The Vet Physio

22/05/2026

New piece of equipment in the physio room today, ordered by Alice so I'll let her unpack it but definitely to help all our doggies, well done Alice 👏 👌❤️

08/05/2026

Pictures of this beauty that grows outside our physio room really don't do it justice (obviously our Breezy who photobombed is even more beautiful 🐾💖) but many clients have commented on our beautiful plant flowering and asked me what it is .... which I don't know 🙈. But every year it reminds me of our much loved past clients Ken and Doreen who gave us the plant many years ago ❤️🥰

29/04/2026

20/04/2026

👌Performance enhancement treatments 👌

I just love providing performance enhancement treatments for our sporting and working best friends.

A huge amount of our work is supporting dogs with injuries, illness, hereditary problems and old age difficulties but I am also lucky enough to have a lot of patients who's owners seek my help to identify and resolve restrictions in the musculoskeletal system which are not severe but are enough to mildly reduce range of movement in one or more areas of the body reducing performance whether it's an agility dogs reduced speed through weaves, a show dogs reluctance to stand square or be handled by the judge, a gun dogs reluctance to jump into the truck, a sled dogs reduced performance, a police dogs with difficulty getting over garden fences, a support dog reluctant to have his harness on etc etc etc.

Often our sporting and working dogs are under increased scrutiny so these problems are more commonly noticed, these little restrictions and niggles can really show up, all dogs will have niggles and some pet dog owners are fab at noticing them too and we do have pet dogs come for performance/maintenance treatment too.

The thing I love about performance enhancement treatments is the fine tuning aspect of them, I'm a bit of a perfectionist so delicately working with an athletic animal to get it completely balanced, comfortable and at it's absolute best is like heaven to me! 🥰 Also I absolutely love hearing from excited owners about how much better their dogs are performing 👌🐾

Yesterday at the Siberian Husky Club of GB Championship show I treated several show dogs and loved every second of it, I also treated my own four we had entered at the show as walking them the previous afternoon I had identified just the tiniest restrictions in their movement and on palpation had found some slight muscle hypertone in them all. I'm really glad I made myself find the time to treat my own dogs as the results were rosettes for them all and our precious Lacey Lou winning Best in Show! 💜🐾🥰

The most notable thing for me though was I had a restriction myself! I've somehow pulled my right gluteal muscles, no idea how, no big injury or event, just woke up a few days ago and thought my right glute hurts like heck and I'm struggling to walk! I mean really quite struggling and in quite a lot of pain. It just reminds me how those slight restrictions my doggos have might feel to them and might change their everyday life. Of course when I was in the ring and the adrenaline was flowing I powered on through, this morning I could hardly get out of bed for the pain! So I'm determined to spread the word about what a huge difference good maintenance/performance enhancement treatment can make to our four legged friend and to be better at doing regular musculoskeletal assessment on my own dogs. But for now I need to sort my own body out! 🙈😜

17/04/2026

Dog show friends 🐾🐾

Some have already contacted me but for those too polite to ask 🫶 .... yes I will be at the club show and at Stoneleigh Lodge the afternoon before and do have time for a few more maintenance/performance enhancement treatments (although I am helping set up and with the show so need to fit round my duties and showing my doggos).

Heavily discounted show rates...
£35 for new cases
£30 for regulars
£25 each for two or more dogs
All to include the usual musculoskeletal assessment and treatment.
Cash at the time please as I just cannot bare chasing payments!!

Looking forwards to seeing everyone 😊🐾

19/03/2026

You know it's been a good days teaching when you finish the day with doggo nose art on your glasses, you've enjoyed working out in the spring sunshine and even the cups provided know what they're talking about 😊🥰🐾

And now we get to do it all again! 👌

17/02/2026

Very excited to be providing this workshop again with the best and nicest Vet Physio teacher I know Katie Lawrence, Animal Rehabilitation and Health Academy

We are excited to announce the return of our popular two day Canine Rehabilitation Workshop!!

Join us on the 18th and 19th of March for a very rare opportunity to have some focussed 'small group' hands on time with leading Veterinary Physiotherapists and University Lecturers Katie Lawrence and Julie Platt.

Over the two days you will develop your canine rehabilitation and exercise prescription skills and come away with much more confidence and understanding of how to correctly provide rehab for dogs.

Set in the foothills of the Chilterns at Princess Risborough Golf Club, lunch and refreshments will be provided both days and you will enjoy a friendly and relaxed environment in which to learn and explore the exciting world of canine rehabilitation.

There is a short early bird discount available and places are VERY limited so don't delay your application!!

DM or comment 'workshop' for more info and to apply.

25/12/2025

Wishing all our patients, owners and colleagues a very merry Christmas 🎄🐾

09/11/2025

28/10/2025

A good description about why, as vet physio's, we check sit posture regularly.

🪑✨ A “sit” isn’t just a sit - it’s a window into spinal alignment, pelvic control, and limb loading.

This example isn’t a terrible sit, but it does show us some of the most common compensations we need to watch for:

🔍 Pelvis & Lumbar Spine:
Notice how the pelvis is tucked and the lumbar spine is rounded, pushing the tail base underneath the body. This posture opens the hip and hock joints but places increased pressure on the stifle - you can see that here with maximum stifle flexion while the hip and hock are slightly open. Dogs will often also externally rotate the hip to unload those joints.

💡 What we want instead: a straight spine from head to tail and a pelvic position that keeps the lumbosacral region neutral and stable. This distributes load evenly through the limb and core.

🦵 Limb Alignment:
Draw a line from the stifle to the floor - ideally, the stifle should sit in front of the toes. This position brings the full hind limb into maximum, functional flexion without collapsing posture.

🐾 Forelimb Weight Bearing:
Here, the weight is shifted backwards - you can see the forepaws drifting forward and the elbows slightly behind them. Ideally, the forepaws should remain directly under the elbows to keep weight distribution balanced and the thoracic sling engaged.

These small positional details matter. Over time, incorrect posture reinforces poor biomechanics, reduces core activation, and can contribute to repetitive strain - particularly at the lumbosacral junction, hip, and stifle.

📚 As described by Farr, Ramos & Otto (2020), foundational exercises like the Posture Sit and Posture Down are powerful tools for building core stability and proprioceptive memory of correct alignment. These postures don’t just teach dogs how to sit, they teach them how to move safely and efficiently

👉 Try observing your next patient’s sit with these markers in mind. Are they stacking their spine, pelvis, and limbs optimally? Or are they compensating - and telling you exactly where their weaknesses lie?

📆 Join us on 8 November at the Vet Rehab Summit, where experts like Anna Lee Sanders, Jana Gams , Arielle Markley and more help us take our movement based assessment and therapy to new heights!

26/09/2025

Do any of my Vet physio colleagues cover the Blackburn area (BB6) or have recommendations for a physio in that area, I have a long term patient who has sadly needed to move there and I'm looking for the very best physiotherapy for her.