Tex – Rebuilding Gait with Swim Therapy

Here is a brief overview of what I can see:

As long as I have owned Tex, trotting has not been easy for him, and has not be his gait of choice. Early attempts to train him to trot freely on lead took time, patience, and lots of repetition. Since his surgeries, the trot has been almost nonexistent. Yesterday morning I
took him outside off lead to potty. Once he was done, on his own he started trotting along the edge of the property looking for blackberries to pick. The other really noticeable difference is in his ability to sit. I have recently started focusing on teaching him sit/stay, and while Tex is  smart and understood the concept, getting his bottom down was a bit of a production. He can now do quick, smooth sits both in front and at my side. In general, his movement is much
more fluid, and his ability to grade that movement has improved. He still has a limp and a roll to his gait, but even that seems to be less pronounced.

I will have to admit, I brought Tex to you a bit of a skeptic, focusing mainly on the improved strength and conditioning I knew Tex would get from swimming. Even though I had checked different websites and read owners stories about their dogs, I really had no idea of the depth of improvement I would see. Obviously, after watching one session, I still dont really understand warm water massage. I do understand that Tex is better.

Thank you,
Joan and Tex