Testimonials

My first Portuguese Water Dog, Angelena, severely injured the ligaments and tendons in her right shoulder during an agility trial.  It took 3 one week hospitalizations at the Veterinarian Hospital at Iowa State University before she could walk without a limp.  The Doctors at Iowa State urged me to cross train an agility dog with swimming. They informed me to stop agility with Angelena due to the injury severity.

Oliver my 2 year old Portuguese Water Dog, competes in agility.  He cross trains weekly with swimming at the Paddling Pouch.  The pool size is perfect for his swimming workouts.  Oliver competes in in Portuguese water trials.  Sally Carter, the owner, assists me with the water trial exercises which require 2 people.

I recommend the Paddling Pooch for your dog.

For all of the pet owners considering warm water therapy, please don’t doubt it until you have given it a fair try.

Our Libby is an 8 yr. old Lab mix, whom has had problems with hip dysplasia since she was a puppy. Over the years, she has had a surgery on each knee, along with arthritis setting in on most major joints.

Libby has been on supplements, excellent food and prescription meds to help control pain. When it came to walks, she couldn’t go a block without limping for days afterward. Playing has really been out of the question for her, due to the pain she would be in afterward.

When The Paddling Pooch opened, I knew we had to try and see if she could get some relief.

After the first session, I saw a difference in her within a day. She was more playful with her 2 bff’s whom live next door. She wanted to run and play with the Chocolate Labs next door, but she couldn’t keep up.

She has been going weekly since their opening, so, about 7 sessions so far.

The change in her is quite amazing. She is able to go on walks with no limping for days afterward, playing like a younger dog has returned. She is chasing the big dogs, enjoying tug of war with dogs twice her size. Jumping on the bed is no longer the huge effort it was for her.

She is a much more happy and limber girl, which makes us happy. For that we give credit to The Paddling Pooch for bringing this service to the community and a huge thank you to Beth, whom has worked with Libby since day one!

I want to start out by thanking both Sally and Beth for the awesome job they are doing with our German Shepherds. Sally and Beth are very professional, knowledgeable and take the time with the dogs to ensure they are comfortable with the whole pool and swimming experience. Their mission is to make sure the dog has a successful time in the pool. Our dogs trust Sally and Beth with everything they have asked them to do. First Class. Thank you, both. Now a little about our girls…We have been swimming Chance, our 10 year old for a little over a month now. Journey, our 3.5 yr. old has been in the pool twice. Journey doesn’t have any issues right now but we are swimming her for exercise. Chance is starting to show her age in different ways, like dragging her rear feet, walking kind of loose in the rear and pacing when she tries to run. Never really moving fast and kind of struggling to run. After swimming she is a totally different dog. The next day she has more energy, she moves with more control and she doesn’t drag her back feet. She’s galloping around the back yard chasing whatever. She doesn’t hurt and that is an awesome sight to see. I know that swimming Chance is adding quality years to her life. It is amazing to see how happy she is. Swimming with Sally and Beth has been the best thing for Chance. We would recommend The Paddling Pooch to anyone who thinks their dogs may have any issues or they just want their dogs to have fun. Again, I want to thank Sally and Beth for the awesome job they are doing for our dogs.