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| Dr. Janice Crook, family vet |
Sam also gets regular chiropractic treatments from Dr. Gail Jewell. All of our dogs have had regular preventative care chiropractic sessions with Dr. Jewell since they were puppies.
We learned with our last dogs, Wupper and Max, that little things go out of whack all the time with them because they run and jump and roll around and play and crash into each other -- regular dog stuff. Usually it's minor things that come up -- a rib goes out, toes get jammed, a tail gets kinked -- and there is nothing obvious to the casual observer. And it probably doesn't bother the dog too much but he can't tell us about it anyway.
However, all those little injuries do have a cumulative effect if not taken care of before they become a major injury or condition. A little pain in one place can cause the dog to compensate by overusing another part of the body, causing stress and strain. Those little injuries over and over again can lead to premature arthritis and so on.
Because our dogs have had treatments regularly since they were puppies, if there is anything out because of some rough housing (they seem to love jumping on each other) or extra runs at an agility match, it is worked out with minimum treatment. Usually just Dr. Jewell's examination by running her hands over them pops things back into place. Plus the dogs love her massages. They get totally excited when they see her. We'll have to get video of the neck and shoulder massages -- blissed out bobble head dogs.
With Sam right now, Dr. Jewell's exams and treatments also ensure that Sam's spine is staying straight with nothing unusual showing up. The gentle massage also helps relax his neck, chest and shoulder muscles because he only uses the front legs for mobility and pulling himself around, with and without his wheels.
Sam won't be seeing Dr Jewell for his visit this month because she and her husband have gone down to Lexington, Kentucky for the World Equestrian Games which run from September 25 to October 10. They are both members of the Canadian National Equestrian team competing in the Endurance events - that's 100 mile rides. Sam says that is waaay too far him to walk. We wish them luck.
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| Dr. Gail Jewell with her horse and her dog Casey |
Dr. Jewell's website is www.holisticvet.ca for more information about chiropractic and the benefits for dogs.
More on Dr. Gail her horses and team
