Snow Day

The weather man just said we got 15.4 inches of snow with another 2-4 inches on the way.  How lovely! And I thought spring was on the way.  I was supposed to travel to Rhinelander and Merrill today for some animal appointments but I am not going anywhere.  Hopefully they can hold out for a few more weeks. This was Winston after Bohdi (our German Shorthair) made a little path for him :) Needless to say he was pooped when he got back in the house!

Acupuncture

At Best Friends Animal Care Center in Merrill, WI (one of the vet clinics I work at) Dr. Kate Alden is certified to treat animals with acupuncture.  It is quite amazing to see.  We work together on a lot of cases and those animals seem to get better faster.  I do my adjusting first to make sure everything is lined up properly, then Dr. Kate will do her acupuncture treatment and then follow up with laser therapy after that.  The dogs REALLY seem to love it!  I think its like going to the "spa" for them :)  Most of the time the dogs seem like they are falling asleep.  If you've never thought or heard about acupuncture for your pet, it's something to think about and there is a laundry list of conditions that it is helpful with.  It also works great in conjunction with other treatments such as chiropractic, laser therapy and your traditional veterinary medicine.  

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Sasha

I've been working with Sasha for almost a year now.  When she first came to me her owners brought her in for Degenerative Disc Disease (DJD).  She had jumped off the bed and then wouldn't move. I believe we adjusted her 4 times (her thoracic spine/middle back was the worst) and she was back to her good old self running around and jumping up and down like nothing had happened.  I hadn't seen Sasha for about 3 months or so when her owners brought her in with complaints that she was acting different.  She wasn't eating or drinking and was panting a lot.  She was in and out of the vets office a few times and had gotten fluids.  When I examined her, I found that her upper cervical spine was very tender and really out of alignment!  We did another short series of adjustments and had put her on a maintenance schedule every few months to make sure she stayed feeling well.  Last week Sasha's owners drove a total of 4 hours to bring her to me when she started limping for no reason (her owners are really great!).  Her lumbar spine (lower back) was out of alignment this time.  She hadn't done anything besides walk through some deep snow but that might have been just enough to throw her back out of alignment.  I checked in with her owners on Monday and she was doing a little better but still limping.  I will she her again this week and hopefully she has made some marked improvements.  Sasha is a older dog but responds great to her adjustments! Hopefully she will bounce back just as quickly from this last episode. 

Sasha's gait last week.

Success Story

I just received this email and I thought I would share:

Hello Doctors Kate & Kristy!

After these several months have passed I wanted to give you each an update on Cinder’s condition following the care you gave her subsequent to her spinal injury in August 2010. You may remember that the injury resulted in the loss of use of her back legs for a time.

Dr. Kate treated her injury promptly (next day) and after the first few treatments she could actually walk again. At home, however, I observed that she still had difficulty moving about the house, especially on tile, or when we and her two brothers went for walks. She would fall occasionally; she would scrape her rear toenails on the ground as she walked; her tail would be mostly limp and flop from side to side with her stride, as if she had only partial control of it or maybe of her rear end in general. Dr. Kristy’s chiropractic adjustments really helped in overcoming that problem. There was steady improvement over the weeks.

What prompts me to write you today are some things I observed about her on our walks, now that the ice is gone from our street. First, her toenails do not scrape the pavement at all any more, indicating to me that she has regained much strength and control in her back legs & ankles. I have been doing the test you taught me of turning her toes under & backwards as she stands. She corrects that position immediately now. She won’t put the slightest amount of weight on the foot until she corrects its position. Furthermore, when we walk her tail no longer wobbles around; she carries it steadily and in the typical up-curve so customary among doxies, and completely under control.

I could go on and on about how crucial and indispensable your treatments were in helping Cinder. Many, many thanks to you both! It is a wonderful success story.

Greg S.

Rhinelander, WI

Laser Therapy

Two of the three vet clinics I work at have laser therapy.  Laser therapy is helpful for pets with inflammatory conditions, arthritis, neck and back pain, trauma injuries, surgery recovery, open wounds and more.  I see faster changes in my patients that get laser therapy treatments after I adjust them than in the ones that do not have laser therapy.  The laser helps to promote healing at the cellular level and also provides pain relief.  There are no side effects and the pets seem to REALLY enjoy it.  It works great in conjunction to alternative therapies like chiropractic and acupuncture as well as traditional veterinary medicine.  To learn more about the types of laser therapy check out Laser Therapy for Dogs.

How do I know if my pet needs to see a chiropractor?

I get this question a lot!  If your pet is experiencing; neck, back, leg or tail pain, limping or lameness, problems getting up or down, wobbly or uncoordinated gait, hunched back, lack of energy/play, won't jump up or down, bowel or bladder problems, gait issues, muscle loss, saddling issues, won't pick up certain gaits, halter or bit issues, paralysis, disc disease or arthritis; chiropractic may be able to help.  I've also worked with pets to help with; reverse sneezing, bucking, irritability, leaking urine, neck spasms, old age, scoliosis, surgery recovery and to help improve show and athletic performance.  Some pets may show signs of discomfort such as flinching when getting pet or brushed, growling or biting, whimpering, shaking, or simply not doing anything when they would normally be running around.  If your pet is or has experienced any of these in the past, chiropractic treatments may be an alternative option to try before loading them up with medications or performing surgeries.  Chiropractic works great with traditional veterinary medicine as well as with other alternative treatments such as acupuncture, massage and laser therapies.

Animal Chiropractic.....Really?

I get this question just about every day. When people first find out that I work on animal patients as well as a human patients they almost always respond with, Really?!? Is that even possible? Why does my pet need adjustments? Or, how do you adjust a dog or even a horse for that matter?
My answer is simple. Animals in general, have the same parts that we do and are subject to trauma and other stresses of the world just as we are. They have spinal columns just like we do and those vertebra can subluxate (mis-align) just like ours can. When that happens they to can have pain just like we can. So, why not have Animal Chiropractors? All of our fury friends, wether it's your hunting buddy, running partner, squirrel chaser or yes, even your lap dog deserves to be in the best health possible!