been too much weight for her good leg to bear and she would not of had the quality of life that she had for a good 18 months following surgery.Equifit is focused on horse and rider clinics but has since expanded and started CanineFit which is based at House of hound hydrotherapy doing clinics every Wednesday.

Physio is crucial for recovery after any orthopaedic surgery but is also brilliant for helping with chronic ailments such as rheumatism and arthritis. It is also good for dogs doing sports, working dogs or any active dog. Like us ,dogs can suffer from stiffness and tension so it is nice to have maintenance visits to make sure our dogs are happy and healthy. This Wednesday I took Bobby and Sacha for an assessment visit. Bobby will be 11 next month so is getting to the age when arthritis could start affecting him.

Lisa did a full body assessment and found that he had some soreness along the bottom end of his spine and was weaker and had some stiffness in his right hind. Lisa then did some exercises with him and has given me some exercises to do at home to help strengthen the right hind and loosen it. Next it was Sacha’s turn. He will be 5 next month and is very active and healthy. Lisa again did a full body assessment and found that he was sore in his right shoulder which just goes to show that every dog can benefit from a physio visit. Lisa did some exercises with him massaging and stretching the muscles. I will be keeping up to the physio sessions and taking the boys for another maintenance visit in 6 months.