Gidget loves her “pool” time. Shhhh, don’t tell her she’s in a bathtub and not a big, luxurious pool. She dosen’t seem to notice the difference.
There isn’t a rehab water therapy facility near where I live to be able to take her for therapy, so this is the next best thing. When the tub is full, I call her and she comes running. She has no qualms about me putting her in the water.
She caught onto the drill quite fast. I have small, low calorie treats I use to get her to walk from one end of the tub to the other. I also have a rubber mat along the bottom to help her with better traction. This girl will do just about anything for treats so she is happy to do her exercise’s.
It’s so fun to see her wade back and forth in the water. Doing water therapy for her helps keep the muscles in her legs strong, so she can continue to walk and get stronger even though she has IVDD.
The extra bonus of this is I feel like it is a special bonding time between us. I love to cheer her on as she makes strides back and forth in the water.
After she has done a couple of rounds of “laps” I do some range of motion exercises with her hing legs. It’s also a great time to soap her up so she is squeaky clean though I don’t do that every session.
When she is done with her water therapy, I wrap her in a towel and gently pat her down. She then waddles over in front of the woodstove, crawls into her weenie pocket blanket and falls asleep.
A happy, content doxie makes for a happy, content doxie mom.
To learn more about water therapy visit this link on Dodgerslist website. They have tons of great articles and information on helping dogs with IVDD.
There are many things we can do at home for our pets with IVDD as long as we do them correctly. It saves on time and money, as well as it really is a wonderful way to bond with your pet.
