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Question:

I appreciate all of the helpful and thoughtful responses I’ve received on this subject. Thank you. Gable and I have had only one brief experience with the tub, but I thought I’d go ahead and give an update on what I’ve learned. I had thought that I would keep things simple and just use my (gas) home water heater for heating – draining a bit and then adding hot water each time.  I think this might work, but getting it filled the first time was a little much for my water heater.  It wasn’t ready to handle hundreds of gallons.  (Hmmm…yet another reason to get an inline heater…) It only got about 3/4 full before the temp. dropped enough that I decided to stop it.  It was still comfy enough for me to slide into, but after we were in for awhile, we both started to shiver, so we cut that session short.  (Sure, it was pretty warm, but we weren’t very active, so even at 80 degrees, there’s a lot of cooling going on.)  I want to get it quite a bit warmer. The tub is a great size.         http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/~laird/Kyler/images/disk0022/img_0818 Even with it only 3/4 full, it worked out well for Gable.  We worked his legs very gently and for the first time, he started pushing(!) on the extensions.  When we did the "bicycle" motions, we got into a good rhythm with me compressing and him extending. When he’s lying down, he does not participate at all in these exercises (with me at least – he has been pretty tired, though). I tried to get him to walk around in the tub a little.  I used the handle on his PFD to guide him, but he obviously wanted to get up to the side so he could lean against it.  (He does the same thing, against me, outside.) He could readily maneuver without fear of falling (and without me hovering over him). The bottom of the tub is slick.  I want to get a rubber mat for it. A few people mentioned getting much larger tanks/pools.  I think I’m happy that we’ve gone this route instead.  Having the tub inside and at our house is great.  I think we will use it more often.  The price was right (~$250 for the tub, fittings and hose).  Most of all, I like that he can put his feet on the floor – or not.  He needs to get control of his front left paw.  (See picture.)  This gives us a good environment to work on that without much weight to support. So…we still have a long way to go, but I am happy so far. Thank you for the encouragement and ideas. –kyler

Response:

I odn’t know costs where you are, but here small above ground pools are quite cheap, and htey come with saltwater chlorinator, filter etc. If this going to be long term, it would be worth setting it up properly. You cannot water grass etc with salt water – you kill it quite quickly and poison the soil eventually thru excess salinity. I can vouch for aquatherapy too – we’ve been doing oit for our dog and it has been great for him. And we ended up buying a thermal blanket too keep the pool warm for him, so altho an expensive exercise, it was well worth it. Judy

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> salt water is the go hope things work out for you, and be brave it is a > wonderfull thing you are doing some people would have put the dog down god > bless…Alpha > Treat your dog like a dog > "

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Kyler, You and Gable are certainly in my thoughts. I adopted my first dog about three years ago, and I don’t know what I would do without her. You truly are amazing for doing the right thing and working toward rehabilitation. You are an inspiration.

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ANother suggestion – put a cover on the tank – it will help keep the water warm. you can even buy an offcut from a pool thermal blanket – it will amke a huge difference if you get the thermal stuff,a s it actually transfers heat to the water! Judy

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->I wonder if you could just treat this as a giant aquarium? > Ah!  Something obvious I certainly had not considered. >For water changing in a large aquarium [...] > I think I’ve got this covered.  We hauled the tub home > today (on top of our car during tornado activity!). > There is a drain down low and I have connected it to a > hose that I can use to fill (from a nearby sink) or > drain it. >If you want to keep the water temperature up, as it was mentioned in another >post that the temperature should be at least 80F, I’m sure you could >probably use aquarium heaters as well.  Since this would be a HUGE >"aquarium" (I think about 465 gallons) you’d need quite a few.  I’m guessing >4 or 5 ebo-jager 250W submersibles would be able to keep the water easily >over 80F (great brand name btw, they should never die on you. And I’m sure >they’ll be easy to sell to fish hobbyists once you’re through with them). >They’re $15.99 US each on that Big Al’s site that I mentioned earlier. I’d >just double check that it’s okay to use them in a RubberMaid container by >calling up and asking a local fish store, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t >be. > The tub warns against using uncovered heating elements, > but I suspect those are covered somewhat.  I think that > for now I am willing to drain some of the water and then > top off with hot water when we’re ready to use it. >I’m not sure if you want to approach it this way, but since I have been >researching aquariums recently I just had all this info on the tip of my >brain > Yeah, it’s a *great* idea and I appreciate the help. > I’ll start checking with aquarium supply stores for > help keeping it clean. > BTW, I just got back from visiting Gable again.  He’s > standing and even walking a little.  (5 steps for the > lab techs!)  His front left paw is still pretty useless > but I have high hopes.  When I saw him he just wanted > to sleep. > I think the tub will be a great way for him to get > vertical and moving without me constantly hovering over > him. > Thank you. > –kyler

Response:

>I wonder if you could just treat this as a giant aquarium?

