Assessment must come first!
Placing dogs straight into an underwater treadmill can reinforce incorrect movement and strengthen compensatory patterns.We ensure your dog is moving correctly before treadmill therapy begins.
What Is an Underwater Treadmill?
An underwater treadmill (UWTM) is a specialised piece of rehabilitation equipment designed to help dogs to walk in water on a moving treadmill belt. The water provides buoyancy which allows dogs to move more comfortably while reducing the load placed on painful joints, injured tissues, or healing surgical sites.
Because water supports part of the dog’s body weight, it allows them to walk and rebuild strength with less stress on their joints than exercising on land. This helps strengthen muscles, improve coordination, and encourage a more controlled and balanced gait.
Underwater treadmill therapy is commonly used in canine rehabilitation to help dogs recovering from cruciate ligament surgery (TPLO or TTA), arthritis, spinal conditions, muscle weakness, and general mobility problems regain strength and confidence in their movement.
Benefits of UWTM
• Provides buoyancy to encourage a more normal gait pattern then is achieved with swimming
• Allows the practitioner to further analyze how the dog is walking
• Speed is controlled and consistent to provide optimal joint ROM
• Easy to progress with adjustment of water level, speed, length of session and incline
IMPORTANT! Why Assessment and Manual Therapy Come First
Before a dog enters the underwater treadmill, it is essential that we first perform a thorough assessment. Many dogs develop compensatory movement patterns after injury, surgery, or when they are experiencing pain.
If these patterns are not corrected first, the underwater treadmill can actually strengthen the wrong muscles and reinforce an incorrect gait pattern!
Our goal is always to help your dog move correctly before we strengthen the movement. Manual therapy allows our rehabilitation practitioner to address joint stiffness, muscle tightness, and areas of discomfort so that your dog can walk more normally on land. Once we are confident that your dog is using their limbs correctly, the underwater treadmill becomes a powerful tool to safely rebuild strength and endurance.
This step is often overlooked in many hydrotherapy settings, where dogs may be placed straight into the treadmill without addressing the underlying movement problems first.
How the Underwater Treadmill Works
The underwater treadmill (UWTM) allows dogs to exercise in a controlled environment where several variables can be adjusted to suit their individual needs.
Water level: The height of the water changes how much weight your dog places on their joints. Higher water levels provide more buoyancy and reduce joint load, which is helpful for painful joints or early post-surgical recovery. Lower water levels increase weight-bearing and help strengthen muscles.
Treadmill speed: The belt speed controls how quickly your dog walks and helps us guide their stride length and coordination. Speed adjustments allow us to challenge your dog safely as their strength improves.
Incline: The treadmill can also be set on an incline to help build muscle strength and endurance, particularly in the hind limbs.
These settings are carefully adjusted during each session to ensure the exercise is safe, therapeutic, and appropriate for your dog’s condition and stage of recovery.
How Often Do Dogs Use the Underwater Treadmill?
The frequency of underwater treadmill sessions depends on your dog’s condition, fitness level, and stage of recovery. Many dogs attend sessions once per week as part of a structured rehabilitation program.
Dogs that can benefit from underwater treadmill therapy include those with:
- Cruciate ligament injuries and recovery after TPLO or TTA surgery
- Arthritis and joint stiffness
- Weakness in the hind legs
- Neurological conditions affecting mobility
- Muscle loss after injury or surgery
- Senior dogs needing support with strength and balance
During each session, our rehabilitation practitioner carefully observes your dog’s movement. We assess:
- Gait and stride length
- Weight bearing on each limb
- Balance and coordination
- Muscle engagement
- Signs of fatigue or discomfort
This allows us to adjust the program in real time to ensure your dog is strengthening the correct muscles and moving safely.
What Makes Our Rehabilitation Centre Different
Hydrotherapy is most effective when it is delivered as part of a structured rehabilitation program, rather than simply exercise in water.
At our Canine Rehabilitation Centre:
- Every dog is assessed and treated by a qualified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner
- Manual therapy and clinical assessment are performed before treadmill therapy
- Programs are individualised for each dog’s condition and stage of recovery
This ensures that underwater treadmill therapy is used as a targeted medical rehabilitation tool, helping dogs safely rebuild strength, restore mobility, and return to comfortable movement.
