Canine Hydrotherapy for Optimum Wellness
Why Hydrotherapy Maintains Optimum Health in Canines
Swimming is not only for humans. It is actually proven to be able to enhance and improve the health and life expectancy of your pup as well as yourself. Being in the water can be a fun bonding experience for dogs and their owners/therapists. It is highly advised that dogs with any type of medical condition, be cared for and monitored in the water with a certified hydrotherapist ONLY. It may be a surprise to most people, but not all canines know how to swim. Having your dog unsupervised in water can potentially harm them or in worse cases drowning can be a result. It is important that you know EXACTLY how to care for and monitor your dog’s health while swimming, and if you don’t, make sure you have a certified professional that does.
Swimming is not only a fun outlet for your pup, but can also provide amazing health benefits for them. The water’s resistance will allow your dog to train harder and safer versus any kind of land based exercises(walking, running, jumping, etc). It is still recommended that your dog stays active on land as well; this will ensure your dog’s bones stay strong and dense. Dogs will attain optimum muscle mass and strength while swimming as well as improve their respiratory and cardiac systems. When your dog maintains healthy muscle mass and overall strength, they become less likely to develop injuries or degenerative diseases throughout their lifetime.
Having your dog participate in warm water hydrotherapy helps your dog’s muscles to “warm up” at a faster rate, improving their circulation and blood flow. The warm water also allows the dog to relax quickly and reduce any spasms or stiffness they may have. Dogs who are not fond of swimming or fear the water, actually do better in warmer water because it is calming and comforting to them. Warmer water temperatures help dogs enjoy swimming more which leads to working harder, resulting in maximum health benefits physically and mentally.
Aside from the average dog, working dogs, such as rescue, police, drug enforcement, and seeing-eye dogs, also need swimming in their life. Hydrotherapy improves their spirits, mental well-being and provides them another outlet for being active. Whether your dog is healthy, an athlete, needs more exercise, or has physical health issues, swimming will help improve range of motion, mobility, over-all wellness as well as keep them healthy mentally.