Physical therapy for man's best friend

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Physical therapy isn't just for people anymore, more and more veterinarians are prescribing it for man's best friend as well.

News 8's medical reporter Jocelyn Maminta found out just as in humans, physical therapy is essential for pets recovering from surgery.

Gus, a golden retriever, was born to love the water.

"Good boy, good boy."

However, his physical therapist was unsure just how he would react to his first splash in the tank.

"Gus is a new patient. He's a very nervous dog and the first time I put a dog in the tank, I always go in with him because I don't know what's going to happen," said Barb Guse, Veterinary Specialists of CT. "They could try to swim, they could try to jump, panic could ensue."

Gus is recovering from surgery.

"He had an ACL tear on his right knee, so he had surgery two weeks ago to repair that," said Beth Tickey, Gus's owner.

It's a little slow at the start for Gus.

"Is he using his rear legs at all," asked Maminta.

"Not really," Guse replied.

Guse is the physical therapist at Veterinary Specialists of CT, among the many practices offering the one-on-one care, mostly due to it's heavy surgical load.

"We wanted to offer more to people so that their pets could recover quicker and in the proper way post surgery," said Dr. Knaack, Veterinary Specialists of CT.

"He had had a surgery before that didn't seem to heal that great," said Tickey, "so I thought this might be a great opportunity to see if we can work both legs in the therapy and see if he does."

"Good boy, there you go."

"I'm trying to just get him to start to pattern his gait normally," Guse said. "The water treadmill is not just for strengthening, it's used to work on reciprocal gait patterning, it's used for conditioning."

"There you go, yeah Gus, yeah."

"As a physical therapist I'm doing everything with my hands," Guse said. "I get every information through my hands, so a lot of it is innate just through feeling and incorporate that with the behavior I see, just how they're acting in here."

It turned out to be a successful introductory session for Gus.

"He's only four so that's our best hope for him," said Guse, "that he turns out great."

Gus also has recommended exercises, which he'll do at home.

Veterinarians say there's a dramatic difference in recovery between patients who receive physical therapy and those who do not.