What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 11:30am - 7:30pm Wednesday 10:30am - 6:30pm Thursday 9am - 6:30pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 2:30pm

The Retreat, Canine Hydrotherapy and Rehabilitation

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The Retreat, Canine Hydrotherapy and Rehabilitation

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We have a water treadmill, the largest canine hydrotherapy pool in Devon & Cornwall (measuring 9×4 metres with a ground level ramp offering easy access into our pool) and on-site RAMP registered physiotherapists.

10/06/2026

🐾 Meet Winnie—our little pocket rocket! 🚀

Winnie came to us because hip arthritis was making her visibly uncomfortable. The signs were easy to spot. You could see it just by watching her move - stiffness through her hindlimbs and lower back, a hunched posture, and a shuffling walk where there should have been free, fluid movement.

By using pool hydrotherapy we encouraged Winnie to actively extend her hips in a way she just couldn’t or wouldn’t on land. Over time, and as she grew stronger, we added turns and weaves to strengthen the muscles that stabilise her hips and support her hips during everyday movement. The results? Reduced stiffness, better range of motion, and a fantastic boost in muscle mass! 💪

The best part? Once we achieved those initial improvements, Winnie didn't need to keep coming every week. She now visits us just once a month to maintain her comfort and fitness levels - and as you can see, those little legs are absolutely flying! 🌊

Not every dog swims like Winnie - and honestly, not every dog needs to. Choosing the right treatment tool for your dog, whether that be the pool, water treadmill, laser, massage and/or exercise plans, is at the heart of what we do. But when the pool fits. it really fits. 💙

** Full disclosure - we need to work on our filming skills, but Charlie, Scarlett and Winnie had a lot of fun during the filming of this session **

23/05/2026

We're Open Day ready! Pop in, say "hello", see our set-up firsthand and enjoy a cake from Baking Rhapsody.

21/05/2026

This Saturday we’re celebrating our 13th birthday and opening our doors to you from 9:30am until 12:30pm.

If your dog is recovering from surgery, struggling with arthritis, or just not moving quite like they used to – this is the open day is for you! We've spent 13 years helping dogs move better, feel better and live better - and we'd love to show you how we could do the same for your best friend.

This is your chance to come and find out firsthand how pool hydrotherapy, water treadmill hydrotherapy, laser, massage and physiotherapy could change your dog's life, and how by receiving treatment under one roof, your dog will receive the right type of treatment, at the right time.

👉 On the day you'll get to:
✅ Walk around our in-ground hydrotherapy pool, which is the largest canine hydrotherapy pool in Devon and Cornwall - and designed so you can walk all the way around and encourage your dog every step (and splash) of the way – a gamechanger for nervous swimmers!
✅ See our water treadmill and physio room in action
✅ Meet our passionate team and get your questions answered on the spot
✅ Discover what a personalised treatment plan actually looks like for YOUR dog

👉 We’ll also be offering:
✅ Savings on initial pool and water treadmill hydrotherapy sessions
✅ Savings on puppy swims (under 9 months)
✅ Savings on Ruffwear float coats, drying coats and water toys -essential if you’re planning on visiting the beach this summer

And because it wouldn't be a birthday without it… there will also be (lots of) cake. 🎂

We look forward to meeting you and your best friend this Saturday🐶- and if you can’t make it, give us a call on 07711 492689… we’ll happily chat all things dog!

Oh, and to all our current clients – pop in and say hello… we’d love to see you 🥰

The Retreat, Canine Hydrotherapy and Rehabilitation

20/05/2026

Meet Dexter. He started his journey with us in March. For years, he had been quietly dealing with intermittent lameness in both his front and back legs. And whilst his lameness wasn’t always obvious, his body was telling the real story. If you look at the Week 1 photo, you can see the muscle imbalance in his back legs – his left leg had significantly less muscle mass compared to the right. Fast forward to Week 8 - and 8 water treadmill sessions later, and a dedicated mum following an “at home exercise programme” prescribed by one of our physios, especially for Dexter, and you can see the progress this beautiful boy is making. 😍 Dexter now has almost perfectly even muscle mass through his hindlimbs and he is standing much straighter – instead of leaning all his weight onto the right-hand side. Well done Dexter (and mum)!!

