How Do You Adjust a Dog? Dog Chiropractor

How do you adjust a dog? With care and specificity of course! 

From a human to a dog, there are some obvious differences in how I adjust as a chiropractor. 

Other than having to bribe dogs with treats, the obvious difference is that a dog’s anatomy is quite different from a human’s anatomy.  If I were to apply the same adjustments to a dog that I do to a human they would not be effective as the joints are angled and aligned differently.

The other major difference is the amount of force that I apply when doing animal chiropractic. 

Even a large breed dog’s vertebrae are smaller than an adult human, and if you see a toy breed, their legs and shoulders resemble chicken bones rather than dog bones. 

When all is said and done, there are some major differences when a chiropractor adjusts a dog vs. a human, but the principles of a chiropractic adjustment remain the same.  Align the spine and let the nervous system work optimally.

Dog Agility Shoulder Problems

When you are putting your dog into agility training or an agility competition you are asking a lot of them physically.

Working at a high pace, and with many changes in direction, agility can put your dog into compromising positions that can stress different areas of their body.

A dog will usually work until they can’t.  They will push through the discomfort until it’s too unbearable anymore. They truly are resilient animals.

One body area that is particularly vulnerable with dog agility is your dog’s shoulder and lower neck.

The lower neck has a network of nerves that feed the front limbs.  While the shoulder is your dog’s primary joint for movement between the spine and the front limb.

If your dog injures either of these areas, the symptoms can overlap and look similar.

Typically your dog will come up lame and not weight bear well on that side.  They may have tenderness in that area of their shoulder or they may have limited neck range of motion.

In any case where your dog comes up lame you should have them assessed physically by either your vet and if nothing serious arises, make sure they have a physical assessment by an animal chiropractor.

One way you can determine where the injury is coming from, by testing the ROM in your dog’s neck.  If it’s limited or asymmetrical side to side it is a positive test.

You can test this by performing the treat/cookie test.  Do this by holding a treat while your dog is standing, and make your dog follow the treat in an arc to their left shoulder, and then back all the way to the right shoulder.  

Lower neck conditions in dogs are a big concern as they can potentially lead to damaging nerve trauma and produce longer recovery times.

If your dog is starting agility or is currently doing agility it is a good idea to have their function in all joints assessed by an animal chiropractor.  

Better function = Better performance.