Ah!  Something obvious I certainly had not considered. >For water changing in a large aquarium [...]

I think I’ve got this covered.  We hauled the tub home today (on top of our car during tornado activity!). There is a drain down low and I have connected it to a hose that I can use to fill (from a nearby sink) or drain it. >If you want to keep the water temperature up, as it was mentioned in another >post that the temperature should be at least 80F, I’m sure you could >probably use aquarium heaters as well.  Since this would be a HUGE >"aquarium" (I think about 465 gallons) you’d need quite a few.  I’m guessing >4 or 5 ebo-jager 250W submersibles would be able to keep the water easily >over 80F (great brand name btw, they should never die on you. And I’m sure >they’ll be easy to sell to fish hobbyists once you’re through with them). >They’re $15.99 US each on that Big Al’s site that I mentioned earlier.  I’d >just double check that it’s okay to use them in a RubberMaid container by >calling up and asking a local fish store, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t >be.

The tub warns against using uncovered heating elements, but I suspect those are covered somewhat.  I think that for now I am willing to drain some of the water and then top off with hot water when we’re ready to use it. >I’m not sure if you want to approach it this way, but since I have been >researching aquariums recently I just had all this info on the tip of my >brain

Yeah, it’s a *great* idea and I appreciate the help. I’ll start checking with aquarium supply stores for help keeping it clean. BTW, I just got back from visiting Gable again.  He’s standing and even walking a little.  (5 steps for the lab techs!)  His front left paw is still pretty useless but I have high hopes.  When I saw him he just wanted to sleep. I think the tub will be a great way for him to get vertical and moving without me constantly hovering over him. Thank you. –kyler

Response:

> I found a 25" tall RubberMaid (~5′x6′) tank > that we’ll probably buy.  I’m trying to > figure out what maintenance will be > required to keep it clean for him.

If you will be dumping the water after each day or two of use, you will not need to worry about chlorine or bromide. Trying to maintain a tank this small without changing the water out regularly is (to me) silly. ‘Scuse me if I misunderstood. — Toni http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com

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> A couple of points 5×6x2=60 Cu ft this is about 375 gal Imperial or > 450 US gal. this is not a trivial amount to drain and refill. > Also depending on your climate, a fresh fill may be very cold.

Good points. Just be aware that balancing the chemicals in this small amount of water is no where near as easy as in a large pool. OP…. have you looked at horse training facilities near you? Any equestrian centers, posh stables, or tracks, etc? They will all have horse pools which you can arrange to use. Check with the horse vets in your area. — Toni http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com

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> >Also depending on your climate, a fresh fill may be very cold. > Yeah, I’m thinking I’ll have to mix in hot water. > Normally my dogs would be fine with it ice-cold, > but the vet agreed that it should be room temp. or > slightly warmer.

Having done a little volunteering for a dog hydro-therapy place, it is important for the water to be pretty warm to be effective. I dogtherapy.com want to say, at least according to the Kern’s Method they recommend a *minimum* of 80 degrees, and I think most places use. The website for the Kern’s Dog Therapy site is: www.dogtherapy.com And the place where I used to volunteer is: http://www.everythingpawsible.com/p_hydro.htm The DogTherapy website may have some info for you.   One thing they’re pretty adamant about it "Cold water is never recommended for initial treatment."   Good luck to you! Shelly, Coda & Guiness…

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I wonder if you could just treat this as a giant aquarium? For water changing in a large aquarium I’ve heard rave reviews about the "Python No Spill Clean n’ Fill".  It might work in this case too.  It’s basically just a siphon that let’s you empty (while picking up the junk on the bottom) and fill your aquarium without having to fill and lug buckets around. And they aren’t overly expensive.  You can check out the prices at http://www.bigalsonline.com  Just do a search for "python no spill". If you want to keep the water temperature up, as it was mentioned in another post that the temperature should be at least 80F, I’m sure you could probably use aquarium heaters as well.  Since this would be a HUGE "aquarium" (I think about 465 gallons) you’d need quite a few.  I’m guessing 4 or 5 ebo-jager 250W submersibles would be able to keep the water easily over 80F (great brand name btw, they should never die on you. And I’m sure they’ll be easy to sell to fish hobbyists once you’re through with them). They’re $15.99 US each on that Big Al’s site that I mentioned earlier.  I’d just double check that it’s okay to use them in a RubberMaid container by calling up and asking a local fish store, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t be. I’m not sure if you want to approach it this way, but since I have been researching aquariums recently I just had all this info on the tip of my brain — April

