VetRehab

08/12/2025

What if your dog isn’t waking you up at night because they want to p*e?

Has your senior dog stopped sleeping through the night as they’ve gotten older? It’s not necessarily because they need to p*e. Here are 5 reasons why our dogs might be restless:

1. They’re sore. You know how when you’re in pain, it can wake you up in the night? Same for our dogs.

2. They’re struggling with temperature regulation. As they get older, it can be harder for them to keep themselves at the right temperature. Are they too hot or too cold?

3. They’re developing CCD – canine cognitive dysfunction, or dog dementia. Do they sometimes seem confused about their world?

4. Something in the environment is bothering them. Is it noisy? Dogs with pain or anxiety can start reacting to noises that didn’t used to bother them. Is their bed comfy? It might be time for a new, cushy one to support older joints and keep them warm.

5. They need to p*e! Perhaps they can’t hold on as well as they used to. However, they can also develop illnesses that make them drink more and p*e more, or they could have an infection making them want to p*e more often.

If your dog keeps waking you up, it might be time for a visit to your favourite vet clinic (and rehab vet!) to give them an all-over health check and make a management plan.

How many times has your dog woken you up this week? What do you think it was for?

04/12/2025

Rehab isn’t your normal vet visit. Here’s 3 reasons why rehab rocks!

1 – When I’m working with you and your dog, we use the time to focus in on musculoskeletal issues.

2 - As well as doing hands-on treatments, I cover other things that affect mobility, like targeted exercise, your home environment, nutrition, weight management and supplements.

3 – Teamwork makes the dream work. Your GP vet is essential to your dog’s healthcare, but having a rehab vet on your team adds another dimension. Rehab can help reduce the need for pain medication, as well as improving mobility, strength and balance.

Bring your dog to a rehab vet for their most fun vet visit ever!

01/12/2025

Here’s a mythbuster. If your dog hesitates before jumping onto the couch, it’s probably not because they just don’t want to any more.

Sometimes we think ‘they don’t want to’ when they’re actually saying ‘I’m not sure I can’, or ‘I could, but I know it’ll hurt’.

Dogs that struggle to jump up or down often have pain in their legs or back. It’s easy to spot when they just flat out say no, and we have to help them. The earlier signs are when they just wait a moment or two, or stop and bark at you, or fidget before they try.

Have you seen this in your dog?

27/11/2025

The struggle is real.

There are times when we all feel our age. I’m not exactly leaping out of bed in the morning ready to attack the day like I used to 20(+) years ago! But yes, there ARE things we can do to feel better – and ways I can help your older dog feel better too.

I have lots of tools in my toolbox, which means no matter how old your dog is, I can choose something to help them feel more comfortable. Rehab isn’t all pushups and poses!

We can’t turn back time, but we can make things a bit easier going forward. Give me a shout and we’ll work together to help your dog with any creaky joints or sore muscles.

26/11/2025

Chives was a Very Good Sheep for her acupuncture today! Hopefully she's feeling better now. 🐑🐑🐑

Today Deb Prattley from VetRehab - AcuVet came back to do more treatment on Chives. After an assessment she decided to try Acupuncture (something often done during treatment of her canine patients). Chives was a very good girl.
Now we wait and see if it helps 🤞🙏

24/11/2025

Wouldn’t it all be so much easier if our dogs could just tell us how they feel?

One big misconception about animals is that they can’t tell us what’s wrong.

Dogs don’t talk, but they DO communicate!

My dog Louis has arthritic elbows. A new thing he’s started doing is lying down while I make his dinner. He’s a labrador, he’s usually full on standing there wagging his whole behind and drooling while he waits.

It’s one wee signal that he’s not as comfortable as he used to be.

Another thing is that he hesitates, just for a micro-second, before going down steps.

These are quiet signals that his elbows are bothering him a little. They’re things I monitor every day, so that I can change up his management plan when I need to.

Have you noticed your dog doing things that they didn’t used to? Let me know!

20/11/2025

If I want to achieve the best results for your dog, we start with a longer session (45 mins) so we have plenty of time.

I’ll have a chat with you about your dog’s life, and thoroughly check their musculoskeletal system.

Then we’ll work together to make the best plan for both of you. I have lots of ways I can help your dog, so we’ll choose what we think will work best. Rehab, physio techniques, exercises, osteopathy, laser, acupuncture… there’s a long list of possibilities. What we do will be unique and tailored for you.

How many sessions your dog needs will depend on where they’re starting from. We’ll get together as often as you need so you have help along the way for as long as you need it.

Get in touch and we’ll give your dog a more comfortable life!

17/11/2025

You’d be barking mad not to!

There are LOADS of supplements for dogs on the market. Some are good, some are not so good. It can be really hard to know which ones are the best.

One way you can save money is to read the ingredients list on your dog’s supplements. Some products will add vitamins and minerals, and sell these as being great for your dog’s energy, vitality etc.

Well, vits and mins ARE necessary – but they’re most likely already in your dog’s diet. Check the label of their food and see what you’re inadvertently doubling up on. If your dog’s food meets AAFCO standards (it’ll be written somewhere on the bag) they’ll be getting the vitamins and minerals they need already. You don’t usually need to add more, and in some cases too much is bad for them.

When dogs need support for their joints, I look for products that have only the ingredients in them that my dogs actually need. Omega fatty acids (from fish or green-lipped mussels) have the best research behind them at the moment.

Have a go at reading the fine print. Let me know what you find out!

13/11/2025

I lost my last dog, Polly, when she was 13. She was my bestest good girl.

In the last few years of her life, she used to get shaky legs. At first I thought she had some trigger points – like little knots in her muscles. But then I realized it was actually a sign of joint pain.

I mostly used acupuncture and supplements to help her. That was ok – she went from walking slowly along behind me to trotting out in front again when we went walking.

But when I look back now, I wish I’d known more then. There were lots of other things I could have done, and things I’d have done differently right from when she was young. There’s a very good reason I don’t recommend ball chasing for dogs!

I think every animal we care for teaches us, and we become better, wiser guardians each time. We look more carefully, know the more subtle signs, and start acting sooner.

Plus, scientific knowledge improves, and things evolve. That’s as true in vet med as it is in human healthcare. All vets have to do ongoing education, and I do mine in rehab topics every year.

If you think your dog should get to take advantage of all the things I know now (years of study and experience later!) send me a message and we’ll get started.

10/11/2025

We’ve all grown up knowing that we yawn when we’re tired or bored.

Did you know that yawning in dogs can also be a sign of stress? They might be anxious, worried or uncomfortable, and they might also be in pain.

If I want to understand what it means when my dogs yawn, I have to think about the situation. When they’re at home and it’s around their normal nap time (yep, that’s a lot of the time!), I know they’re probably just tired. If we’ve gone somewhere new and there’s something they might not like, it tells me they might be upset. If they’re chilled at home and it’s not nap time but there’s yawning, I’d be wondering why.

What was your dog doing last time you saw them yawning?

06/11/2025

Love treating sheepies! We'd rather not have sore backs and wonky pelvises. They were very good girls!

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06/11/2025