One of the most difficult situations that dog owners face is deciding whether to let their dogs live through a trauma and take them through the process of rehabilitation or whether to put them down. In fact, some dog owners never really know what to do during such situations and will instead let their dogs lose to go die in the wild because they don’t want that responsibility.

This has resulted in so many stray dogs that are sometimes difficult to contain. It’s such situations that keep organizations like the Society for Stray Canine Birth Control (SSCBC) in business, cleaning up after dog owners.

However, before you release your dog into the wild to become a stray, we would like to let you know that there are a number of therapies that your dog can be exposed to that will ensure their rehabilitation and restoration back to full function.

Here, we’ll look at 4 types of therapies available for dogs in recovery.

Use of physical therapy

Just like humans, dogs too can benefit tremendously from physical therapy to enable them recover from potentially life threating injuries. For a dog, physical therapy will include regular exercises such as running and walking, regular massage and joint mobilization among others. The idea is to help the dog regain full use of its limbs. Such therapies have to be administered by a trained practitioner.

Use of aquatic therapy

Water has proven to be a great source of rehabilitation therapy for man, and animal health practitioners have been able to adapt such therapies to suit animals such as dogs. The idea is to use water to take away the weight of the animal but still allow it to move its limbs and other joints thereby giving them much needed exercise to improve blood flow into their injured areas and quickening the recovery process.

Use of heat therapy

Did you know that heat packs will also work on dogs? Well, use of heat is a very effective way to decrease inflammation and pain from an injury as well as speeding up healing because it helps improve the flow of blood into the injured body part. This is why heat therapy has proven very effective when used in the rehabilitation of dogs suffering from serious injuries.

Use of cryotherapy

Just like heat, the opposite of it which is cold can also be a great form of therapy commonly referred to as cryotherapy. This will involve using cold packs or ice to reduce inflammation as well as pain on an injury on the dog. This therapy is also very good when it comes reducing bleeding either internal or external.

There are of course other forms of therapies that can be given to a dog in recovery but these are the most affordable and ones you can even do at home provided you have the right training.

All in all, an injury to your dog doesn’t mean an end to its normal life. With therapy and patience, your dog can be back to its old self within a couple of weeks.

Be sure to try them.