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  1. #1
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    Kimber says NO to the water treadmill

    After her spinal injury four years ago, Kimber tried out the water treadmill and hated it. But since she's atrophying in the hips, the vet suggested giving it another try.

    First, the only way we could get her up the ramp was by my pulling her collar and Dr. S pushing her butt. Once Dr. S and Kimber were in the treadmill, Kimber just shook and shook and shook. I tried giving her cheese; she would take it in her mouth and then just let it drop. We offered her a frosty paw and even some cat food- no. She resisted mightily when we had her face away from the exit so we could run the treadmill. We tried just putting a little water in it, no treadmill, nope. Tried more water, treadmill on very slow- much flailing. We drained the water and stopped the treadmill. Kimber whipped around so she faced the exit, and sat her butt down. Through it all, she shook like a leaf. We admitted defeat.

    Once we got her out of the tank, she became all waggy and was more than happy to have cheese and the rejected frosty paw, so at least I think she still likes going to the vet.

    Dr. S says she's never seen a dog have such a negative reaction to the water treadmill before. It's really too bad, since it can be such an effective treatment.
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
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  2. #2
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    I can visualize Sunnie doing the same thing...maybe a little less energetically nowadays...but she wouldn't have had the instantaneous recovery that Kimber had. (She'd probably be pouting for a few hours.)

    Would Kimber agree to being in the water for therapy like that...is it just the treadmill she hates?

  3. #3
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    That's too bad. The water is usually warm too, which also helps. When I took Oban they told me some dogs do just freak out and they can't do it. There is no ramp where we went, the dogs walk in at floor level to a glass box. That is a bit freaky to some anyway though. Too bad. What about the swimming pool, do they have one of those?
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  4. #4
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    Kimber loves pools, but there aren't any indoor canine ones within 2-3 hours of us. In the summer, I took her to a friend's pool and she loved it- but it actually didn't do as much as we'd hoped. Dr. S theorizes that she was using her front more than her back legs to swim.

    At this point, she wants nothing to do with the water treadmill. We spent a good 10 minutes standing in it, no water, no treadmill, to see if she'd calm down. Nope. If we had our own personal water treadmill, I could try desensitizing her like we did with the crate. It only took daily kibble and positive reinforcement over 6 months for her to accept the crate, lol.
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
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  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by kimbersmom View Post
    Kimber loves pools, but there aren't any indoor canine ones within 2-3 hours of us. In the summer, I took her to a friend's pool and she loved it- but it actually didn't do as much as we'd hoped. Dr. S theorizes that she was using her front more than her back legs to swim.

    At this point, she wants nothing to do with the water treadmill. We spent a good 10 minutes standing in it, no water, no treadmill, to see if she'd calm down. Nope. If we had our own personal water treadmill, I could try desensitizing her like we did with the crate. It only took daily kibble and positive reinforcement over 6 months for her to accept the crate, lol.
    Nah. If you had your own personal water treadmill, Kimber would use it to hold her clothes and leashes....

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    kimbersmom (02-10-2017), Macy (02-11-2017), Mollysmomma (02-10-2017), Scoutpout (02-12-2017)

  8. #6
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    That’s too bad. Chloe loved the water treadmill when we were rehabbing her leg after her foot injury. Because her muscle atrophy was only on the one side, they had her wear a kids arm float on the bad leg to increase the drag. She was so thrilled to be licking peanut butter off the glass door she didn’t even notice.
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    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  9. #7
    Best Friend Retriever annkie's Avatar
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    Maybe put this in your back yard and have her walk around in it? https://www.amazon.com/Intex-Mini-Fr...&keywords=pool

  10. #8
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    Aww poor baby, sounds like she was really stressed.

  11. #9
    Best Friend Retriever outrag's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kimbersmom View Post
    Kimber loves pools, but there aren't any indoor canine ones within 2-3 hours of us. In the summer, I took her to a friend's pool and she loved it- but it actually didn't do as much as we'd hoped. Dr. S theorizes that she was using her front more than her back legs to swim.

    At this point, she wants nothing to do with the water treadmill. We spent a good 10 minutes standing in it, no water, no treadmill, to see if she'd calm down. Nope. If we had our own personal water treadmill, I could try desensitizing her like we did with the crate. It only took daily kibble and positive reinforcement over 6 months for her to accept the crate, lol.
    That's interesting because I'm looking at both options (canine swim pool vs. water treadmill) for Yukon to assist with his weakening back end. I know he'd take to the pool but doubtful on the treadmill because he can be a bit nervous. If the treadmill is actually better for building back end strength I may have to look at that first.
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  12. #10
    Senior Dog voodoo's Avatar
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    off the top of my head, can they fill the treadmill with water and then lower her into that....might be worth a try...not drop, lower
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