Hope: A Dog Chiropractic Patient of Mine: Animal Chiropractic
I realize that many people don’t know about animal chiropractors, and often when I mention that I am an animal chiropractor, I get the question “What kinds of things do people bring animals to chiropractors for?” There are many things I can treat animals for/help them with. I thought I would take a different approach to this blog; instead of providing you with a list of things I can treat animals for. I thought I would give you an in depth look at an animal I’ve treated long term, so you can see how animal chiropractic benefitted their life.
Hope at the office for a chiropractic treatment
This is Hope! Isn’t she a cutie? Hope started coming to see me for animal chiropractic care in 2016 at 10 years old. She was starting to have some issues with her hips, she had discomfort after long walks, intense runs around the yard, and was looking a little more stiff and sore when going up and down stairs. Nothing big, but didn’t look like her usual comfortable self. Her owner Carolyn, wanted to make sure that Hope’s later years in life would be as comfortable and healthy as possible.
What Wellness Care Does for Animals
This is a very common first encounter I have for animal chiropractic patients. A pet is starting to get a little older, maybe in the past, you didn’t have to think or worry abut their health much because they always felt great and were able to keep up with you and the activities they love to do like walking/swimming etc. Then suddenly, you start to notice them getting stiff/sore, not running to greet you with as much excitement as they used to. Maybe you start to notice that they have a bit of a limp or are starting to get weak in their back legs. If you haven’t already, this is the time to start animal chiropractic care! The sooner you can treat issues as they arise, the better results you are going to get from treatments.
Are They Just An Old Dog?
I often hear statements like “My dog is having such a hard time getting up and down,” “their back legs are so weak,” or “they look so sore when they get up and down now, but they’re 10 years old, so that kind of things happens,” from people with older pets. If you haven’t brought your pet to an animal chiropractor before, you may think these things are just part of having an older pet.
I’m here to tell you, that doesn’t need to happen to your pet! These types of things are where animal chiropractors shine. I have helped many pets be much more comfortable, have less pain, more mobility and longer lives (at least from what I can tell, often my regular dog patients live to be 13-17 years old) as they age. Often I can see a visible difference in how an animal moves after a treatment.
What Are Some Things That Owners Notice When Their Pet Is Getting Animal Chiropractic Care?
Pet owners that bring their animals in for chiropractic care, can often tell when their animal is ready for their next treatment (usually a day or two before their next scheduled visit). I often hear things like “they started getting more sore after their walk a couple days ago,” or “they did great after their last treatment, and just started looking stiff a couple days ago, it was time to bring them back in!”
If you start bringing your pet to an animal chiropractor earlier in their life, maybe in the 5-7 year old range, you may notice something like, they now have a couple days of being stiff/sore after big exertion i.e. an extra long walk or lots of time swimming or a big camping trip or a long run. This may be something that’s new for your dog. Perhaps at a younger age, nothing seemed to set them back, even for a day or two. Getting your pet in for treatments at this stage of life, can help to prevent those extra stiff/sore days. Their days/months/years of super active lifestyle can be extended.
Do Animals Like Seeing the Chiropractor? Do They Get Scared? Do They Have To Be Restrained For A Treatment in Any Way?
These are all very common questions that I get. And Yes! Animals often love seeing the chiropractor. I would say the most typical thing I see is, the first time they’re treated, they seem a little nervous/worried and don’t really get what’s going on. I often wonder if they are trying to figure out if I’m a veterinarian and going to give them a shot or clip their nails or something. However, even for a first treatment, there aren’t any issues. I take extra time as the animal needs, to give them breaks to move around and feel comfortable around me.
The most common thing I see for animals coming in for their 2nd treatment and beyond, is that they are very relaxed in my office, often dogs will run up the stairs ahead of their owners and run right into my office very excitedly because they love their treatments so much. I hear many things from animal owners like “It’s like they can tell we were driving here, they were so excited the whole way in the car.” Or, “they knew when we got here it was for their treatment, they were so excited to get out of the car and come upstairs.”
Almost never do animals need to be restrained in any way. In the 9 years I’ve been treating animals, I would say there are a handful of dogs I have been nervous around as they have seemed like they were ready to bite me or were growling at me/showing their teeth. In those very rare cases, I may ask the owner to have the dog wear a muzzle or a few times, I have been unable to treat an animal because they just don’t seem comfortable with the situation. But again that’s probably 5 pets total over 9 years.
The typical things is for dog/cats to wander around and explore the office and then get pets and love from their owners as I’m working on them. All in a very calm/comfortable manner, and as I said, they typically LOVE IT!
Back to Hope’s Story!
Hope and her brother Shylo, both were animal chiropractic patients of mine
Hope came in for two visits in 2016, two visits in 2017 after going on a normal walk and hardly being able to walk afterwards. She did much better after treatment, and seemed back to normal. From 2018 through 2022, Hope got a wellness treatment once a month. Occasionally if she was in extra bad shape, she would get a couple treatments in a month. However, generally in this time frame, Hope did excellent! She looked extremely healthy/well for her older years. The groomer often remarked to the owner that Hope seemed so much younger than she was. It wasn’t unusual at all for strangers to think that Hope was a young dog when she was in fact ages 11-16. Hope led a very active life, and was able to do the activities she enjoyed long past 10-11 years old. She lived to be 16. Until the last couple months which were more painful for her, she was active, healthy, happy and led a great life. Her owner loved getting her chiropractic care, and loved that Hope felt so good after her treatments and that it kept her healthy and strong.
Testimonial From Hope’s Owner Carolyn
Below is a testimonial written by Hope’s owner Carolyn from 2017.
Testimonial for Ali Christianson-Christianson Chiropractic and Animal Chiropractic 12-05-17
Dr. Ali Christianson of Christianson Chiropractic and Animal Chiropractic is truly dedicated to making sure you and your pets get the best possible care. Her passion is providing patient care and education. That is her brand promise and commitment to you. She fulfils her promise and commitment and so much more.
Over the past few years, I have personally experienced Ali’s work as a chiropractor. She is thoughtful, caring and compassionate. Since Chiropractic care is my families first line of prevention/defense, it only made sense to include our 2 dogs, Hope and Shylo in this holistic approach to wellness.
Hope and Shylo are labradoodles and are almost 11 years old. Most people think they are still puppies, they have such great energy! A few years ago, Hope started having some issues with her hips and it was starting to slow her down. Shylo, her brother was quite bothered by the change in Hope’s playful behavior. Ali became a key part in Hope’s care team.
The first time I took Hope to see Ali, I took her alone. We did the full work up. Hope wasn’t sure what to think at first, but as time went on, she became more and more relaxed, finally falling asleep as I petted her gently. Hope responded to the treatment so well.
The best part of the story was when we got home and Hope and Shylo reconnected. I let Shylo out of the house first before I let Hope out of the car. The two of them were so happy to see each other and then they took off and went to play in the back yard. Hope was like a puppy. She was so happy and felt so good. She ran and ran and ran, up and down the hills. Hope and Shylo played Hide and Seek around the trees and shed. At first, I was worried at how much running Hope was doing and would this mess up the treatment we just did but she felt so GOOD and she did just fine.
About 3 months later, I brought both Hope and Shylo to see Ali now as a preventative practice. This next visit Shylo got the entire treatment and he did well. So Ali is part of Hope and Shylo’s wellness team. They are in great shape and very happy. At least 4 -5 days a week they get a 40-60-minute walk.
We feel very lucky to have Ali in our lives and her love for both humans and animals is so refreshing.
I recommend Ali to all who are seeking another way to care for their health and well-being. Carolyn Vinup
