Hydrotherapy - costs

[hanandhen]

Henry has mild hip dysplasia, and recently after swimming outdoors he has been mildly lame for a few steps. Was at the vets for our MOT this evening and mentioned it - the vet said that he has a good range of motion and it was probably just the cold water, but that hydrotherapy might be something to consider as he is not very well muscled on his back end (due to having a lazy-ass mother who didn't want to walk him in the dark )

He mentioned a local place, have had a look on their website and it all looks lovely - but no prices! And I'm a bit embarrassed to ring and ask them in case it's way too expensive.   So can anyone give me a rough idea of the cost please?

[vixen]

Have you thought of asking the vet if Henry 'needs' it?  If it is on a vet's recommendation, most pet insurances will cover it.
My friend has been taking her GSD cross for several months and is covered by Sainsburys insurance.
It may be worth asking your vet if it would benefit Henry. 

[hanandhen]

That's a thought - although not sure they would as it's a pre-existing condition?

[vixen]

That's a thought - although not sure they would as it's a pre-existing condition?

I do think it is worth a try. 
I  think it is quite expensive as all the web sites I have looked at don't mention the price 
Henry would also need regular sessions to benefit from the treatment and this can really add up 
Good luck with asking the vet. 

[goldblend90]

Harley & Mayhem go once a week and it costs £20 per session, or 2 dogs is £36.  Our hydrotherapy pool also has an underwater treadmill and that is the same price.

Jenny, Harley & Mayhem

[Mybuddies]

This is a hydrotherapy pool  near us


http://www.dogtherapypool.co.uk/pricing.html

Hope that helps

[hanandhen]

Hm so looks like £20-odd is the general area then. The insurance isn't going to cover it (I checked the policy), I wonder if it's worth going just once a month, with additional dry land exercise as well? Was also considering taking him for short bike rides, not sure if that kind of continuous trotting exercise would help? We wouldn't go far, just round the block to start with. I've run him off the bike before, he seemed to enjoy it, especially when we got off road and I could let him off the lead, we ended up having a race!  

ETA forgot to say - thanks

[Max X 2]

I would call them & ask how long you get & how much, whether there's somebody in the pool etc, from what I've heard you won't want him swimming for 20mins straight off anyway as this could do more harm than good.

I enquired a while back as we have 2 pools near us, one charges £70 for 4 swims up to ½ hour & they suggest once a week, this is a small pool with jets.  Another place is a much bigger pool & charge £16 for 1 dog/£18 for 2 but this is just a fun type swim, fetching toys etc, although would need an assessment first at £16 per dog.

We've recently found out Harry has mild HD & muscle wastage round his back end like your Henry & the vet recommended seeing the physio & our 1st appointment is on Friday (£49) I know people that have been to the same place, the 1st appointment is 45 mins but I was told we'll probably have exercises to do at home 2-3 times a day & probably won't swim for the first week or 2 & the exercise will gradually be increased, I'm expecting only a couple of minutes swimming for a start, I know when Bibathediva took Lola she had to do slow lead walks to build up the muscle.

Hydro pools are set at a certain temperature so yes I'd imagine the cold water could have been the problem.

I shall be claiming on the insurance, but will possibly continue to take him maybe just once a month once the physio & vet are happy that he's build up enough muscle, will see how things go on Friday, but if you want any more info just ask as I may find out more over the next few weeks 

[goldblend90]

At our pool, they assess the dogs and you start off doing short bursts of swimming from as little as 30 secs and then resting for 3 mins.  This is repeated quite often during one session.  You slowly build up the time spent swimming and then once the jets are introduced, again the time is gradually increased.  The rule I have been taught is that 1 min swimming is 1 mile of running on land, once jets are introduced, the same applies but it is described as running uphill for the same distance.

Hydrotherapy pool are great as they give the dog "non-impact" exercise.  So in cases of hip dysplasia, the muscles are built up, but the bone has no impact whatsoever, therefore preserving the bone. 

If you dog has mild hip dysplasia, then by going once a fortnight or monthly this will help, but obviously not as quickly as weekly.  Or perhaps you could do a month at a weekly interval, and then go to fortnightly or monthly.

Jenny, Harley & Mayhem

[Sarah1985]

I think I paid £20 for 2 dogs. But that may have been a special offer. We went to Aqua vet in Sheffield

[coralee]

Our hydrotherapy sessions are £14 - this isn't necessarily for an hour - it's "per session" - as they build the dog up gradually over time (I think our first session only had about 5 mins in total of actual swimming - that built to Harvey continually swimming for 2 x 15 minutes).

Hydrotherapy helped Harvey so so much - I couldn't recommend it enough. He had two torn cruciate ligaments as a pup, limped if I ever let him off the lead to run - the vet thought he wouldn't be able to do long walks at all - we did about 3 months of intensive hydrotherapy sessions and (touch wood) Harvey hasn't limped since...that was about 10 months ago - we walk for miles now with no probs

[hanandhen]

Well, just called them. It's £21 a session, which would be fine once a fortnight - but they said the initial loading session was twice a week. To give somce scale, that is twice as much as I spend on food a week (and that's not because I'm stingy, it's because that's all I have) - and the insurance won't cover it. So it's just not possible

They do say the initial physio assessment is free, so I am considering getting a referral and being totally open with her about the situation, see if it really is a case of anything being better than nothing. I am also upping his exercise - we went for a trot off the bike this morning, no faster than our normal brisk walking pace, but we kept a constant pace uphill too when we normally dawdle, I will be doing this a couple of times a week, taking him for a jog along some sand tracks on other days, and I will be carrying a towel and his fleece jumper on river walks so I can get him warm and dry as soon as he gets out of the water in future. I'm also starting him on Joint Aid.

If I had the money I would spend it on him without hesitation, but I have to be sensible, there is no point spending money on hydrotherapy if I can't afford to feed him.

[Max X 2]

They do say the initial physio assessment is free, so I am considering getting a referral and being totally open with her about the situation, see if it really is a case of anything being better than nothing.

What do I know!?  But common sense says that a bit of hydro is better than none, & everybody I've spoken to (including agility folk) says it makes a huge difference & really is the best exercise for building up muscle with HD as there's no impact.   If you can afford to take him once a fortnight then tell them that's what you want to do, surely they wouldn't refuse