Animal Physiotherapy

Animal physiotherapy is an emerging profession where qualified human physiotherapists transfer their skills over onto animals. Usually working under a referral from a veterinarian, animal physiotherapists are able to perform functional assessments on animals to identify pain or loss of function caused by injury or certain diseases or disorders. Applying techniques used on humans, animal physiotherapists are able to reduce pain, improve movement and restore normal muscle control with the aim of improving function performance.

Some of the conditions that can be helped by physiotherapy include:

• Muscle spasm, strain or tightness
• Ruptured tendons and ligaments of the legs and joints
• Cruciate ligament rupture
• Muscle origin and insertion tendon strain
• Optimisingpost-operative repair
• Help to ease pain in arthritic and diseased   joints and slow down further degeneration
• Improving and maintaining range of movement and muscle tone

 At Orange Vet Hospital we are lucky to have Dr Genevieve Payne who is both a veterinarian and a qualified human physiotherapist. Over the past 18 months Genevieve has applied her physiotherapy knowledge to various patients. Some examples include:

• Shamus, the Dachshund, who injured his spine and was unable to walk. Using a combination of physiotherapy techniques including acupuncture, hydrotherapy and the use of a wheelchair Shamus is now enjoying life walking around on all fours.
• Jessie, the Rottweiler, enjoys travelling down from Wellington each fortnight to spend time with Genevieve working on building her muscle strength and balance to assist her management of arthritis and cruciate ligament injury.

For any further information on animal physiotherapy please contact the clinic on 02 6361 8388

Diseases of the heart can be sneaky. They tend to creep up on your pet and clinical signs might not appear until the heart is in serious trouble. 

Knowing the signs of heart disease and starting treatment early can make a big difference to your pet's quality of life and longevity. 

Heart disease leads to a failure of the pumping mechanism of the heart. It is often referred to as congestive failure as it results in pooling of blood in the lungs.

The signs to look out for in dogs and cats: 

• Laboured or fast breathing
• An enlarged abdomen
• Weight loss or poor appetite

Signs to look out for in dogs only:

• Coughing, especially at night
• A reluctance to exercise and tiring more easily on walks
• Weakness or fainting associated with exercise

The good news is that there are medications available to help your pet's heart work better. We will initially recommend X-rays and an ultrasound of the heart so we know we are choosing the most suitable medication.

If you think your pet is showing one or more of the above signs, it is important that we see them for an examination. Early treatment can help your pet lead a longer and happier life.

The prevention of heartworm disease is one of the most important things that you must do for your pet. Heartworm is the most dangerous of all the worms, and an intestinal ‘all wormer' tablet does not prevent heartworm infection.

Mosquitoes spread heartworm and wherever there are mosquitoes, there is the risk of heartworm. When the mosquito feeds on your pet's blood, larvae enter the blood stream. These larvae mature into worms that can reach up to an astounding 30 cm in length!

The worms eventually become lodged in your pet's heart leading to heart failure and sometimes death. Dogs are more commonly affected by heartworm disease but cats may also be at risk.

This disease is definitely a case of prevention being better than the cure. Getting your pet started on the right heartworm medication can be confusing, especially with so many choices on the market.

There are topical treatments, oral treatments and an injection for dogs. Ask us for the most suitable prevention for your pet - we will make sure your pet is protected.

Check out June's feel good video. We are especially fascinated by the cat in this clip. This video is a nice reminder that a healthy pet equals a happy pet!