Ruby always finishes her swim with a nice sliding session 😄😍.

Friday is puppy day. The lovely 3 1/2 month old George came in for his first hydrotherapy session following his fracture repair 😍

This very cute little person came for his first swimming lesson this morning. Ascher is an adorable little 5 month old Italian Greyhound puppy. Probably one of the smallest we have had in in ages 😍

Today we want to introduce you to Blake, an eight-year-old black German Shepherd. His owner, Susan, went to recreational agility and obedience classes with him to give him some mental and physical stimulation, but over a year ago she noticed that his mobility wasn't as good as it had been. Unfortunately, the vet diagnosed him with arthritis, so dog and owner came to us at Kennel & Paddock for treatment. During the initial physiotherapy consultation, we noticed his main problems were that he was significantly overweight and generally deconditioned, with muscular stiffness. Being overweight can cause all kinds of problems, especially when we are talking about arthritis. It is of the utmost importance to keep a dog in shape and manage his weight. Because extra weight will cause the joints to be loaded more, the dog will feel more discomfort or pain, and the condition will worsen. After a couple months of physiotherapy (which included land-based exercises, treadmill sessions and electrotherapy), Blake started hydrotherapy. He now comes in for weekly swims and the occasional physiotherapy check-up to manage his weight and keep his limbs loose and mobile.

We would like to say a ‘MASSIVE THANK YOU’ to everyone who supported our CHARITY SWIMATHON on Sunday. Thank you to everyone who came along and swam their dogs as well as our fantastic sponsors who provided prizes for the Raffle and the Tombola. With all of your help we raised an amazing £1005.42 for Pensions4Paws..

Meet Polka! She's a Collie who's nearly 12, and she comes to Kennel & Paddock every winter for supervised swims to manage her arthritis, improve her mobility and make sure she is pain-free. Arthritic dogs can suffer in winter because they stiffen up more in the colder temperatures, so it's important to keep them moving. Swimming is the perfect exercise for these dogs, because the properties of water are really beneficial (you can read more about the properties of water in Sophie’s case study). Polka's swims give her an outlet for her energy and also aid her weight management. This is an important health aspect for every dog, but especially for dogs with arthritis, because excess body weight overloads the joints makes the condition even worse. The results are clearly visible: Polka is a very active, mobile and happy dog, even with her arthritis.

Still going strong at our Swimathon, only 2 hours to go 😀🐩🐧🐾🐾🐾

And the 1st dog of the day is in 🐶 only 59 to go!! 🌊🌊🌊

We are really looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow at our Charity Dog Swimathon 🐶 Please don't forget that the clocks go forward tonight 🕛

Today is #nationalpuppyday 🐶😁 We would love to see some puppy pictures of your beloved companions... 😍

Was anyone listening to BBC Radio Berkshire this afternoon and hear our very own Karl Jones chatting about this Sundays Swimathon? Karl is becoming quite a radio star these days 🎶🔊🎧

Finn is a lovely 13 year olf Welsh Springer Spaniel who visits our centre to focus on mobility and conditioning through hydrotherapy. Because Finn does occasionally stiffen in his hips and back legs, the hydrostatic pressure of the hydrotherapy pool helps indirectly to massage this area. His hydro sessions allow him lovely full extensions of his back legs, and the hydro team incorporate extra techniques in the pool to help Finn fully stretch himself and ultimately relieve any stiffness. Finn is also a fine singer when waiting on the ramp during his rest periods! If you think that your pet might be helped by hydrotherapy, please get in touch: [info@kennelandpaddock.com], [0118 983 3380].