10/05/2026

SAVE THE DATE. Join us on Saturday, 23rd May to celebrate our 13th birthday To celebrate, we're inviting you to pop in, meet the team, tour the centre and discover how hydrotherapy and physiotherapy can improve your dog’s quality of life... oh, and did we mention there will be cake (after all, what kind of birthday would it be without cake!!) and some super offers! More to follow.

09/05/2026

💙 Meet the heart behind The Retreat.

I’m Charlie. I’m a veterinary physiotherapist.

As a little girl, I couldn't be kept away from the animals. I would disappear for hours - always with something four-legged, always up to something!

My journey into rehabilitation started with my childhood loan pony suffering an injury - It cracked open a door I didn't know existed. The world of rehab, of healing, of watching an animal go from struggling to thriving. I wanted to be the person who helps animals find their strength again.

These days, I live on a beef farm - and I love playing with the calves (and secretly naming them - Every. Single. One. 🤫🐄).

I am the newest member of The Retreat team, and I have to tell you - I am loving every single second of it!

I can’t wait to meet those of you I haven't met yet—and of course, I’m especially excited to meet all your fabulous friends! 🐶❤️

And when I'm not helping your best friends on their recovery journeys, or playing with the calves, you'll find me tending to my brand-new garden with the enthusiasm of someone three times my age. Old soul? Absolutely. Apologising for it? Not even a little. 🌱😊

08/05/2026

💙 Meet the heart behind The Retreat.

I’m Jane. I’m a practising vet, with a special interest in rehabilitation and pain management. I am also a Veterinary Physiotherapist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist (CCRT) and Hydrotherapist - and more recently I became a published author.

I have two Border Collies.

Drift is 13 years young. And in 2021, Drift suffered a spinal injury; as a vet, I knew the science behind recovery, but as his owner, I felt heartbreak - Drift became the inspiration for (and star of) my book “Loving Life with a Disabled Dog, a Guide for Owners” .

Quinn is nearly 4 years old, and is Drift’s nephew. Quinn’s brain did not quite follow the "standard map" during development, leaving him with some balance and coordination challenges. However, that does not stop him living life at 100mph! He doesn't know he's "different." He just knows he’s loved. And on visits to The Retreat you may have seen him, he is the one dancing in joyful circles, looking for attention and cuddles.

Quinn loves swimming in the pool here - and swimming along with mantrailing has been crucial to helping him live life to the full.

In my spare time, apart from mantrailing and scentwork with my dogs, I enjoy spending time with my mischievous cat, riding my horse, as well as singing, dancing, cricket and gathering case studies for my Ttouch practitioner status.

07/05/2026

💙 Meet the heart behind The Retreat.

I’m Scarlett, although many of you probably know me as ‘the dog lady at The Retreat’ because, as the name suggests, I’m a little bit mad about dogs.

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to work with animals. I was sure becoming a vet was the right choice for me - but life had other plans.

In 2016 my own dog, MY best friend, underwent spinal surgery for IVDD – and I didn’t just want him to survive; I wanted him to thrive again.

During his rehab journey, I watched him progress from being unable to use his back legs, to running around like a normal dog – and seeing him find his feet again wasn't just a relief, it felt like a miracle.

And his rehab journey changed everything; as it showed me there is more than one way to help a dog - and it inspired me to study Veterinary Physiotherapy for 4 years at Harper Adams University. And, after qualifying as a Veterinary Physiotherapist, I went on to gain a further qualification in Canine Hydrotherapy - before joining The Retreat in 2024.

Here at The Retreat, I love helping each and every dog that walks (or is carried) through our doors live a happy and fulfilling life – whatever that might look like for them. I understand the road to recovery isn't always easy or straightforward - there are highs and there are hard days - and I know exactly what it feels like to be the worried hooman on the other side of the lead, but I am here to help you and your best friend THRIVE, live comfortably, and enjoy life to the fullest.

