Rivendale Physiotherapy

13/02/2026

Feels good to be back at the yard after 3 weeks ❤️

25/01/2026

Welcome to the Rivendale family!
Halle Joy Hunns arrived safely 23/1/26, 8lb 7oz, everyone is doing well ❤️
You better be an animal lover Halle 🤣

09/01/2026

One of the most common things dog professionals hear is, “There are no signs of pain.”

Yet the dog’s behaviour has changed, escalated, or become unsafe.

Here is the key point. Behaviour is how dogs communicate discomfort. Dogs do not use words. They use actions. If behaviour changes, that change is a sign.

Dogs are biologically wired to hide pain. In the wild, showing weakness reduces survival. Research shows dogs often compensate for discomfort by shifting weight, altering posture, avoiding movement, or becoming more sensitive long before obvious limping appears. By the time pain looks “clear,” it is often advanced.

Pain and behaviour are not separate. Pain alters the nervous system, lowering tolerance and increasing irritability and fear. Studies consistently link pain with aggression, reactivity, anxiety, night-time restlessness, avoidance of handling, and sudden snapping (Mills et al, 2020). Treating pain often reduces these behaviours, not because the dog is “nicer,” but because the dog is more comfortable.

A dog can still run, play, and appear happy while in pain. Adrenaline and excitement mask discomfort. Many painful dogs show subtle signs instead, such as pulling on the lead to offload weight, reluctance to sit or lie down, stiffness after activity, sensitivity to touch, lip licking, or increased reactivity in the evenings.

“Mild” findings on scans do not mean mild pain. Research shows pain severity does not always match imaging results. Behaviour reflects the dog’s lived experience, not the appearance of an X-ray.

When pain persists, behaviour often worsens. Chronic discomfort sensitises the nervous system, making dogs defensive and reactive. Training alone cannot fix pain. Addressing discomfort alongside behaviour support leads to better learning, regulation, and welfare.

Behaviour is not separate from pain.
Behaviour is often the symptom.

31/12/2025

Happy New Year everyone! Here's to a great 2026 🥰

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas to all my lovely clients! Thank you for all your support over the last year.🎄

I am now on maternity leave but will keep you all updated on my return! 👶

22/12/2025

🎄Tis the Season… But Some Treats Are Off-Limits! 🐾🎄

The festive season is full of delicious treats—but some foods that are safe for us can be toxic to pets. Check out our poster for a handy guide on what to avoid.

If you think your pet may have eaten something they shouldn’t, call us immediately. It’s always better to check than to wait—after all, your pets are our number one priority! ❤️

Stay safe, and let’s keep our furry friends happy and healthy this festive season. 🐶🐱

12/12/2025

We have had a cancellation today for an appointment at the treatment room 12.45 (sorry not animals, humans only!)
Book ⬇️

09/12/2025

The Puppy Brain: Why Early Separation Doesn’t Work the Way You Think.

Puppies and Separation — A Mammal’s Reality 🐾

We talk about puppies as if they’re tiny training projects, but they’re mammals first — born with a nervous system that’s still under construction and completely dependent on connection. Their safety, their ability to cope, even their developing sense of “self,” all come from borrowing the stability of another being’s nervous system.

And this is where we get separation so wrong.

Those early weeks and months aren’t a time to “teach independence” or push the idea of start as you mean to go on. A puppy’s brain simply isn’t built for that yet. Their emotional circuits, especially the systems responsible for attachment and regulation, are still wiring themselves. The thinking part of the brain isn’t fully online — so behaviour isn’t a choice, it’s expression.

When people talk about encouraging “calm,” we miss the point. Life isn’t calm. Dogs feel excitement, confusion, frustration, joy — all of it. A healthy nervous system isn’t one that avoids these states; it’s one that can move through them without getting stuck. And that ability only develops through co-regulation: one nervous system shaping and supporting another.

Separation then becomes not about absence, but about what came before it. A puppy learns they can tolerate space only after thousands of tiny moments of connection, attunement, and shared emotional experience. They rise, they fall, they get overwhelmed, they come back — and each time, the connection is there. That’s what builds a dog who can one day be alone without panic.

We forget that dogs, like us, are social mammals whose brains expect partnership. Independence is not the starting point — it’s the outcome of a secure, supported beginning. When we treat puppies as if they should cope alone from day one, we’re working against biology.

True development comes from relationship. From nervous-system to nervous-system communication. From the lived experience of “I am safe, even when my world is changing.”

When we honour that, separation becomes something a dog grows into — not something we force before they’re ready.

Want to learn more? drop me a DM!

05/12/2025

What a lovely surprise from a client thank you 🥰
Not long now until maternity leave! 😱

03/12/2025

10/11/2025

Just to let everyone know I am due to go on maternity leave at Christmas 👶

There are still appointments available in December so if you are needing an appointment get booked in asap.

31/10/2025

Happy Halloween everyone 🎃