Frequently Asked Questions
When humans experience a significant injury or have a major surgery, we're referred to Physical Therapy to help us return to normal strength and function. Canine Physical Rehabilitation is the application of human physical therapy techniques in a veterinary medical setting to give dogs the highest level of function and best quality of life.
While human Physical Therapy utilizes Physical Therapists to provide this type of care, veterinary medicine utilizes a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner (CCRP), Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist (CCRT), or Certified Companion Animal Rehabilitation Therapist (CCAT).
Physical Therapy is a term protected by human medical law in the United States, so while Veterinary Physical Rehabilitation is essentially the same thing, it cannot be referred to as such. This is similar to Registered Nurses and Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVT) sharing much of the same knowledge and responsibilities, but RVTs cannot be called Veterinary Nurses.
We commonly evaluate and create custom recovery plans for dogs with:
Acute Non-compressive Nucleus Pulposus Extrusion (ANNPE)
Medial Luxating Patella (MPL)
Swimmer Puppy Syndrome
Congenital Defects
Post-Op Fracture Repair
Muscle Atrophy & Contracture
Post-Op Arthrodesis
Nerve, Muscular, or Joint Injuries
Sports Injuries
And so much more!
We couldn't possibly list all the different conditions that we treat without taking up an entire page but if you want to be sure that we can help with your dog's condition, feel free to call/text us at (949) 444-2451 or email us at woof@caninerehaboc.com
We believe in providing gold standard veterinary care in the most affordable way possible. We're proud to offer more therapy per session than any other Rehab Facility in Orange County. We also believe in transparency and honesty so our complete list of services and pricing is available to see here:
Our pricing is structured so that every pet gets the perfectly tailored medical treatment they need at every visit without adding additional costs or complicated menus of services. At every Therapy Session, your pet is evaluated by our Veterinary Professionals and their presentation is compared to their previous visit to determine what exercises and treatments will need to be performed today.
We know that you want to get the best value for your money and for your pet to get top quality medical care. By using this pricing structure, your expense stays the same but your pet gets custom therapy sessions prescribed by our Rehab Practitioner and Veterinarians who have the Veterinary Medical education and experience to know exactly what your pet needs at each and every visit.
Not Required - Prescription or Referral from your Veterinarian
Our Veterinarians and Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioners will prescribe your pet’s Rehabilitation Treatment Plan. Thanks to our many years of formal education and the successful Physical Rehabilitation of thousands of pets, we have the tools and training necessary to safely maximize your pet’s comfort and mobility. It’s not uncommon for a pet to be referred to us for a specific modality, Hydrotherapy being a particularly frequent one, when in fact that modality would not be effective or safe for that pet and only our specialized training saves that pet from inappropriate treatment.
Required - Exam with your Veterinarian for this Problem within the last 12 months
For multiple reasons, we require that your pet be seen by their regular Veterinarian within the last year, at minimum, before coming to see us. This exam is important because it ensures that your Veterinarian has an opportunity to identify any conditions that would make Rehab unnecessary or unsafe. Some conditions are better treated with medication or surgery and some can be made worse with Rehab. We also want to make sure that your pet is up to date on vaccinations as appropriate and that any other medical conditions they have are well managed before beginning therapy. As part of preparation for your pet's appointment with us, we will request your pet's medical records so that our Medical Team can review them before meeting with you.
Strongly Recommended - Diagnosis
Having a diagnosis for your pet’s condition makes it safer for us to proceed and helps us truly tailor your pet’s Rehabilitation Plan to address their body’s deficiencies. Rehab for a dog with a torn Cranial Cruciate Ligament will be different than Rehab for a pet with a Luxating Patella despite both conditions affecting the knee. It will also help us set goals and better predict your pet’s outcome. For example, we would expect a dog with weakness of the back legs caused by aging and inactivity to improve with therapy, while a dog being treated for Degenerative Myelopathy would continue to decline, though at a slower rate than one without therapy.
We treat symptoms like weakness and limping daily, but without knowing the cause for those symptoms, we’re making an educated guess and therapy could be ineffective at best, harmful at worst. Some conditions are better treated with surgery. We hope to help as many pets avoid surgery as possible, but the truth is that Rehab cannot fix everything and there are situations where surgery really is the best treatment and most efficient use of your resources. By having a diagnosis before coming to see us, you could potentially skip the cost and time of a Consultation with us and go straight to a Board-Certified Veterinary Surgeon and get your pet back on their feet that much faster.