I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

I don't have a dog of my own right now because, honestly? I pour all that love into yours. Every dog I meet I treat like my own. I am, however, a proud cat Aunty (or mummy number 2 as I’m known) to Fig and Fuego– so stay tuned to see if I manage to teach them any physio exercises. Oh, and, just in case anyone was wondering – the handsome chap to my left in the photo is Obie, the Chief Moral Officer at North Devon Hospice.

06/05/2026

💙 Meet the heart behind The Retreat.

Now that you know the 'why' and the “how” behind The Retreat, I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Duncan. And, if you haven’t met me yet, I’m the guy who’s lucky enough to call “helping dogs” my life’s work. Back in 2011, I made a life-changing decision. I left Hampshire, moved to the beautiful Devon countryside, and I founded The Retreat.

But I’m not just the founder of The Retreat. I’m the guy who knows exactly what it feels like to watch a best friend grow old.

I didn't start The Retreat to be just another centre. I started it to be a place where your dogs are treated with the same hands-on, expert care I give my own boys. And for the past 13 years, I have been dedicated to helping dogs feel better, move better, and live better. Your dog isn't just a patient to us. They're family. And we treat them that way - every single session, every single time.

At home, I am lucky to have two incredible boys of my own. 🐾

Stan - my very handsome German Shepherd, who is almost 12 years old. These days his muzzle is a little greyer, and his steps are a little slower, but his soul is as golden as ever. He reminds me every day why this work matters so much.

And Sid - my bouncy 3-year-old black Labrador, who is basically a walking whirlwind of joy and doing his own thing! He grabs life with both paws and never looks back. He is my daily reminder to find the fun in everything! 😄

If we’ve not met yet, I hope to meet you and your best friend soon.

*And, just in case anyone was wondering - that’s me on the left of the photo, and my buddy Scooby on the right 😁

05/05/2026

I had a dream and a dog who had shown me what was possible. What I didn't have was a pool…. or a plan. Or any real idea of how hard the next chapter was going to be. It started with a search. Months of driving around Devon, viewing houses with land - trying to imagine a pool where there wasn't one, in a place I hadn't found yet, for a treatment most people in Devon had never heard of. There were days when I wondered what on earth I was doing. 🐾

Canine hydrotherapy was barely a whisper here in Devon in 2013. People looked at me with kind, slightly confused smiles when I explained what I wanted to build. A swimming pool. For dogs. For their health. “Like... on purpose? We have rivers you know.”

Planning permission came first. Anyone who's been through the planning process knows it is not for the faint-hearted. Drawings, surveys, documents, waiting, responding to questions, waiting some more. Drinking a lot of tea and trying not to catastrophise. When the approval finally came through, I was relieved, excited and a little daunted by the prospect of the build.

Coordinating architects, pool engineers, plumbers, electricians. There were weeks where the progress felt invisible, where the gap between where I was and where I needed to be felt enormous. There were problems I hadn't anticipated, costs I hadn't fully planned for. But then everything started to come together.

When I opened our doors in 2013, we were (and remain) the biggest canine hydrotherapy pool in Devon and Cornwall. However, there was real work to be done in explaining what we were - not just the treatment, but the why. Why does a dog benefit from hydrotherapy. Why it works. Why swimming in a river is not the same.

Building something from nothing is one of the hardest things a person can do. But when it works - when it becomes a place where dogs get better, where owners rediscover hope, where tails wag on the way in and not just on the way out - there is no feeling in the world like it.

Thirteen years on, we are still here. Still growing. Still learning. Still doing it for Lulu.

See you soon.
Duncan

Address

The Retreat, Canine Hydrotherapy And Rehabilitation
Okehampton
EX204LR

Opening Hours

Tuesday	11:30am - 7:30pm
Wednesday	10:30am - 6:30pm
Thursday	9am - 6:30pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 2:30pm

Telephone

+441837318411

Website

http://www.theretreatrehab.co.uk/

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