How to Start Your Own Animal Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy Business  

Animal hydrotherapy and physiotherapy are both branches of non-invasive animal care that have gained substantial traction in recent years. As the benefits of these animal therapies become more well-known, an increasing number of Vets are referring their patients to utilise these services. 

If you aspire to work with animals in your career, you could take advantage of the growing number of patients requiring these services by becoming a combined Veterinary Physiotherapist and Small Animal Hydrotherapist.  

There are some facilities in existence across the UK that provide these services that would offer employment opportunities. Though, as a growing field, competition is quickly becoming fierce. A very fruitful option you may not have considered yet is becoming self-employed.  

Setting up your own veterinary physiotherapy and small animal hydrotherapy business may sound scary, but it can be a highly rewarding career that you can enjoy for years to come once you have everything in place. To help, we’ve detailed some of the key things you need to consider to get your business off the ground. 
 

Why Work as an Animal Physiotherapist and Hydrotherapist? 

Both veterinary physiotherapy and animal hydrotherapy are beneficial for animals. They can alleviate a vast number of health concerns and rehabilitate animals who are recovering from injury. Both are highly effective independently, but optimum results are achieved when they are provided in conjunction with one another.  

Animal hydrotherapy involves exercising in water, often through swimming and the use of underwater treadmills, to boost movement without causing pain and discomfort, whereas animal physiotherapy combines massage and weight-bearing exercises.  

Both approaches improve animal health and wellbeing, and both can be used at different points in the animal’s recovery to target different issues at different times. They can then be used on an ongoing basis over the animal’s life to maintain their health long-term.   

As such, becoming a professional that provides both veterinary physiotherapy and animal hydrotherapy services can see you working alongside veterinary treatment throughout the course of an animal’s life. This allows you to build long-standing professional relationships with your animal patients and find great reward in seeing them thrive as a result of your care.  
 

Why Set Up Your Own Business? 

Granted, there are employment opportunities you can take on in these areas of animal care, but none afford you the same freedom and flexibility that comes with running your own animal care business.  

Taking the leap to become a self-employed Animal Hydrotherapist/Veterinary Physiotherapist puts you in control of every penny you earn. Plus, it helps you tailor your service exactly as you want to provide it.  

Some of the many benefits of setting up your own small animal hydrotherapy and veterinary physiotherapy business include: 
 

• Having the complete creative freedom to run your business as you like 
• Working hours that suit you 
• The ability to earn more than paid positions  
• Setting and achieving your own work-related goals provides a high level of job satisfaction  
• Work from home, run a mobile service or operate your business out of a fixed premise, it’s up to you! 
• Each day is different as you manage different aspects of the business operation 
• You will never stop learning as you turn your hand to marketing, accounts and keep building your service offering 
• Only work with the clients you like 
• Do a job you love on your terms 

How to Set Up Your Own Business  

Now the perks of becoming a self-employed Animal Hydro/Physiotherapist have been made clear, there are certain things you need to do before you can run a successful business. By taking the time to tick these boxes, you will be well on the way to an exciting and independent work life as your own boss.   

In no particular order, these include: 

Find a Premise 

As a Small Animal Hydrotherapist and Veterinary Physiotherapist, you need somewhere to run your business from. The veterinary physiotherapy side of your offering is more flexible, as there is less equipment required to provide treatment.  

For this reason, this arm of your business can be mobile and provided either on the road (in a suitable mobile car or van) or in the animal’s home to make them more comfortable. The animal hydrotherapy side requires more structure, as you will need to factor in space for a pool, underwater treadmill and spa. 

If your house setup is big enough, you could operate your animal care business from home. If not, you will need to look further afield and find a premise that suits your business needs.  
 

Get The Necessary Equipment 

As briefly mentioned, there is certain equipment you will need to run your animal hydrotherapy and veterinary physiotherapy business. For this reason, you need to have some money set aside for this initial investment, however, there are grants and loans that are available for individuals setting up a new business that could help you with this.  

For animal hydrotherapy, you will need to invest in: 
 

• Hydrotherapy pool 
• Heat pump 
• Underwater treadmill 
• Hot spa 
• Slings 
• Hoist 
• Dryer 
• Wetsuit or waders 
• Animal-friendly pool cleaning equipment and supplies 
• Dog boots and other protection-wear for animals 
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 

For the veterinary physiotherapy arm of your business, you will likely need: 
 

• Cold packs for crypotherapy 
• Wheat bags, heat mats, gel packs or other heat packs for thermotherapy 
• Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) machine 
• Laser therapy machine and related protective equipment 
• Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMET) system 
• Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) machine 
• Land treadmill 

Kennels can also be a worthy investment for your animal patients to relax in after treatment if they are awaiting collection. This may sound like a lot of equipment to layout for initially, but with senior consultants looking to earn upwards of £65,000 per year in these fields, it’s easy to see the income that can be generated through this career as a specialist in both areas.  

Get Insured 

Insurance is an essential step in setting up your own animal care business to cover your Public Liability whilst you are providing animal physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, animal massage and other non-invasive animal therapies. 