Strongly Recommended - Imaging & Bloodwork
Is that dog limping because of dysplasia or because of a bone-eating tumor? Therapy can absolutely help improve a dysplastic patient’s comfort and mobility but could fracture the bone of an Osteosarcoma patient. So how do we know if it’s safe to proceed? Imaging! Why does this dog have hind limb weakness? Is it because of spinal cord impingement caused by Intervertebral Disc Disease? Or maybe it’s a Fibrocartilaginous Embolism (aka Spinal Stroke)? It might be because Spondylosis is making certain activities painful, so the muscles of the hind legs have become weaker from disuse. How do we know what to do? Imaging!
Imaging and bloodwork may not seem necessary for Rehab, but they will make therapy safer and more effective. You might bring your pet to us for one problem, but therapy affects the entire body. Chest radiographs might identify changes to your pet’s heart that could make certain exercises unsafe. Bloodwork might reveal that your pet has Hypothyroidism, which if left untreated could be a huge contributor to a pet’s excess weight and make weight loss more difficult.
When pets come to see us without diagnostics and/or imaging, we often refer them back to their primary Veterinarian to have these things performed before beginning in-clinic therapy. By having these steps completed before coming to see us, you can help ensure that your pet’s Rehabilitation Plan is best suited to their needs and can begin right away. We do not perform any imaging or lab work at CROC.
CROC does not offer facility tours out of respect for our existing patients and clients. Remember, CROC is a medical facility; not daycare or boarding.
During our operating hours, we have medical treatments and consultations taking place which would be greatly disrupted by tours. You probably wouldn't appreciate a stranger walking through your doctor's appointment, right? Add in that a vast majority of dogs become agitated and vocal when strangers come into their space. We all know dogs that rush to the front door to bark at whoever rang the doorbell. Rehab requires a calm, quiet environment for patients to get maximum benefit from their therapies. Disturbing that calm and quiet means all of the patients in the building get less out of their session that day because they have to return to a relaxed state before our work can take effect again.
Rehab is also an investment of both time and money and just like you, our clients want their pets to get as much benefit from each session as possible. Most people would not appreciate paying full price, but only getting partial service. It is not fair to interrupt someone else's visit just because a person wants to see what the facility looks like. Some people take this policy to mean that we're hiding something from our clients. Nope! In fact, we're sharing photos and videos of real CROC patients receiving therapeutic treatments on our Facebook & Instagram @caninerehaboc all the time and we strongly encourage you to check them out!
No, packages are not offered for our medical services.
CROC exists to provide customized Veterinary Medical Treatment for every patient, at every point in their recovery. Every patient's journey is different and can change at any moment. Rather than have our clients invest in a package of sessions that their pet may or may not need, sessions are charged individually.
This avoids any unnecessary refunds or payment processing fees, which in turn helps us keep our prices lower for you. Did you know that CROC gives your pet more medical treatment and therapy per visit than any other facility in Orange County?
No. We do not offer boarding/overnight care. Please refer to your primary or specialty veterinarian for boarding options.
We know. You've already seen your regular vet and maybe even a veterinary specialist or two and now you have to prepare for yet another exam appointment.
Veterinary medicine is similar to human medicine in that doctors have a legal requirement to examine a patient and establish a relationship with them before they can provide any medical care or prescribe any medications. Physical rehabilitation might seem like "just exercise" or "just massage" but the truth is that it is so much more medically involved than most might think and we also cannot legally perform ANY sort of Physical Rehabilitation without one of our veterinarians examining your dog and establishing the Veterinary-Client-Patient Relationship.
Our highly trained staff has years of medical training to properly understand the myriad of medical conditions that our patients present with. Not only do we have to have a thorough understanding of the conditions that we treat, but we also have to understand the conditions that often come along in addition to their presenting problem like gastrointestinal diseases, cardiac and respiratory conditions, dermatological issues, cancers and their respective treatments, as well as cognitive and behavioral changes for all stages of a dog's life. Without this deep understanding of a patient's medical status, one could easily overexert or injure them. This is why it is so important to ensure that your dog's rehabilitation facility has staff formally trained and licensed in Veterinary Medicine and Rehabilitation.
