What was a horse designed for? 

• TO BE OUTSIDE 24/7  Allows for constant movement for cardiovascular and musculoskeltal fitness, fresh air for respiratory health, everchanging environment and herd participation for mental health 
• GRAZING ON ROUGH, LOW-QUALITY GRASSES 20 HOURS OF THE DAY  Wears constantly-growing teeth down evenly, high-fiber/low-sugar grass for digestive and metabolic health, head-down posture lengthens and strengthens top-line muscles of back and neck
• DRINKING FROM CREEKS AND PONDS BELOW THE LEVEL OF THEIR FEET  This posture resets the nervous system
• WALKING HUNDREDS OF MILES PER WEEK OVER ROUGH AND UNEVEN GROUND  Musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health, wears feet down short and even

What do today’s horses deal with every day? 

• STALLED FOR PROLONGED PERIODS THEN WORKING IN CIRCLES IN ARENAS, ROUND PENS AND WALKERS  Weak musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems, damaged respiratory systems due to poorly ventilated stalls, mental issues due to boredom and isolation
• FED HIGH NUTRITION CONTENT GRAINS AND HAY IN ELEVATED FEEDERS  Constantly growing teeth do not wear off creating bite and chewing problems, digestive problems including obesity and ulcers, weak top-line muscles due to unnatural head up posture
• CONCRETE, TRAILERING, POOR SADDLE FIT, POOR RIDER, POOR TRAINING METHODS  Unnatural conditions….

Obviously I could go on and on.  To make a very long story short, our horses live in very unnatural conditions.  The wild horse would only need a chiropractor under unusual circumstances.  Our horses, however, live in conditions that are unnatural for their design.  Chiropractic can address the imbalances caused by the improper use of the beautiful machine known as the horse.

My first question is… What are you feeding your dog?  To some people this seems like a strange question.  They are asking about skin (the outside) of their dog and I’m talking about food (the inside) of their dog.

Here’s how it is related…  The immune system (your dogs and yours) protects the body from intruders.  A large portion of the immune system is located in the lining of the digestive system.  It is there to protect the body from intruders trying to enter the body through the digestive system.  When the animal is eating food that irritates the immune system, then the immune response in the rest of the body can be elevated.  In other words, the animal is less able to deal with irritants to their skin when their gut is being irritated as well.

Generally, the dog is put on a steroid or an anti-histimine.  These may stop the symptoms, but they are not clearing up the underlying issue.  An analogy that I love, is the itchy skin is like a fire alarm.  Using a steroid or anti-histimine is like pulling the batteries out.  The fire is still going on.

So how do you put the fire out?  Stop irritating the immune system.

First, feed a GRAIN FREE dog food.  Dogs are not meant to eat grains.  Period.  Think about a wild dog.  They are not eating grains.  The digestive system of a dog does not know what to do with grain.  Your local pet food store probably carries a few brands of grain free foods.  I will go into more detail about feeding your dog and supplements in the future, but a great start is to go to a pet food store where they are willing to answer your questions and get a good quality grain-free dog food.

Second, clean up their environment.  Think about where you dog spends all their time, remembering that they are low to the ground.  The bed or kennel should be clean, well-ventilated, and the padding made of natural fibers (fleece or cotton.)  Provide as much fresh air as possible, use natural cleaning supplies, good quality (preferably organic) food and treats, clean (not city) water.

Many dogs with itchy skin will improve immensely when you clean up their food and their environment.

If these measures don’t clear up the problem, then you may want to consider Chiropractic care, supplements and/or accupuncture.  Depending on how long the problem has existed, it may take more intervention to heal.

To be CERTIFIED in Animal Chiropractic by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA) you must:

1. Be a DOCTOR OF CHIROPRACTIC or a DOCTOR OF VETERINARY MEDICINE
2. Have undergone an AVCA approved post-graduate training program and
3. Passed AVCA’s written comprehensive and clinical examinations

Said another way, to be certified in Animal Chiropractic a doctor has completed 4 years of college, 5 or more years of Chiropractic College or Veterinary School, and another year of post-graduated training in Animal Chiropractic.

There are unscrupulous people out there teaching weekend courses on “How to Adjust Your Own Horse.”  There are untrained individuals doing damage.  Would you have some guy who read a book or spent a weekend learning car mechanics tune up your car?  or install your brakes?  That’s not even a good example because this is so much more dangerous then wrecking a car.   

So anyone certified by the AVCA has LOTS of training in how to take care of your animal.  Go to avcadoctors.com and find a doctor trained and certified in animal chiropractic.

Here’s where it gets complicated…

A Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) who has completed the certification cannot call themselves an Animal Chiropractor.  They are certified in Animal Chiropractic, but they are not Chiropractors.  The DVM cannot call what they do a “Chiropractic Adjustment.”  What the DVM does is called “Vertebral Spinal Manipulation.”

Why am I pointing this out?  It may seem like small or even silly distinction, but there’s a world of difference between the Chiropractic Adjustment and the Vertebral Spinal Manipulation.

As you may imagine, there can be friction between vets and chiropractors over who should care for animals just like the friction between medical doctors and chiropractors over care for their patients.

One camp feels that chiropractors do have not enough background and education in the intracies of veterinary medicine.  The other feels that vets do not have depth in the philosphy, science and art of chiropractic.

Ultimately it’s up to the animal owners. 

If you are looking for someone who spent 5 years steeped in the philosophy of Chiropractic, in the art of finding and adjusting chiropractic misalignments,  in the science of the intelligence inside of every being that made the body and heals the body, then choose a Doctor of Chiropractic certified to apply this philosophy, art and science to your animal.

My committment is that as many animals as possible are getting their spine aligned and getting their nervous system tuned-up.  I meet big-hearted horses and loving dogs every day who are in terrible pain, unable to perform, or have lost coordination, and I just want them to feel good.

Go to avcadoctors.com and find a certified doctor in your area.