Canine Rehabilitation and Hydrotherapy

The Canine Rehabilitation and Hydrotherapy degree programme is designed to prepare students for professional careers within the canine health, welfare, and rehabilitation sectors. It equips students with specialist knowledge, practical expertise, and the professional skills required to succeed in a rapidly evolving industry.

Students develop critical and reflective thinking through the evaluation of contemporary therapeutic practices, underpinned by scientific research, ethical principles, and evidence-based approaches. The programme places a strong emphasis on professional identity, enterprise, and employability, encouraging students to explore entrepreneurial and innovative opportunities within the canine therapy sector.

Practical and clinical competencies are developed through hands-on training, case-based learning, and embedded work-based learning experiences, ensuring graduates are confident, adaptable, and industry-ready. A particular focus on hydrotherapy at Level 4 provides students with early specialist exposure to this growing area of practice.

Students benefit from access to The Canine Therapy Centre, our purpose-built canine physiotherapy and hydrotherapy facility, opened in 2023 at the Moreton Morrell campus. This state-of-the-art centre offers a wide range of rehabilitation therapies and provides a professional clinical environment where students train using the latest industry technologies.

Throughout the programme, students develop real-world clinical experience by working alongside our resident physiotherapist, Rebecca Sidwell, supporting the assessment and treatment of patients within the on-site clinic. Training includes the safe operation and maintenance of hydrotherapy pools and underwater treadmills, as well as the delivery of therapeutic treatments, ensuring graduates leave with the confidence, competence, and professional readiness required for employment within the canine rehabilitation and hydrotherapy sector.
The course is accredited by the AHPR (Animal Health Professions' Register) and students will be able to gain direct entry to the register following successful completion of the course.

This course is delivered and validated by Warwickshire College, and is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS).

For our Higher Education Terms and Conditions please visit https://wcg.ac.uk/page/701/terms-and-conditions

Modules may include:

Year 1 - Level 4
Writing for Academic Success
Understanding Data
Professional Skills for Animal Practitioners
Introduction to Canine Hydrotherapy
Functional Anatomy, Physiology, and Behaviour in Practice
Principles of Canine Rehabilitation and Sport Therapy

Year 2 - Level 5
Research Methods for Animal Practitioners
Introduction to Commercial Enterprise
Animal Health and Behaviour
Canine Rehabilitation Techniques
Advanced Canine Hydrotherapy: Integrated Applications
Canine Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics

Year 3 - Level 6
Animal Welfare and Ethics
Final Project
Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Animal Practice
Applied Clinical Skills in Canine Therapy

During the course, students will be expected to undertake 50 hours of small animal placements.

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated, please contact us for the latest information.

Each module has its own specific assessment profile, for example 100% coursework or 50% coursework and 50% written examination.

Modules are assessed using a variety of methods (real life case studies, professional projects, laboratory practical investigations, reports and essays, presentations and video documentaries, research dissertation) thus allowing students to develop a range of skills related to the subject area and to build confidence in the subject and in themselves.