Spring Tune-ups

The dog school where I do my agility training offers a nice (albeit not free) fringe benefit. Every other Tuesday (which luckily corresponds with my weekly training night), they have a certified chiropractic/acupuncture vet on site. For those who are interested, you can sign up for an appointment to have your dog evaluated or do a recurring visit. It's a very popular offering and getting a time slot is tough! Now, I don't do regular appts. but a couple of times a year I try to get a slot and have the boys looked at. I lucked into a spot last night for Jimmy which is timely as trial season kicks in very soon. He also had a pretty ugly crash-n-burn on the A-Frame a week ago so this session could identify any bad effects from that. Jimmy was funny because despite being in his beloved agility school building, the second we walked over to the doctor's corner, he knew she was a vet! He immediately started his "I'm afraid of the vet" avoidance behavior. Happily, Jimmy got a very good report. In just a few minutes of manipulation, she commented that, not only that his muscle tone and muscle strength was fabulous, but that he really didn't need any adjustments. Since we had a 30 minute time slot, I jumped on the opportunity to get Wilson looked at as well.  He had his own appt. set up for March 15th, but there was still plenty of time to fit him in. Unfortunately, Wilson is not a very sound dog in the front end. It's the reason he is already retired from agility. He often has trouble with his left front, and recently has had some lameness on the right. So his exam discovered some stiffness in his back over his hips, as well as arthritic changes in the right front. He had several adjustments and then tried something new, cold laser treatment. It is supposed to help with the inflammation associated with joint pain. He wasn't pleased with the beeping noise, but after a few minutes he became very relaxed like he does with acupuncture. Since he had a few issues we will be keeping his March 15 appt. and repeat the adjustments and laser work.

So, all in all, I feel pretty good about the results. I now know Jimmy is in good shape and that's important since I ask him to do agility. He is definitely a dog who gives it 100% and as such has the potential to hurt himself (as in that A-Frame mishap). And Wilson, who I know has ongoing problems, got to try something new that might help with his front-end issues.