Information for Veterinary Surgeons
Our clinic at Squirrel Lodge Hydrotherapy in Lincolnshire only accept animals following veterinary referral and dogs are assessed by our fully qualified hydrotherapist, rehabilitation practitioner and fitness trainer. We only accept clients on a referral basis and request that you provide us with full clinical notes on any animal you refer to us so we have in-depth information about their full medical history. If this is not possible please provide us with as much information as possible regarding all conditions the animal currently has and any significant previous history including current medication.
We are able to provide you with progress reports and value your comments on progress and desired outcomes of therapy.
We welcome veterinary surgeons to view our facilities by appointment.
Veterinary Surgeons and Fellow Therapists are invited to refer their clients to us for computer-assisted stance and gait analysis
We will provide you with a report on how the dog is weight-bearing, any weight transference and any changes in gait that are occurring.
Our stance and gait analyser provides a report after taking several readings a second of how a dog is standing and moving. It records the weight distribution across all limbs and also provides information on the dog’s centre of gravity which can have balance implications. When analysing gait, it looks at impact force, stationary proportion, stride symmetry, duration, length, height, and regularity. This analysis can provide insight into any changes in gait long before these can be seen by ordinary visual analysis/assessment. This enables informed decisions to be made regarding future treatments and management of the dog’s condition and enables you to focus on the limb which requires treatment and enables us to plan appropriate management of the dog as a whole including not only the affected limb but any joints that are likely to have or develop compensation issues.
Dogs can be referred for analysis only to assist with diagnosis and for follow-up assessments for monitoring the progress and effectiveness of treatments and therapies. Dogs do not have to be receiving therapy here for them to be referred for this service analysis.
Please note – we don’t see any animal without a referral for any therapy. The gait and stance analysis is an extra they can refer to us for without the need for the dog to be having any treatment from us. If more convenient Veterinary Surgeons may email us their referral alongside the clinical notes if they prefer not to complete the referral form.