Water Therapy

[Dakota Kubota]

Hello Everyone.

We are new to Cushing's. We been on the adventure for 6 weeks now. Dakota , is a lab/shar pei mix. 9 years old. His last ACTH test came back awesome. He's on Lysodren. Pre - 1.9 ug/dl and post 3.3 ug/dl which desired pre & post ACTH Cortisol on Lysodren Therapy is 1 - 5.
He's not drinking as much, not looking for food, stop eating poop, but loosing hair still. He has arthritis in his back legs. Which one of his hind legs in the knee has a torn ACL. It's been giving him some problems. I was thinking water therapy might help this.

I am wandering if anyone has used " water therapy ' and did it help/improve your dog's movement? The closest water therapy place I found , that works with dogs is 5 hours away. I was thinking either buy a very large hot tub or swimming pool big enough where I could help him out with swimming and building more muscle in his hind legs.

Thanks so much for Your time!
Cheryl & Dakota

[mytil]

Hi Cheryl,
Welcome to you both. I have manually approved your member registration so no need to respond to the email.

Good job in keeping him within the design treatment range :) and getting through the loading phase of Lysodren.

Yes, water therapy is a good idea to help rebuild muscle mass and flexibility. I would start out slow though and maybe consult with a therapist for pointers too.

Keep us posted
Terry

[Dakota Kubota]

Thanks Terry!

I'll call them and see if they will give me some pointers. I was hoping, that a few people might have try or does water therapy to give me some help on it.

maybe a few will reply...

Thanks again!
Cheryl & Dakota

[molly muffin]

I know that Judi used water therapy often for her dog, Keesh, that had some mobility issues, weakness in hind legs. She also got him a belly harness, that you put under their stomach and this helps you to steady and give them mobility.

This is her thread: http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5442&highlight=keesh

Oh Kaibo too does water therapy. His thread: http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4648&highlight=kaibo

I've reached out to both of them to let them know that you are looking for some pointers, so hopefully they will be able to pop in at some point soon and say hi and share any pointers they might have.

Welcome!

[kaibosmom]

Hi Cheryl and Dakota,

I'm glad to hear the Lysodren is working for you. We used it the first time Kaibo had Cushing's. This time, we are using trilostane. We are lucky enough to have a veterinary teaching hospital where we live so Kaibo goes to rehab about every two to three weeks. There is a water treadmill that he uses. Because he is small, we have also used the tub for him but that doesn't sound like an option for Dakota! You might want to look into the cost of a water treadmill vs. hot tub/swimming pool. The water treadmill is a bit different because the dog is walking instead of swimming but both will keep Dakota moving and hopefully maintaining muscle mass. The water will take the pressure off of the joints. Kaibo is unable to walk properly "on land" due to his hips being displaced (complications of diabetes, which resulted from the Cushing's). He has had surgery on both hips and now moves without pain but as a result of us having to wait so long for him to have the hip surgery, his quad muscles turned into scar tissue so he has little flexibility in his knees (without a good massage and stretch first!). However, in the water, he is able to walk normally!!! I love seeing it :) I also think it is his favourite time at rehab (besides the treats!). Swimming or walking in the water should help with the muscles and allow Dakota to move pain free while in the water. It should help strengthen the knee as well. On a side note, the vets actually thought Kaibo had torn his ACL but in the end, it was his hips.

Oh and for Kaibo, to walk in the water, the water only needs to be up to his shoulders so he isn't fully submersed.

Does the place that does the water therapy with dogs have a certified canine rehab specialist? It might be good to go for a treatment so that they can show you some massage techniques and things to do in the water at home. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Nikki

[kaibosmom]

I did a quick search on water treadmill for dogs there is lots of info! Here's a link to an article that looked ok…
http://www.treadmillreviews.ca/the-benefits-of-underwater-treadmills-in-pet-rehabilitation/

[spdd]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I had my dog in water therapy for a couple of years. The therapist trained in Texas, and opened her business in a small town in Ontario, Canada. It was a heated, salt water pool and it did absolute wonders for my dog. He could climb stairs with the help of the harness right until his last day, and he lived to be over 15. He wasn't a small dog so I was very grateful. They had him swim in a figure 8, all the while being enticed by toys which he loved, and she had a resting shelf for them to stand on several times during his one hour therapy sessions. This shelf was the only time he put pressure on his legs while swimming. I might add that the salt water did wonders for my shoulders too and to this day still have benefited from it. My dog wouldn't go in the water unless I was in it, but he had to be everywhere I was. Wouldn't let me out of his sight. He swam in circles as well alternating going in each direction. After getting out of the water there was a therapy ball, that he stretched over and of course that was his favorite as there were treats at the other side of the ball. We had tried laser, pills and cartrophen, and other supposed remedies, but the water therapy I swear by. My biggest mistake was after I moved, I had him get acupuncture and no one will convince me differently, that the acupuncture was what ruined him in the end. Long story.!! Her facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/Paws-Swim-Therapy-180664901972129/ but here website page is under construction right now. Even though he loved the water, while having therapy, he wore a life jacket which she provided so as not to put too much pressure on his hind end. I can't say enough about how wonderful this was not just for the dog, but the fun time we had. She used to then rinse him off with a tea rinse after. Great fun, great days and well worth it for everyone.