Chiropractic for Animals, Part 2

In my last article, I related how my interest in applying chiropractic techniques to a dog was my first tentative endeavor in this field. After that modest experience I had no further opportunities for quite a number of years. One day, while perusing a professional journal, I came across an ad for a course being offered near Davenport, Iowa. The ad showed a woman, presumably a chiropractor, adjusting a horse. As I owned a half-dozen horses at the time, this advertisement caught my interest, but I was very skeptical of the whole thing.

I called the telephone number listed and spoke to the secretary of what turned out to be the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. She explained the basics of the course being offered and the dates of the various ‘modules' that a person would have to take in order to be certified. To be enrolled in this training program, you needed to be a chiropractor or a veterinarian. I requested a few names of some of their graduates practicing in my area so that I could check the legitimacy of this Association and their courses. It turned out that there were very few graduates in the whole of Canada, only two in my province, none in most, but a few in Alberta. I made several calls.

My research gave me enough confidence that I signed up for the first of five modules. Each module consisted of thirty hours of classroom and lab work taken over four-day weekends every few months. A post-graduate course of 150 hours was certainly a commitment and seemed somewhat daunting at first. I was determined to at least check it out. Hoax or not, I'd give it my best, open-minded shot.

Flying to Chicago, renting a car and driving three hours due west to the eastern shore of the Mississippi River in western Illinois was a tiring way to end a long Wednesday after working all day seeing human patients. But, it was necessary as the course began at 9:00 am on Thursday.

The class consisted of around 60 people, from all over the US and Canada, about half chiropractors and half veterinarians and the same split of male to female. Our main instructor, who held both degrees, explained that most chiropractors never finished the course. Most vets did, but never used what they learned.

The chiros began the training, saw how easy it was, and thought, “I don't need a course for this.” While the vets learned the theory, passed the exams, but found that unless they were using it regularly, they never got very good.

Chiropractic is a highly skilled art and requires lots of practice and experience. Most veterinarians, the professor told us, took the course mainly to have another tool in their medical bag, one that they could bring out once in a while when they had what they recognized as a musculoskeletal condition enter their office. You simply cannot practice chiropractic, or any manipulative manual therapy, this way, just as it is very difficult to work part-time as a chiropractor. Your skills simply get rusty too fast.

My skeptism was soon challenged as I quickly came to realize that these people were serious and that the training that they were offering was thorough, and at times exhausting. I soon knew that I would enroll for all five modules and attempt to gain certification.

Often the class was split along professional lines as we chiropractors needed a sharp learning curve to get up to speed on animal anatomy, physiology and behavior, while the vets needed to learn chiropractic theory, philosophy and how to apply the art of manual adjusting to animals. I must say that both groups were at times quite bewildered and overcome by all there was to know.

The courses were geared mostly to horses and dogs; probably in a ratio of 75/25. Although we touched on many other mammals; cats, cattle, zoo animals and even birds, everyone knew that the bulk of our time would be spent with horses and dogs. We had instructors from all aspects of the field: vets who did manual adjusting almost exclusively, chiros who worked only with animals, specialists in animal anatomy, highly trained farriers and blacksmiths who taught us about hooves and shoeing, speakers from various areas of animal sports and people who used animals for work.

I took the five modules, learned all that I could, studied hard and passed the exams to become certified, and although I have a large human practice, I work on animals as a hobby, something that I truly enjoy. I find the animals responsive and appreciative of my efforts. Horses are particularly timid, being prey animals, but once they realize that I am not going to hurt them, they seem to relax and really enjoy their treatments. Most dogs, of course, love human attention and touching; they tend to respond very quickly and positively.

In my next article, I will discuss why animals need chiropractic care.

Author Contact Info: David Phillips D.C.
http://miltonchiropractic.chiroweb.com/