Whether a therapy would help your animal is a question for your vet. If your animal is hurt or unwell, call a vet first.

Who else may treat your animal

Physiotherapists, farriers and groomers all work with dogs, cats and horses. Each of them works within limits set by the law and by the vets' regulator.

What the law keeps for vets

Only a vet on the register kept by the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons) may practise veterinary surgery. The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 gives the term a wide meaning. It covers diagnosing diseases and injuries in animals, giving advice based on that diagnosis, medical or surgical treatment, and surgical operations.

The Act itself makes some exceptions, and later orders add more.

Who may do what

You, as the owner
You, someone in your household or someone you employ may give your animal minor medical treatment.
Physiotherapists, osteopaths and chiropractors
They may treat an animal only when a vet has examined it and prescribed physiotherapy, and they act on that vet's direction. They must be 18 or over.
Massage for a healthy animal
Maintenance care such as massage needs no say-so from a vet. The RCVS says the animal must still be registered with a vet.
Acupuncture, aromatherapy and other therapies
Where a therapy amounts to veterinary surgery, only a vet may give it. That applies however well qualified someone is in treating people.
Farriers
They trim and balance a horse's hooves and fit shoes. They must not normally cut into sensitive structures, diagnose or give drugs.
Groomers
People without veterinary training may offer grooming. Scaling a dog's or cat's teeth below the gum line, or taking a tooth out with instruments, is veterinary surgery.

Physiotherapy and its conditions

The Veterinary Surgery (Exemptions) Order 2015 lets someone treat an animal by physiotherapy on two conditions. The person is aged 18 or over. And they act under the direction of a registered vet who has examined the animal and prescribed physiotherapy for it.

The RCVS reads physiotherapy as every kind of manipulative therapy, so osteopathy and chiropractic count. Acupuncture and aromatherapy do not. The vet decides whether the animal needs examining again before treatment carries on.

A therapist giving maintenance massage should stop at the first sign of an injury or illness underneath, according to the RCVS. The owner should then take the animal to the vet.

The RCVS does not regulate these therapists, so it cannot recommend any of their voluntary registers. It suggests vets look for membership of a register with set standards of training and conduct and a disciplinary process.

Farriers

In Great Britain, farriers are regulated by the Farriers Registration Council, which keeps the register of farriers allowed to practise. The RCVS says vets and farriers should agree between them which of them does a particular piece of work on a horse's foot. A farrier who thinks a horse needs other treatment should tell the vet or ask the owner to call one.

Groomers and teeth

The RCVS points groomers to a statement on anaesthesia-free dental procedures for cats and dogs, which its Standards Committee backs. The statement says these procedures are not in the best interests of an animal's health and welfare.

The statement adds that owners have a duty of their own, under animal welfare law, to keep their pet from harm.

Sources