hydro.vet is our rehabilitation service promoting health and aiding recovery with an individual approach tailored to the needs of your pet.

We regularly help arthritic pets feel more comfortable, we can speed up recovery after your pet has had an operation, or can help you with your pet’s weight management care plan. And much more!

Hydrotherapy involves the use of warm water and controlled exercise to gain huge therapeutic benefits. We use our state-of-the-art underwater treadmill to help pets by reducing inflammation, providing pain relief, improving muscle tone and strength, and speeding recovery from injury or trauma

Other uses include:

• Osteoarthritis
• Hip and elbow dysplasia
• Cruciate injury
• Fractures
• Weight management

Physiotherapy is a holistic approach to rehabilitation, prevention and management of acute and chronic injuries and diseases. Our primary aim is to relieve pain and discomfort, followed by restoring function and improving wellbeing. This will improve your pet’s health and quality of life, allowing them to return to their normal happy, bouncy selves, ready to enjoy life with you.

We will assess your pet and discuss with you the best physio plan that will help them. We have a range of therapeutic modalities to choose from, according to your pet’s specific needs. Only clinically proven therapies will be chosen for your pet to create a gold standard treatment that will promote the completion of your pet’s individual physiotherapy goals.

Laser therapy involves directing infra-red radiation into inflamed or damaged tissues to accelerate the body’s natural healing process. The laser is very safe and is placed in direct contact with the skin to enable light to penetrate the tissues and interact with the sites of inflammation to provide several beneficial effects. This is called photobiomodulation and is a lovely, straightforward and relatively quick procedure, all done in the fully awake pet, usually getting lots of cuddles at the same time!

Laser has the following effects:

• Increases the temperature of the tissue which has a soothing effect and increases blood supply
• Provides energy for the cells within the tissue allowing them to repair
• Reduces the sensation of pain
• Is pain free, non-invasive and very safe!

We will design your pet’s treatment course and fully discuss this with you. It might be time to get your safety goggles on!

At Hydro.Vet, we use EKICO Tendiboots to objectively assess how your dog is walking. These lightweight wearable sensors, are worn for a short walk and measure how much weight your dog places through each limb. This allows us to detect subtle limping or compensation that may not be visible to the eye. For dogs recovering from injury or surgery — or managing long-term conditions like arthritis — this gives us measurable data to track progress over time and ensure rehabilitation is moving in the right direction. For owners, it provides reassurance, clarity, and a more precise understanding of how your dog is recovering.

We can offer enrichment and conditioning programmes for sporting and working dogs to keep them at their peak performance. The fitness programme would be tailored to your pet’s requirements and could include a mixture of hydro and physiotherapy.

We also offer a loyalty scheme – if you buy 6 sessions of hydrotherapy, physiotherapy or laser treatment, the 7th session is complimentary! Ask the team for more information.

hydro.vet welcomes rehabilitation referrals from veterinary practices near and far for both acute and chronic conditions.

Our hydro and physio therapists only work under referral from the patient’s vet.

To refer a case to us we will need the referral form completed below. After the patient’s initial appointment, a report of our findings, treatment and plan for rehabilitation will be sent back to the referring vet.

• Whilst the team at hydro.vet take every care when providing treatment and in the maintenance and safety of equipment, all dogs/cats attending for treatment do so entirely at their owner’s risk.
• All dogs/cats will be seen only following a referral from their vet and after a full veterinary history has been provided. If you are a client of Watkins + Tasker Vets this will be arranged as part of the in-house referral process. For external clients the referral should come via your vet who will need to complete the referral form. This must be provided at least two working days before the first appointment. We will contact your vet directly to request this along with a copy of your pet’s relevant clinical history.
• A current vaccination record must be brought to the first session (excluding existing clients of Watkins + Tasker Vets).
• Bitches and Queen’s in season will not be able to attend hydrotherapy sessions until after their season has finished.
• Dogs should not be fed for at least two hours before hydrotherapy appointments and should be encouraged to toilet outside on or before arrival. Cats should have access to a litter tray before arrival for hydrotherapy treatment. If a dog/cat urinates or defecates in the treadmill this will cause significant disruption to the remaining appointments as the tank will need to be drained and cleaned. We reserve the right to charge a cleaning fee.
• Dogs and cats are requested to be in as clean a condition as possible when attending sessions.
• We ask owners to be aware of the wet environment and to wear suitable clothing and footwear.
• Where possible, hydrotherapy and physiotherapy sessions will include the use of high-resolution video to aid assessment and review treatment. Video footage will remain the property of hydro.vet and will not be duplicated or distributed without prior written consent. If required, the footage or stills generated may be sent to your veterinary surgeon along with any referral reports.
• Clients consent to their personal details being stored securely within our third-party exercise prescription service, Equicantis.
• All data will be collected, used and stored in accordance with Watkins + Tasker Privacy Policy.
• When laser is being administered, owners must be aware of the hazardous radiation that is being emitted. No one may enter the room when the laser is being applied without wearing protective eye goggles.
• hydro.vet reserve the right to charge the full appointment fee for any appointments cancelled within 24 hours and request as much notice as possible for changes to bookings.
• hydro.vet reserve the right to refuse treatment to an animal that is presenting with aggressive behaviour or where the therapist believes there to be a risk to themselves, you or the patient.