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Afraid of water no more!
Connor is a rescued Labrador/Collie, settled into a loving and healthy life with Catherine & David. Now he is a 12½ year-old, and has bad arthritis. Hydrotherapy had been suggested as helpful. “Friends
of the Animals kindly offered to help us pay for Connor to have treatment at the Natural Therapy Centre for Animals at Ryde” said David, his dad. “Vav Simon gave Connor a full assessment and directed a programme of
hydrotherapy for him.”
 Swimming in the water is good for arthritis sufferers. Vav says “The water takes their weight and allows them
much more pain-free exercise than walking would. The joints and muscles, the heart and lungs and the lymph system all get a good work-out. This helps the body regain some of the health that is lost through arthritic
pain, immobility and depression.”
The chiropractic assessment showed that Connor’s skeleton was quite well aligned, and did not need very much adjustment. However, the hydrotherapy assessment showed that Connor was quite worried about
the water – panting quite rapidly and showing a high blood pressure. This was probably due to bad experiences in water in the past.
 Catherine & David told us that Connor had previously been made to swim for ten minutes unaided. He had got so
stressed that he was panting heavily. His mouth was opening so wide that water had gone in and choked him. He had then been told off for coughing and treated badly.
Vav took it very slowly when she introduced Connor to the swimming pool. It has a ramp so that Connor could walk in easily. She wanted to try him for one minute in the water, three times, with a long
rest on the ramp in between. In the event, the first time lasted about 30 seconds. But he built up to a minute for the third swim. That was enough stress for one day!
 A week later, he was a little more confident and swam for longer. Slowly, over the weeks, he has grown in
strength and poise. He now swims on his own – without the safety ropes. In fact, we discovered that he felt more secure when he had control over choosing when to go back to the ramp to rest. Allowing him to work in his
way proved to be the best motivator. Now he swims for ten minutes sessions!
 “Vav and her team are dedicated professionals who give their skill. They treated Connor with love and plenty
of cuddles! He loves going to swim and his quality of life has improved – he’s a happy dog!”
“We are so grateful to Vav and Friends of the Animals, for giving Connor a new lease of life” concluded Catherine. Vav said “Fear of water is unusual for dogs – though some are but often owners never
find out what caused it. Treating it requires a lot of dog psychology and each one is different. We do have good successes, which is very pleasing since we are surrounded by beaches here on the Island!” |