Determine Your Pricing 

Once you have an idea of the setup costs for your business, you will be able to work out your pricing to make sure you are making enough of an income after paying your expenses. A good way to get a feel for the prices you should be charging is by looking at other businesses that offer a similar service.  

However, don’t sell yourself short by trying to get business by undercutting others. You are after all providing a specialist service so pet and animal owners will be happy to pay for good quality treatment. 
 

Set Up a Website 

Your business information needs to be housed in a central location so all prospective and returning clients have one place to go to get everything they need. There are many affordable options to build your website, including easy to use design templates that are automatically made in a mobile-friendly manner.  

Make sure you display everything your clients need to know on the website’s pages in a clear and concise manner. This includes: 
 

• Your service area 
• The treatments offered 
• Your prices 
• Contact details 
• Insurance details 
• Any relevant qualifications and licenses 
• Customer and vet testimonials  

Network 

A huge part of getting your business off the ground is telling people who may be interested in it. Networking events are a great way to meet other like-minded professionals in the animal space who could recommend your animal hydrotherapy and veterinary physiotherapy services alongside their own.  

You could also attend events that your target market would likely be going to, like dog festivals and other animal celebration events, and inform them of your services. 

However, since a Vet must refer clients to you to make sure that the hydrotherapy and physiotherapy treatment is suitable for the animal, the best thing you can do is visit local veterinary clinics in your area and introduce yourself.  

Market Your Services

In a lead on from the above, there are other ways you can further promote your business name and animal hydro-physiotherapy services to prospective clients. This all helps build your reputation and make people more aware that you are an authority on this treatment in your area. 

Some ideas to market your animal therapy business are: 
 

• Put an advert in your local newspaper 
• Make business cards to hand out at events and when you meet interested people 
• Post flyers in your local area that advertise your services, in people’s homes and in high traffic areas for your target market like dog parks or animal supply stores 
• Set up social media channels that document treatments provided, use a combination of images and videos showing animals enjoying your services. Also, get in front of the camera to introduce yourself and talk about your business. Adding hashtags to your posts is also a great way to get your posts seen for free 
• Invest in Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising to target people looking for these services in your local area 
• Don’t forget to market to your existing customers once you get them, animals will need other elements of care as they go through their lives that you can provide 

These are a few ideas to help you get started, but there are plenty of other clever marketing tactics you can use to get people to notice you.  
 

Get Advice 

Learning from the mistakes of others who have walked this path before you is often a much cheaper – and less reputation-damaging – way of starting a business than going it alone without any guidance.  

There are courses you can take and seminars or workshops that you can attend that focus on guiding you through the initial stages of your business setup. These can help you get a fresh perspective on what you need to organise before taking your first clients. It can also help you formulate a business plan which is essential to make sure you don’t miss any vital steps.  

You can also receive advice on support options you may not have been aware of otherwise that can help make starting your animal hydrotherapy and veterinary physiotherapy business a smoother transition and easier to manage. 

Get Qualified 

While there are many things you need to consider ahead of starting your small animal hydrotherapy and veterinary physiotherapy business, the most important step is getting the qualifications that enable you to offer these services.  

As such technical therapies, you need an in-depth knowledge of all the ways in which they are provided. You also need to understand the array of complex and everyday conditions these therapies can help cure or manage.  

For this reason, anyone hoping to work in either of these professions needs to complete training specific to the roles. The most efficient way of doing this is by completing an industry-recognised and accredited course that focuses on both areas in excellent detail.  

Animal Courses Direct is the largest organisation in the UK offering Ofqual regulated animal courses that meet rigorous government regulated standards. Their online Level 3 Diploma in Small Animal Hydrotherapy + The Level 6 Diploma in Veterinary Physiotherapy with Hydrotherapy – Part 1, 2 and 3 is the perfect way to gain this knowledge and qualifications that evidence your specialist abilities.  

Learn How to Start Your Business Through Animal Courses Direct 

Not only does this combined course allow you to study both small animal hydrotherapy and veterinary physiotherapy theory online, but it also includes practical sessions to give you vital hands-on skills and it covers essential modules on setting up your own animal care business.  

By choosing to qualify through this course, you will develop essential business knowledge such as: 
 

• Learn about the importance of CPD 
• Understand professional conduct within the workplace 
• Recognise the roles and responsibilities within these businesses   
• Be confident in what administration is carried out in these types of businesses 
• Learn how to establish a company 
• Explore the importance of branding and marketing 
• Know how to manage hydrotherapy business accounts 

You will also: 
 

• Understand what ‘duty of care’ means in relation to running these businesses  
• Recognise the importance of accurate record-keeping 
• Develop your knowledge about web platforms and social media 
• Understand VAT and the VAT registration process 
• Know how to develop the business using strategy 
• Explore how to increase business profits and understand methods for expansion 
• Know how to professionally deal with complaints 

Find out more about how the online Level 3 Diploma in Small Animal Hydrotherapy + The Level 6 Diploma in Veterinary Physiotherapy with Hydrotherapy – Part 1, 2 and 3 will get you primed and ready for a career as a self-employed Animal Hydrotherapist and Veterinary Physiotherapist. Call our Course Executives for more information now on 01202 006 040, contact us online or click below to view the course in more detail!  

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