Dog care: Hydrotherapy and water exercise

Your dog still has a puppy’s gleam in his eyes but struggles to his feet these days. Aching muscles and joints, from old age or injury, may be keeping your ideal friend down. To spare your dog any pain, you cut short the shared activities you used to love. You put away the Frisbee and limit your dog’s movements to a walk around the block when you go outside.

But there are some exercises that are actually therapeutic providing a way to reduce reliance on pain medications and steroids and to bring play back to your dog’s daily routine. By introducing your dog to “swimming therapy,” a technique that relies on a dog’s natural inclination to dog paddle in water and a little human intervention in the way of massage, arthritic or injured dogs can experience rehabilitation and relief from pain in a non-stressful setting. Your dog exercises without bearing weight, strengthening his muscles and heart. Swimming therapy or “hydrotherapy” can be used for injured dogs, dogs recovering from orthopedic surgery, obese dogs and even for perfectly healthy dogs, to improve overall fitness.

Not all dogs naturally dog paddle or feel perfectly secure in water, however. Your dog can be fitted with a flotation device and cuddled as he's exercised and gains confidence. In some hydrotherapy facilities, the pet owner is invited to join fido in the pool to provide extra reassurance. Hydrotherapy isn't a good idea for all dogs. Dogs with epilepsy, certain heart ailments, or asthma would probably be better off being landlocked. So ask your veterinarian if you dog can take the plunge.