Pampered pooch alert: My dog, Angie, visits the chiropractor every six weeks.
Let me backup a bit.
In July, our 11-year-old Weimaraner experienced some kind of horrible neurological event. We still don’t know what caused it, but without going into too much detail, I will just tell you that after watching our beloved friend struggle to walk and refuse all food and water for 24 hours, we agonizingly made that awful, terrible decision to have her put to sleep.
As we sat in the exam room, waiting for the vet to come in and administer the medicine to help her cross over, my “miracle” dog got up and began (literally) tap dancing around the exam room.
Her tail began wagging again and she gleefully gobbled up treat after treat that the vet offered her. As my husband and I stared at each other in disbelief at how alarmingly close she had just come to death, and then again, as she walked out of the vet’s office that day (after having carried her paralyzed body INTO the office just an hour earlier), we vowed to do whatever we could to help her to recover from her incident and to make the rest of her time with us as comfortable and happy as possible.
So, I began researching options and a course of action. One thing that kept popping up was the benefit of chiropractic care for animals––both healthy and not. Thankfully, we have a vet who practices chiropractic care in our area, so I made an appointment. Now, our dog goes about every six weeks and the vet examines her and determines what sort of spinal or joint adjustments need to be done to help make her the most comfortable and to aid in her mobility. The vet also occasionally performs deep tissue massage on her, if needed. Our girl has arthritis and has some hip problems, so the vet regularly addresses those issues through chiropractic care. Watching our once almost completely disabled dog gallop and jump after her chiropractic adjustments makes everything worth it. I’m a believer now.
Benefits of Canine Chiropractic Care
The thing that first led me to seek chiropractic care for my dog was that I figured it couldn’t hurt anything. Whereas a regime of medications and procedures seemed risky, chiropractic care felt safe and therapeutic. And the best part is that she sees a vet who specializes in chiropractic care, so she can advise us on all aspects of Angie’s care––from the more traditional veterinary mindset to a more holistic one.
If you’re wondering if your pet could benefit from chiropractic care, here are some of the issues and ailments that it can help (according to Lakeview Animal Clinic in Wisconsin):
- Neck pain, back pain, jaw pain, extremity pain
- Temperament changes
- Loss of interest in activity
- Chronic ear infections
- Asymmetrical movement
- Allergies
- Laying or sitting only on one side
- Constant licking or chewing
- Resistance to brushing or petting
- Musculoskeletal problems
- Lameness
- Digestion Problems
- Neurological conditions
- Diagnosed conditions: such as arthritis, luxating patella, wobblers, disc disease
- Problems eating or playing with toys
- Paresis
- Sudden back leg paralysis, dragging of back legs
- Muscle imbalance, atrophy, strains
- Holding tail to one side
- Hot spots
- Injuries from falls, training, etc
- Stress
Results of Seeing Our Dog Chiropractor
The day after Angie visits her chiropractor, she seems just a little more sleepy than normal and, at the vet’s recommendation, we don’t go on any long walks for 48 hours after (as some animals are a little sore after an adjustment). After a couple of days though, I typically see a marked difference in her mobility.
Dog Chiropractor Cost
My dog’s chiropractor visits typically cost about $75 each (however, the cost may vary). The first visit was a bit more, because the vet did an exhaustive examination and spent some time really getting to know my dog’s body.
If you have a pet who is experiencing any kind of health issues, I would recommend exploring chiropractic care either alongside, or even before, other potentially more invasive treatment methods.
When it comes to the health and happiness of our four-legged friends, it’s a treasure to be able to give them the best care possible and to make informed decisions with their happiness and comfort in mind. With any luck, our Angie will be with us a little longer and, most importantly, will feel like her best self for however long she’s with us.
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Author: Jenny Jurica
Jenny is a married mother of two humans, one rescued Weimaraner, and four (yes, four) rescued cats. She is a native Texan who is a columnist/contributor for several publications and enjoys spending her free time curled up on the couch with a dog and a couple of cats. Much like the poet Sylvia Plath, Jenny often finds that she, “likes people too much or not at all,” but has never met an animal that she didn’t instantly adore (except for maybe the Komodo dragon at the zoo).
