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Caring For Your Dog's Neck And Spine
By Rose Smith, Fri Dec 9th
by Rose Smith, (c) 2005 On one of my visits to my chiropractor, he suggested I pick upthe book The Well Adjusted Dog by Dr. Daniel Kamen. The book iswritten by a chiropractor who also does adjustments on animals,although he doesn't advertise this. Apparently, chiropractorsare not allowed to practice on animals in many states, which Ididn't realize, since I live in Canada and this doesn't seem tobe a problem here in my province. However, what is good to knowis that veterinarians in the U.S. are allowed to do adjustmentson animals... that is if you can find one that's studiedchiropractic medicine. Not an easy task. In any case, Dr. Kamen wrote this book (among others) so that adog owner could learn to do their own adjustments on their dogs.The book is very informative and walks you through the anatomyof a dog's spine, teaches you how to feel for misalignments andprovides a variety of techniques that you can do at home. Manyof the techniques focus on how to release tense muscles,especially if you're not comfortable with actually working onspinal column.
While reading the book, I came across a very interesting sectionwhich talks about dog collars and how they can easily cause neckproblems for a dog. Most of it boils down to our (ie human's)improper handling of leash control on certain collars. Here'swhat Dr. Kamen has to say about dog collars: "The improper use of collars is the number one cause of cervical(neck) subluxations in dogs. Of all the places to put unduestress, the region, especially the upper two cervicalvertebrae, is the most harmful. It is at this point that thebody meets the brain." (Dr. Daniel Kamen, The Well Adjusted Dog,p. 24) ** What Types of Collars Are Available ** I thought I was doing well by using a dog harness. Ha! I quicklylearned that this might actually be the cause of my dog's discproblems located where her neck meets her shoulders. I was evenmore surprised at what he said was the best collar to use. Basically, you will find that there are five major types ofcollars in use by most dog owners: the regular flat nylon andleather collars, the choke collar, the prong collar, the leaderor head collars, and the harness. ** Flat Collars ** The regular flat collars are what most dog owners often choose,however they can also be the most dangerous type. These collarsare used for hanging your dog's tags and for simply attachingthe leash to the metal loop. This collar type should never beused for dog training... nor should they be used if you have ahard time controlling your dog while out walking. When frustrated, owners tend to pull back on the leash to stopthe dog from pulling and running, or in many cases, to get themto move along if they've stopped to sniff something. Thisyanking will cause tremendous muscle tightening in the cervicalneck area, which in turn results in subluxations. Thisis one of the largest causes of disc and other neck problems indogs. Unfortunately, most of these disc problems don't show upuntil much later in life. At this point, dog owners either puttheir dogs on medication for pain control and muscle relaxationor resort to surgery to try to repair the damage of degeneratingdiscs. ** Leader Head Collars ** These appear to be an ideal way to train your dog. A leadercollar fits over the head of your dog, much like a muzzle does.The
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leash attaches to a metal loop located on the collar underthe dog's chin. The idea behind it is to turn the dog's head to"lead" them where you want to go. Sometimes humans may turn thehead too sharply or too hard in frustration when trying to traintheir dog. This, like the regular collar, can cause upper neckproblems. ** Choke Collars ** This is the type of collar most often used by dog trainers. Theidea behind it is that if a dog pulls too much, it starts tochoke and therefore will ease back and release the tension ofthe collar. In reality, the instinct of a dog when it feels thetightening of a chain is to pull away from it, effectivelytightening the collar even more. Your dog could literally chokeitself into a coma! Improperly trained dogs and moreimportantly, improperly trained owners, could cause extremedamage using a choke collar. ** Harness ** A harness is designed to fit over a dog's shoulders and besecured around the chest area. While a much better choice over aregular collar or a choke collar, these harnesses can causesubluxations in the lower neck, shoulder, chest, and forelegarea. Again, the primary cause to this is often attributed tofrustrated owners yanking back on the leash, which causes theharness to put a large amount of stress on the shoulder andchest areas. ** Prong Collar ** This collar looks like some medieval torture device. Made ofmetal, the prong collar has a circular ring of spikes on itsinner surface. When training the smallest amount of resistancedistributes pressure evenly around the neck area effectivelyrestraining the dog. As Dr. Kamen states in his book: "Sometrainers liken the prong collar to "power steering" where eventhe slightest touch will produce the desired result." He hasfound that dog's that use this particular collar have far lessupper subluxations than with any other collar type. Soin essence, this is actually the best collar to use whentraining and walking your dog, believe it or not. ** What Else May Cause Subluxations in Dogs? ** There are many other issues that can also cause problems withcervical subluxations. The requirements of how dog's are trained(taught to sit on the left and look up at the owner causes neckstrain) is one area of concern. Mismatching dog size to dogowner size, dog obesity, improper bedding, dangerous playpractices, leash length, and the way certain dogs are bred, area few of the other causes of canine neck problems. Of course, you would be hard pressed to monitor every move yourdog makes. Perhaps he likes sleeping on the hardwood floor nearthe fire rather than the comfy dog mat you bought. Maybe youplayed a little too hard today with the Frisbee and caused yourdog to jump too high, causing neck pain. The important thing isto try to correct possible activities that could cause necksubluxations in your pet so they don't continue to do moredamage. You may also want to pick up the book - The WellAdjusted Dog - and learn how you can check for possiblemisalignments in your dog's neck and spine, then learn how to dosome of the corrections yourself. By doing so, you'll be givingyour dog a much happier and less painful life. About the author:Rose Smith owns http://www.CaringForCanines.com Where dogowners can explore the benefits of holistic dog medicines andremedies. Find information on topics such as: dog nutrition, doghealth problems, herbal & vitamin supplements, dog grooming, andmore.
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