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> On Sunday, our Portuguese Water Dog, Gable, > lost control of his left legs.  (Seems to > be a stroke.)  We’re hoping to have him > back at the house this weekend. > We discussed therapy with the doctors and > it seems that swimming will be something > that he’ll be able to do (with his PFD) and > could even help him recover.  We don’t have > a swimming pool, but I thought I’d get a > livestock tank for him. > I found a 25" tall RubberMaid (~5′x6′) tank > that we’ll probably buy.  I’m trying to > figure out what maintenance will be > required to keep it clean for him. > I’m going to try to get some information > from the pool supply stores in the area, > but I doubt they will have dog-centric > info.  I’m mostly concerned about keeping > the water clean, but not irritating his > skin or eyes. > Looking through some old messages, I see > that bromine/bromide is recommended over > chlorine.  Salt water was also mentioned, > and this especially interests me because > of the increased buoyancy.  (A Water Dog > should get to spend time in salt water > anyway, right?) > Anything else I should keep in mind?  This > will be only for Gable (although I might > throw my wet suit on and jump in), so I > want it to be optimized for him (no heater > necessary – brrrrr). > Thank you. > –kyler

Response:

salt water is the go hope things work out for you, and be brave it is a wonderfull thing you are doing some people would have put the dog down god bless…Alpha Treat your dog like a dog "

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>>If you will be dumping the water after each day or two of use, you will not >need to worry about chlorine or bromide.

Cost, and perhaps even effort-wise, I’m o.k. with draining and refilling instead of trying to maintain the water.  However… >A couple of points 5×6x2=60 Cu ft this is about 375 gal Imperial or >450 US gal. this is not a trivial amount to drain and refill.

It is a *lot* of water.  In summer, I’d try to use it to water the lawn, but we have an abundance of rain right now, so this seems like a waste.  (Or I could fill it from roof runoff…) >Also depending on your climate, a fresh fill may be very cold.

Yeah, I’m thinking I’ll have to mix in hot water. Normally my dogs would be fine with it ice-cold, but the vet agreed that it should be room temp. or slightly warmer. >Years ago I lived in Raleigh NC and bought a 10 foot diameter x 2 feet >high kiddie pool.   This was for my 3 and 5 year old children.  I kept >it clean by daily syphoning from the bottom and adding  and stirring a >couple of ounces Purex last thing at night.  This allowed the chlorine >to work overnite and then to syphon the bottom residue the next day. >With the addition of fresh water to backfill it worked a charm.

Thank you for the idea.  It does have a drain at the bottom, so I might try to rig up something like this. >If the dog is clean to start with, I think it should not get too >dirty,  although the hair may have to be rmoved.

Fortunately, Portuguese Water Dogs don’t shed much at all.  I’ll just have to keep the other dogs out (or I could just get over having hair in there – it’s everywhere else). >Let’s hear how you make out.

I’ll try to report back. Thank you. –kyler

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>> I found a 25" tall RubberMaid (~5′x6′) tank > that we’ll probably buy.  I’m trying to > figure out what maintenance will be > required to keep it clean for him. >If you will be dumping the water after each day or two of use, you will not >need to worry about chlorine or bromide. >Trying to maintain a tank this small without changing the water out >regularly is (to me) silly. >’Scuse me if I misunderstood.

A couple of points 5×6x2=60 Cu ft this is about 375 gal Imperial or 450 US gal. this is not a trivial amount to drain and refill. Also depending on your climate, a fresh fill may be very cold. Years ago I lived in Raleigh NC and bought a 10 foot diameter x 2 feet high kiddie pool.   This was for my 3 and 5 year old children.  I kept it clean by daily syphoning from the bottom and adding  and stirring a couple of ounces Purex last thing at night.  This allowed the chlorine to work overnite and then to syphon the bottom residue the next day. With the addition of fresh water to backfill it worked a charm. If the dog is clean to start with, I think it should not get too dirty,  although the hair may have to be rmoved. Let’s hear how you make out. PS. Dad used the pool too!

Response:

On Sunday, our Portuguese Water Dog, Gable, lost control of his left legs.  (Seems to be a stroke.)  We’re hoping to have him back at the house this weekend. We discussed therapy with the doctors and it seems that swimming will be something that he’ll be able to do (with his PFD) and could even help him recover.  We don’t have a swimming pool, but I thought I’d get a livestock tank for him. I found a 25" tall RubberMaid (~5′x6′) tank that we’ll probably buy.  I’m trying to figure out what maintenance will be required to keep it clean for him. I’m going to try to get some information from the pool supply stores in the area, but I doubt they will have dog-centric info.  I’m mostly concerned about keeping the water clean, but not irritating his skin or eyes. Looking through some old messages, I see that bromine/bromide is recommended over chlorine.  Salt water was also mentioned, and this especially interests me because of the increased buoyancy.  (A Water Dog should get to spend time in salt water anyway, right?) Anything else I should keep in mind?  This will be only for Gable (although I might throw my wet suit on and jump in), so I want it to be optimized for him (no heater necessary – brrrrr). Thank you. –kyler

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