Simone O’Kane visits a canine hydrotherapy centre to see how animals benefit from water treatment

CANINE Health and Hydro could easily be mistaken for a dogs’ spa.

Situated at Howgill Farm in the beautiful Ribble Valley village of Rimington, it looks like the ideal place for pampered pets to take a luxury break.

But it’s really a centre where dogs who need rehabilitation are treated by a dedicated and hard-working team.

Led by owner Steve Maney and his wife Poppy, the staff help animals to recover from injury and conditions such as lameness, arthritis, hip dysphasia and obesity “Keeping your dog fit is vital. If they have an injury, their recovery will depend on whether they are fit or fat,” says Steve.

“Overall we have loads of vet referrals and private clients who want to keep their dog fit. People who visit come from all walks of life. There are clients from farmers to footballers, but they all have the same thing in common. They all care for their dogs and that’s what makes them all great.”

Steve says the cruciate ligament injury is just as common in dogs as it is in footballers – 80 pooches with the injury are currently receiving treatment at the Rimington site.

Obesity is also a problem for East Lancashire dogs says Steve: “The problem is unbelievable in dogs. We see so many cases of obese dogs and probably 40 per cent of the country’s dogs are obese and that leads to heart disease and cancer.”

Hydrotherapy has been a common equine practice for the past 40 years. As with people, swimming is beneficial in horses, as it conditions the muscular and cardiovascular systems without subjecting the limbs to damage.

“When we started we had nothing, no referrals, nothing. So I had to visit every single vet in East Lancashire and show them what we were capable of,” says Steve.

“We work with the animal, flat out for three months. Dogs that are injured can take several years to recover but with hydrotherapy we see the results in three months. They are stronger and fitter and their owners are blown away,” Steve says. “I am not a miracle worker but 90 per cent is repairable. You can’t expect a dog to recover like a human because they don’t know what to do. Experts estimate that for a dog a 25 minute swim is roughly equivalent to a 25 mile run with zero impact on joint.”

Steve is also a fully trained dog groomer and over the last seven years has groomed over 5000 dogs of all breeds and temperaments whilst opening and running several dog grooming salons in the south east and north wes . He now concentrates on hydrotherapy and in the same building Poppy runs the grooming school, teaching students from Myerscough College. They also run Daisy’s Dog Grooming in Padiham.

Steve, who started off having ‘a knack’ with dogs with nervous aggression, spends twelve hours a day in and out of the hydrotherapy pool. Along with Poppy, he was known for being specifically good at dealing with dogs who had nervous aggression.

With many of his canine clients, their bark is bigger than their bite, especially in dogs who want to dominate.

“I don’t get scared because it’s important to know how to handle the dogs and make them OK. Ninety per cent of a dog’s aggression is nervous aggression. If you combat the nerves and show them leadership they will not be aggressive. Dogs are from a pack and you have to be the leader,” says the 38-year-old.

Poppy and Steve own four dogs, including Butch, a rescue dog. The couple work closely with Pendle Dog Rescue and try to rehabilitate the animals that have been mis-treated. Next on the agenda is to buy a £20,000 tread mill that is placed in the water and helps the dog recover.