A couple of weeks ago at a herding trial Milo was being petted by a massage therapist (and trialer) who noticed he "melted" onto the ground when his hind end was touched. She manipulated his neck and felt around and declared that his atlas and coccyx were out of whack. She showed me that he had much greater range of motion to one side with his neck than the other. She recommended that I seek a chiropractor for him. And then it occurred that he has been much less playful and active and does melt into a sit at the lightest touch on his back end - which is understandable in the warmer weather, but it made me think about other behaviors. Dogs are right or left handed as humans are and "favor" one side when striding and, as I have noticed profoundly, in herding. Milo favors the "come bye" side or right circle around livestock. Initially I could work him into an "away to me" or left circle, but recently he has refused an away to me direction even with body blocking.
So we sought out canine chiropractic.
Since then Milo has had two treatments of canine chiropractic and yesterday a massage. He was a very good patient and we learned that yes, indeed, he was out of alignment. As a result of this he was compensating by using his left side more than the right. His right side - both front and back - has become weaker. Knowing what we do about his need for chiropractic intervention it makes sense that he would want to turn right and lead with his left foot first.
The experience was very interesting with the chiropractor. She used an activator (kind of like a metal shot) which made a loud pop to help with realignment. She has given us some exercises to help with Milo's weak side.
I suspect that something may have happened either on the ice and/or playing with Leo that put him out of alignment. Leo likes it ROUGH!
Milo seems to be more comfortable now. I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of him on the table for his massage, but my phone was out in the car and I didn't want to distress him by leaving. He was a bit unsure at first about being on the table, but had an expression of utter euphoria by the end of his time.
Sabrina, on the other hand, was all snarls and "smiles", until she was able to relax for the second side. Poor girl was a knot of muscle spasms and tightness.
We are still waiting for Milo's latest custom herbs to arrive.
I so frequently give our own dogs full body massages......nothing elaborate, but just enough to touch all those used muscles in their bodies. I start at the neck area and work my way down, catching each leg......doing swirly
ReplyDeletemotions, light scratching movements, and long muscle stretching and touches. They love it. And they seem to immediately relax and enjoy it all. I used to have a black lab several years ago who would lay on the kitchen floor after breakfast, just waiting for his daily massage. This always has been enjoyable for me because I know it is pure heaven for the dogs. I am very glad that you have found some good treatment for Milo to realign his body. Hugs for this sweet boy. Love getting the updates!!