Hello Milo has had elbow displacia in both elbows. He had them operated on in January and is still struggling with exercise. The vet recommended swimming. I was wondering when is it to cold for him to swim.
Hi there Your vet perhaps meant swimming in a hydrotherapy pool? The warm water is soothing, and the pressure of the water alone eases joints. You might find he is better off on a water tread mill rather than free swimming - a consultation with a professional canine physiotherapist would be good to work out a proper programme of hydrotherapy for him. Mind you see qualified people, there are all sorts of people with a pool and a wet suit that hold themselves out as hydrotherapists. Best of luck with it.
Hi, Milo has had hydrotherapy and it did help a lot but its so expensive I cant keep going. The vet did mean in outside water. Thank you for your help though
Well, vets are often not the best at rehabilitation programmes....I'm not sure that I'd have a dog that was 'struggling with exercise' swim in rivers or the sea. I'd have a dog that was fully recovered from surgery, coping fine with exercise, and needed muscles built up or something like that swim in calm rivers. If you are going to swim him outside, make sure you have a flat entry and exit and the dog goes in and comes out slowly and under control - dogs pulling themselves up river banks with their front legs, is extremely problematic from the point of view of shoulder and elbow injuries. So look out for that kind of thing. Apart from that, I'd say see how the cold affects him, if it seems to make him worse then stop. And make sure you keep a record of how much exercise he does - it's very easy to over exercise a dog in water.
It's too cold for swimming now, especially since your dog has joint issues. I'd wait till spring, unless you can find an indoor pool.
My dog (who admittedly has no joint issues) swims all year round. Here, the temp ranges from about -5C to 40C. He's less keen to go in if it's sub zero but if the air temp is above freeezing he'll go in. He does have a really thick coat and doesn't get wet to the skin though. So what is 'too cold' is probably a bit dependent on your dog and their coat and how soon you can get them dried off. With a dog that had joint issues I'd be comfortable having them swim in still water, like a lake, dam or pond. I'd be looking for easy access and exit points.
