HE'S GETTING YOUNGER!

At eleven years old, Duke the Irish Setter was doing well for his breed. However, his back legs were letting him down and Tracy (his Mum) saw one was hanging awkwardly. Talking to Vav about her horses, she asked if she could look at him too.

In her Chiropractic assessment, Vav found quite a lot amiss. Setting these subluxations (mis-alignments between bones) right, she said “Come again in a fortnight so we can check him out - he is quite old and he may need extra treatment to make sure the adjustments hold.”

Duke was much better for two days and then hurt his shoulder playing with Kirsty, his younger ‘sister’ (another Irish Setter). Although it was a shame he had hurt himself, it was actually a good sign that he could be so active! The second chiropractic treatment was enough – another good sign as this is the usual number for most animals.

We arranged a Hydrotherapy programme to strengthen Duke’s muscles now his skeleton was straight. Exercising with a misaligned skeleton will make subluxations worse. And we hoped the swimming would help him become more flexible, too. Because the water takes the dog’s weight, he can exercise his stretching and turning with less effort, which reduces the risk of pulling muscles.

Duke’s first programme of six sessions (the block-booking offer for the price of five) started him off with getting used to the pool. Alex, our Senior Animal Therapist, found him quite lethargic in his first visit. In that session, Duke had three swims of 1 minute each. Although this sounds very quick, for dogs of his age, it is the equivalent of running a mile. After each swim, he would get a massage in warm water to help relax his tired muscles.

Then, gradually increased the duration of each swim from 1 to 2½ minute. Duke progressed from nerves to calm swimming and improved activity afterwards, though he was tired after the exercise.

By the 6^th swim, Alex noticed he was getting much more active. Tracy started to report naughtiness at home – playful puppy mischief. He had been stealing Kirsty’s toys and play-fighting with her. A second programme increased swims from 2½ to 3 minutes with steady strong swimming with all four legs.

From having to drag his back legs, now four months later, Duke is active, playful and alive with fun again. Originally, he had been giving up, accepting his elderly status and being bossed about by young Kirsty. Tracy said “Now he pulls me round a three and half mile walk and he jumps a ditch that both Kirsty and I can’t!”

She still keeps him swimming regularly. “When you see a natural remedy like this where your dog improves so much, you know it’s really worthwhile.” We had hoped that the hydrotherapy would improve his quality of life, and ease his joints a bit. “But actually”, Tracy said, “Duke is getting younger!”

Please Note:
Our Hydrotherapy facility is now closed for commercial reasons. We are pleased our Stars  show how beneficial professional hydrotherapy services can be.