Reflection on the Module, Introduction to Canine Therapy: Artefact C

Ella Harder
May 14, 2020
2 min read

In Semester B we studied the module Introduction to Canine Therapy where we learnt topics such as palpation, joint types, signs of health, complimentary therapies and also canine first aid. We also had practical sessions each week to take place alongside our theory sessions.

Introduction to Canine Therapy was one of my favourite modules in semester B as it covered topics which personally I really enjoy studying such as muscles, joints and other therapies. When I enjoy a topic I tend to absorb the information better and don't struggle as much in class.

The first aid topic was one of my favourite aspects of this course as I found it really interesting to learn about and practise too. I think it's so important to learn about canine first aid as an emergency might happen at any moment and it's crucial that someone is at the scene who can calmly take charge of the situation and help save an animals life. It was also so helpful to have practicals that covered everything we had gone over in class as this helped me to remember things more and get prepared for the exam that we had on it.

Another topic I found really useful was about joints. One thing I have struggled with throughout our anatomy lectures is arthrology as for some reason I can never digest the information and get confused about what type of joints each one is. The lecture that we had on joints managed to simplify the joints for me and Jo Adams our lecturer explained everything really clearly so I started to understand.

Having the greyhounds in for our practical sessions was really helpful too as they have such exaggerated body parts and you can really clearly see their different muscles and bony landmarks, which is extremely helpful as it supports what we went through in our previous lessons and I took some pictures which helped to look back on.

There were some things that I really struggled with however, one of which being I had to work on a Wednesday at 12:45 which meant that I cut some of the practical sessions short. I managed to speak to my manager and come in a bit later to work on some days which was a great help, but on the days I didn't I ended up missing about half an hour of a session which I felt like was quite a lot, and I had to rely on friends pictures and videos to help me catch up. It also took a toll on my attendance too.

Overall though Introduction to Canine Therapy has been a really enjoyable topic and I have enjoyed working on the presentation with my partner Megan Barnard and although the Workbook is tough, I'm slowly but surely working through it. I think that this module has been such an important one as it is going to help in my future career. I have also learnt valuable canine handling and first aid skills too.

Below are some photos of me during Introduction to Canine Therapy practicals: