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As we all look to burn off those extra Christmas pounds and start the year as we mean to go on, many of us feel the urge to get outside and increase our level of activity.

What better way of doing this than with our canine companions?

Exercising with your pet is a great way to bond and of course has health benefits, both physical and psychological, for both of you. It is estimated that more than 54% of pet dogs are overweight or obese so starting an exercise routine with your dog is an important step toward maintaining a healthy weight like it is for us.

This has the potential to increase both the length and the quality of your dog’s life.

We’re reducing the amount of chlorine we use in our pool by 75% thanks to new equipment that sanitises our pool water using ultra violet light and hydroxyl radicals.

We’ve been listening to our dog owners who occasionally worry about their dog being subjected to chlorine. While we’ve always kept our chlorine level low we felt compelled to act.

UV light messes with DNA. When shone on to bacteria or an algae spore it will attack the DNA within the cell and prevent the cell from reproducing. UV light will also inactivate chlorine resistant  parasites such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia.

Hip Dysplasia is a common complaint in dogs, and usually occurs when the joint has not developed perfectly, so the ball and socket do not match up in joints.

It is often associated with large breeds of dogs and typically starts to become noticed when they are only a few months old. The ligaments and joint capsule that normally stabilise the hip joint become loose within the first few weeks of life and therefore the ball and socket hip joint that normally aligns with each other lacks alignment and harmonious fit. Any non-alignment will result in abnormal wear, and can lead to osteoarthritis.

This condition is primarily of genetic cause, although environmental factors such as obesity during puppyhood may influence whether an animal with the genes coding for hip dysplasia will develop a clinical problem. Current estimates show that there are more than one hundred genes code for hip dysplasia.

When your dog visits our resident Canine Physiotherapist for a clinical assessment you’ll benefit from accessing the only objective stance analyzer for dogs in Hampshire.

The Stance Analyzer offers our physiotherapists the objectivity needed to draw up the most appropriate game plan for our patients.  The platform allows us to quickly evaluate the way your dog is standing and shifting weight to identify if there is a lameness issue and where to look for it. 

The Stance Analyzer is an integral part of every patient that visits our clinic including wellness exams, limping evaluations, and treatment plan re-checks.  Collecting a standing weight bearing assessment removes subjectivity and gives a simple report that makes it easy to discuss the status of the patient with your client.

The cranial cruciate ligament in dogs is the same as the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in humans. It is a band of tough fibrous tissue that attaches the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone), preventing the tibia from shifting forward relative to the femur. It also helps to prevent the stifle (knee) joint from over-extending or rotating.

In the vast majority of dogs, the cranial cruciate ligament ruptures as a result of long-term degeneration, whereby the fibres within the ligament weaken over time. It is not known what the precise cause of this, but genetic factors are thought to be the most important, with certain breeds being predisposed (including Labradors, Rottweilers, Boxers, West Highland White Terriers and Newfoundlands).

Cruciate injuries can be managed surgically or non-surgically.