CROC is a medical science-based practice. We have and will continue to only offer treatments that are clinically proven to be safe and effective for our patients. While we've had clients ask for other services and even offer to pay extra for them, our priority is always the wellbeing and best interest of our patients.
If you are interested in a particular treatment that you don't see offered at CROC, feel free to chat with us about it. We're always open to learning new things and if the scientific evidence exists to show that a treatment is safe and beneficial, we would absolutely consider adding it to our repertoire.
Closed Rehab is a term used to describe therapy being performed without Pet Owners present. This approach is just like when you take your dog to the vet for a medical procedure. This approach is proven to help dogs achieve better recoveries, faster than they would have with their family present.
It is in the patient's best interest to allow the Medical Professionals to do their job without interference or outside pressures. The patient is also more likely to bond to the next available human when their Owner is not present, instead of feeling like they must defend both themselves and their owner from strangers. This part is VITAL for Rehab to work it's best magic!
Open Rehab, in which Owners are present with their dog during therapy, unfortunately is only of emotional benefit to the Owner. It has been proven that patients in Open Rehab experience higher levels of stress and lower rates of healing than patients in Closed Rehab.
For more information about the importance of Closed Rehab for maximum patient benefit, be sure to read our FAQ "Why can't I stay with my dog during their Rehab Session?".
All breeds, all sizes, and all ages are welcome at CROC. We see everything from Chihuahuas and Maltese all the way up to Great Danes and Mastiffs.
We can offer this because our patients are never allowed to interact with other patients unless they are from the same family. Each dog is harnessed and securely anchored to their own Big Barker Orthopedic bed so that while they can see other dogs, they cannot reach them or otherwise interact with them. If your dog is particularly reactive around other dogs, we will do everything we can to coordinate an appointment time during a quieter part of the day and select a bed further away or without visibility of other dogs.
Often times, pups are less bold away from their family and settle in just fine, even those that don't particularly enjoy new people. Working with your dog one on one gives us both the best chance of earning each other's trust so we can get your dog on the path to recovery.
We will always give your dog a chance to try it out! In the rare case that your dog is unable to participate in Rehab or Fitness Sessions, we do everything we can to equip you for exercises and treatments you can do at home.
Most dogs that are afraid of water become fearful because they are suddenly submerged and their feet can't touch the ground or because they have had less than stellar experiences being bathed or groomed.
Our Underwater Treadmills provide fantastic low-impact, high resistance exercise while keeping your dog's feet on the ground and their head and shoulders above the water. Your dog walks into a dry, empty treadmill, then the warm water is adjusted to fill very slowly and quietly from below them so that at first, only their toes get wet. Gradually, the water level rises and the treadmill band moves forward.
Your dog is then walking and distracted and before they know it, the water level is up to their elbows and everything is fine. Of course, a CROC team member is always right there at their side (and sometimes in the treadmill with them) to provide support and encouragement every step of the way.
To get a better understanding of how wheelchairs work for dogs, we strongly recommend reading our in-depth article at the link below.
If after reading the article, you feel that a cart is a good fit for you and your dog, give us a call to schedule a Cart Consultation. This is an appointment specifically for pets needing a cart but not pursuing therapy. During this appointment, you will meet with our Rehab Practitioner to determine if a cart is the best choice for your dog, what kind of cart should be ordered, and to begin your education on how to use a cart.
After this appointment, we will get your dog scheduled for a Cart Fitting. Be sure to speak to our Patient Care Coordinator if you're wanting to get these appointments done on the same day. The Cart Fitting requires multiple CROC team members to do properly, so we want to ensure we schedule appropriately. During the Cart Fitting, we will collect all of the measurements and photographs necessary to order your cart. We send these directly to Eddie's Wheels for you so all you have to do is contact them for payment and shipping information.
Once your dog's custom built cart arrives, we will complete any assembly, make any final adjustments, introduce your dog to the cart, and show you how to use it. This last appointment is included in the cost of your Cart Fitting Appointment.
After reading the FAQ's: