E-Vet Clinic - Dog Health Care

I received a question that I am asked on occasion concerning once you start chiropractic treatment do you have to keep going all the time?

Here is the exact question…

Dr. Dan, I was just wondering if once a dog has started some type of chiropractic treatment if that is something that will be needed for the rest of the dog’s life or will it depend on the activity the dog does? Thanks for a response.

I usually answer this question in front of a client in a smart alecky way of course with a grin on my face saying, “Well are you going to change the underlying problem that caused this dog to have a chiropractic problem? If not, then yes the dog will need to have adjustments for the rest of its life.”

Of course here in internet-land you lose out on my body language and facial expressions to see that I am saying this tongue in cheek. I do then go on to explain what I will explain here.

Chiropractic treatment is a different philosophy. The typical client that asks me that question is still coming from a western medicine or allopathic medicine mindset. There is something causing this to my dog and treatment is going to cure it. Chiropractic does not take that approach, it is more of philosophy of balancing and correcting the problems before they arise it is a lifestyle change.

Can chiropractic be used as a treatment to “fix” something? Sure I do it all the time for clients, but my smart aleck answer applies, if the lifestyle is not changed then I am going to be treating the dog for the same thing over and over again. Let me give some examples to make it easier to understand.

If a dog breaks a leg and has surgery and the leg is weak and needs some physical therapy to recover, the dog will need chiropractic treatment to correct the spine while he recovers from the injury. This would be a temporary treatment protocol to help the dog recover more comfortably. Treatment could end in this instance if the owners so choose. Chiropractic is being used to ‘fix’ something. However this is not what the main intent of chiropractic is.

The main philosophy of chiropractic is a more wholistic approach and is a tool used to maintain homeostasis or balance in the body while the lifestyle is being changed. Or if the lifestyle can not change, for example, in an agility dog, chiropractic is used to maintain balance even though the dog is physically stressing itself on a regular basis. People and animals go to the chiropractor on a regular basis because they are better off for it while they continue to live the lifestyle they desire including their physical, emotional and toxic stresses. A chiropractor’s job is to not only perform chiropractic adjustments but also to consult with the client on the best way to live a lifestyle which will help the client/dog remain symptom free by improving on ways to avoid stressing the body. This would mean consultation on nutrition, exercise, rest and how often chiropractic treatments will be required to maintain balance in the body while the dog continues to do stressful activities or has a daily physical stressor such as arthritis.

So in answer to the question it really depends on the stresses in the dog and specifically what are you looking for with chiropractic treatment. Do you just want to fix something and then you are going to follow the advice of the doctor and change the lifestyle to avoid the problem in the future; OR is it impossible for the lifestyle to change - the dog has arthritis, does a physical activity such as agility, continues to eat crappy dog food or continues to have annual vaccinations? These are all reasons for a dog to continue to see a chiropractor even though the last two I hope will be changed while seeing the chiropractor…LOL.

Thanks to Matt from The Pet Haven for this article - Walk Your Dog To Stay Healthy

It refutes the previous study in Finnland that stated that dog owners are less healthy than non-dog owners - Pet Owners May Be Less Healthy

Personally I think there is almost no difference, in whether you own a dog or not as to whether you are more healthy or not. It depends on the person’s own personality and what they do with their dog. Also exercise is only one part of the equation what you put in your mouth is the other. If you eat in excess of the exercise you obtain from walking your dog you are still going to be heavy regardless.

The one thing that is true about pet ownership is the unmeasurable benefit of an adoring pet with unconditional love has a tremendous effect on the emotional well being of the people that love the pets back.

If you are buying dog electrolytes you are wasting your money!

I had this discussion with my trainer today and being a knowledgable person herself she agrees that electrolytes are a waste of money. Here’s why…

Dogs do not sweat like you and I or horses. They pant to cools themselves off.

When we sweat our body releases moisture through the skin to evaporate and cool us off. In the meantime we also lose the salt or electrolytes through our skin. It is part of the process to get the water through the surface of the skin..it needs electrolytes to perform this function. So the electrolytes stay on the outside of our body with no way of getting back in, so we have to replenish those with some form of electrolyte substance, usually in the food we eat or in some cases some type of electrolyte drink, i.e. Gatorade or Powerade.

Dogs pant - their mechanism is to evaporate water through breathing and their mouth. When the electrolytes are passed in saliva and the water evaporates from their tongue and mucosal surfaces of their mouth the electrolytes stay on their surface just like our skin when we sweat; however it is still in their body. All they have to do is drink water to replace everything. So those drinks that have electrolytes in them for dogs are a complete waste of your money. Dogs do not lose electrolytes during a hot day or performing an athletic event. They do however lose a lot of water and that needs to be replenished.

So do not buy electrolyte drinks for your dog, just some cool fresh water will do. You want to waste money buy them some nice bottled water that someone makes out of their basement tap! LOL