Don't know why there is muzzle discussion in my original spine alignment posting. ???
I did have a post regarding my GSD.
5.5 years old, male. Very active, agile and lively. Fell on hardwood floor over the holidays. Noticed recently his back vertebre above his sacrum seems to be "OUT OF WHACK" to the left approximately 1.5 to 2 inches.
His behaviour is fine, vet did a check and states dog is fine.
Does anyone know anything about vertebre? Issues, whether or not the dog will compensate for pain if a vertebre is out of line?
Main question: Is this issue a preliminary problem to something more to come? Or what about chiropractic care? Do I do anything with this now, or do I wait until he presents problems?

Hi Michele,

I have a Rat TerrierXBasenji dog that will be 17 years in May. He suffered a spinal injury with his vertebre sticking up quite noticable above the rest of his back. In this case he did not show any signs of discomfort until he was about 13. I know that chiropractic care in some cases can be very benificial. I would not wait long to have this checked out, spinal injuries can be really tricky.

~Jamie

Tricky is right...
You said your dog suffered injury, at what age? How long until he was 13? And then, what symptoms did he have?

Michele,
From a Medical background, the "spinal alignment" concept that DC's follow just doesn't have any background in science.

Honestly, a 1.5" to 2" displacement of a spinal cord would result in immediate and total paralysis due to spinal cord damage.

If your dog has an anatomical deformity like the one that you mentioned, an x-ray should offer a definitive diagnosis to put your mind at ease ( or else to get the vet on the right track for treatment ) .

Chiropractic care is mainly placebo with massage added. It works for humans due to the power of positive thinking. It's not going to be helpful to an animal as they can't rationalize the treatment.

I am so sorry, I think I meant cm's--
yeah, those inches would probably sever the cord, eh?
The vertebre is noticably out of alignment though.
Even though "the Mojo" dog is showing no symptoms, I do think you are right, to get an x-ray as a baseline. Who wants to even think about the possiblities of future problems?
Thanks a lot about the chiro issue too. Just today, I have learned that it is supposedly illegal for a human chiro to work on dogs without a DVM, in Iowa, anyway. So I think we'll stay back from that one.

I think he was about 4 when he was injured. His symptoms are now pain in his back, but, he's really doing well. He can still run and play-bow and do some tricks. His hind legs are weak too, but I'm not sure if it's his hips or back, maybe both. Anyway, I'd get this checked out today or as soon as you can.

~Jamie

Will, I will have to disagree with you on the chiropractic treatment to animals. I have a x-country horse that has been treated most of his competition life chiropractically
( & occasionally with acupuncture)with excellent results. I could always tell when he was out of alignment & needed
to be 'fixed'. He would loose the ability to flex at his poll & also laterally when out of wack. He would be resistant to certain movements that when in alighnment he could do with ease & comfort. I have had my dogs done as well & seen the positive results there as well. The chiropractor that I use is a world renown vet that has trained & educated many other vets around the world about the benefits of chiropractic & acupuncture & holestic medicine. His name is Allen Schoen. ( you can google his name for more info if interested) I will only have Allen or the vet associates in his practice that he has trained to treat my animals. This is not to say that there are not other vet chiropractors out there that are not good. I am just lucky enough to have the best available to me. At the very least for anyone interested in searching out a animal chiropractor....be sure that they are a VET chiropractor
& not just a chiropractic practicionor. You do not want anyone that is not a vet working on your animals.

Anne,
You know that I've always respected your judgement, but I have to go with science here - and chiropractic care just isn't based in science. "Spinal alignment" problems just aren't treatable by manual manipulation, even if they exist.
That's not to say it might not make you or an animal feel better - just like a massage would. It just won't cure injuries or illnesses like the claims made.

Acupuncture actually has a more scientific basis for working ( the "pain gate-way theory" ) and I believe it has a place in treatment of varoius injuries.

Will, I don't have the medical background that you have, so I will have to say that you are most likely correct about the 'based in science' part of your responce. But I will still have to say that it does make a big difference. At least is has in the case of my horse & dogs. My question to you is, though, if it were just massage that corrects or makes one 'feel better'...would it not have to be given on somewhat of an ongoing basis spaced fairly close together to continue to be helpful & not the way the chiropractic that I have used with my animals...which is usually a couple of times a year depending on the individual animal & how well the muscles are able to 'hold' the adjustment? Depending on the individual animal & situation you may or may not need a couple of 'adjustments within weeks of each other the first time until the muscles are able to hold that adjustment. Acupuncture is often used in chiro to help with muscle spazims in more difficult cases. But also for other reasons. Often times the more diffucult cases are due to poor structure (or conformation) in the animal that causes the misalignments. Or just hard work that stresses the body. I guess I must just have very smart animals that are able to rationalize these treatments & have good positive thinking & that's why it works for them. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />