Has your cat been behaving differently lately? Have you noticed your dog putting extra weight on one of his or her legs? Has your horse started to buck when doing certain maneuvers? These behaviors could be symptoms of a medical condition, disease, or extreme pain—and it might be time to take your pet or animal to a veterinary chiropractic associated doctor. An animal chiropractor needs to be associated and certified by either the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association (IVCA) or the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA).
Your regular veterinarian can tell you whether or not chiropractic treatment could be beneficial to your pet and help you find a reliable doctor. However, there are a few things you should know before you begin seeing a new pet chiropractor.
1. Your Animal Chiropractic Doctor Must Be Licensed
Always check out your pet chiropractor’s credentials before scheduling an examination. Any new animal chiropractor you see in Minnesota must be certified by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA) or the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association (IVCA). If your pet chiropractor was eligible to train at an animal chiropractic college and tested out, he or she must be a Doctor of Chiropractic or a Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine.
2. Pet Chiropractors Should Still Work Alongside Your Veterinarian
Though your veterinarian may refer you to an animal chiropractor, that doesn’t mean the vet’s work is done! Your chiropractor will need to obtain your pet’s medical history from your veterinarian and should be informed of previous treatments, current medications, and any x-rays that may have been performed in the past. Once the chiropractor has received your pet’s history and learned about his or her symptoms, the chiropractor can begin the examination and observe your animal’s movements and behavior in order to make treatment recommendations.
3. Treatment Should Be Tolerable For Your Pet
Many pet owners wonder if chiropractic treatment will hurt or harm their pets in any way. Fortunately, chiropractic adjustments typically cause little to no pain to pets—and many animals even enjoy their treatment! In some cases, pets may experience a bit of discomfort, and your pet chiropractor can help you create a caring and gentle treatment plan that will allow your animal to be as comfortable as possible.
4. You Should See Results Soon
The results of chiropractic treatment can depend greatly on factors like how long your pet has experienced pain, how severe his or her condition is, and your pet’s age. After your pet’s first chiropractic treatment, your may begin to see good results within a few moments or within the first few days. If your pet doesn’t see clear benefits after the first three visits, Paradox Chiropractic will recommend that you return to your veterinarian for further testing or a new treatment plan.
5. Long-Term Frequent Treatment Isn’t Necessary
At Paradox Chiropractic, Dr. DeAnn Adams works to improve your pet’s quality of life in as few appointments as possible. Though weekly or bi-weekly appointments may be useful at the beginning of treatment, your pet does not need to continue to return for chiropractic care week after week for the rest of his or her life. After your pet begins to see results and an improved quality of life, we may recommend periodic appointments every now and then throughout the year in order to promote continued optimal health. However, these appointments are solely intended to keep your pet’s progress on track and are dependent on his or her unique health situation.
Dr. DeAnn Adams is IVCA certified and MN licensed to practice animal chiropractic. See her Services for Animals page to attain the downloadable Veterinary Referral Form.