Getting old is difficult for everyone. First vision fades, objects just aren’t quite as clear as they use to be, especially for up-close reading. Joints start talking back and reminding us of the years of abusive sports or living. Then we have trouble remembering short term thoughts, what we were going to say, or where we put something. Eventually we all get there, and so do our animal friends, that is if we live long enough.

There is some discrepancy about just what to call our older pets. Are they seniors or should they be referred to as geriatric? One author went so far as to say senior begins at 7 years and geriatric is over ten. When the general public was polled for one survey the majority described their older animals as seniors, avoiding selection of geriatric. (In that survey 39% of the dog population, 20.5 million, and 19 million cats were listed as seniors.) I think it is just a matter of semantics. Whichever word we chose, it is “reaching the life stage of progressive decline in physical condition, organ function, sensory function, mental function and immunity.”

Aging results in a decreased ability to meet the demands of the environment. It’s an increase in vulnerability and every part of the body is subject to this altered state. There are several theories of aging as to why some bodies adapt, suffer fewer diseases, and overall age more gracefully.

Genetic controls – cells can mutate and begin an uncharted course. Some bodies lack sufficient gene regulators to maintain a normal growth sequence as old cells die and are replaced by new ones. Without the proper genetic coding, other aspects of its environment, like free radicals and toxins, can affect a cell.

Physiologic system depression – with aging the immune system becomes more susceptible to viruses and other pathogens, produces fewer antibodies, loses ability to mount appropriate responses to situations.

Detrimental products – the accumulation of too many free radicals in the body are responsible for the aged body’s decline.

Nutrient metabolism – if we fail to feed the body in a healthy manner, from a very young age, how can we expect to be healthy in later stages of life. An aged body has greater difficulty taking nutrients and getting them into the cells for use.

Multifactorial phenonmenon – this group believes all of the above sound good and any or all of it could be the cause of aging.

Breaking the body down into systems I will follow a course similar to steps taken during a physical examination. I always start at the head and work my way to the rear.

The head is primary for sensory organs; eyes, mouth (taste), nose (smell), and ears. A natural aging process occurs in the lens of the eyes. Many folks refer to it as cataracts and it is a form of such but is called nuclear sclerosis. This is a normal aging change. Some animals develop it early in life and others it is not visible until 12 years. This is the cloudiness or bluing that you see when you look into your pet’s eyes. The affect of this is reduced ability to see in the dark. It is like looking through a 35mm camera that is not in focus. Edges are blurry, objects a bit indistinct, specific distance is difficult to judge.

What you may notice is a hesitance on the part of your pet to jump off the couch or go down stairs, especially if it is darker below than above. He may bump into a screen door or double check the perimeter before walking through an open space. This is also when they begin to dodge a hand coming at their head or face because they cannot calculate the speed or exact location in order to prepare for the impact (even though it is only going to be a love pat).

Dr. Ava Frick

There are three products I use to support the aging eyes. Two are whole food supplements from Standard Process-Phosfood drops and Iplex. The other is an herbal from MediHerb (the number one herbal company in Australia)-Bilberry.

Hearing and vision loss often happen at about the same pace. It is funny how some dogs will not develop either until very late in age while others start at nine or ten. Medically there is nothing we can do for this except to realize that the body will compensate in other ways. The dog will become more reliant on her sense of smell using it to locate food, objects in her path, and the ones she loved. This sense may also wane, but since they can normally smell 1/10,000 (or 10,000 times) of what we can, even to lose 25-50% of the sense of smell it remains very strong.

Fine taste differentiation is not as acute in dogs as in people. (If it were, I am certain they would not find the assortment of manures such a treat!) Dogs do get picky about what they chose to eat. Whether it is flavor, texture, digestive problems, dental or other metabolic concerns, all need to be addressed. One’s developing cognitive dysfunction will be worse about this. Often there may be personality changes occurring in how they respond to the external environment. These issues will need to be considered properly in order to keep the animal at ease and the family bond intact.

A list of dog conditions came to me by email one day, this being one of them. “DEAFNESS: This is a malady which affects dogs when their person wants them in and they want to stay out. Symptoms include staring blankly at the person, then running in the opposite direction, or lying down.”

Why have we become so pain conscious the past five years? Did it not exist before? How do our animal friends recognize their pain?

Over 400 years ago philosopher Rene Descartes was trying to study the human body but the Catholic Church became upset that he was treading on their turf. So he struck a deal with the Church and from that agreement human existence was divided into two realms: physical body and mental-spiritual. Then at the beginning of the 20th century a psychology researcher, Watson, suggested they (psychologists) “throw off the yoke of consciousness” as it did not behave like objects of “real” science. He also proposed that animal behavior be treated as a simple stimulus-response reaction. Mental states and cognition were nonscientific and, hence, to be ignored. So there we sat for almost 100 years.

The mental state of an animal is directly related to its comfort level. Feelings comprise all of life’s pleasures, displeasures, enjoyments, miseries, and sufferings. For this reason, mental states are the only things in life that truly matter to animals. And pain affects their mental state.

Fortunately people no longer will tolerate animal pain and suffering, the result being many laws and bills relevant to this in all areas of human use have proliferated worldwide. In 1965 the British Brambell Commission stated a wish to see animals live decent lives following which new laws were passed that abolished sow stalls, veal creates, and also required pain control for management procedures. The 1985 federal laboratory animal laws brought to the forefront a moral commitment to give the best possible treatment of animals consonant with biomedical use by mandating pain control, eliminating multiple use, preventing the administration of paralytic agents without anesthetics, and providing enriched environments for those animals in research facilities.

Fifteen years ago, veterinarians believed allowing a post-surgical animal to be in pain would keep it from moving and therefore prevent any further injury. We now know that pain interferes with healing and will prolong recovery time. Other excuses were: young animals feel less pain than older ones, whining or howling are not signs of pain but post-surgical reactions to anesthetics, if an animal eats it must not be in pain, we can bandage over the area so they can’t get to it, therefore analgesics are not needed. But maybe it has also been ignored because veterinarians do not know a great deal about pain management and in the past the options were limited.

In 2001 the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) adopted a position regarding animal pain. They stated; “Historically, empathy and ethics have guided veterinary medicine’s approach to pain management in animals. More recently, interest in pain prevention and control has been heightened because of evidence indicating that unrelieved, acute pain can cause potentially life threatening physiologic effects. Recent advances in the alleviation of animal pain have been substantial. The availability of improved pharmaceuticals and techniques makes pain control possible and desirable in most animals and in most situations.”

“The AVMA believes that animal pain and suffering are clinically important conditions that adversely affect an animal’s quality of life. Drugs, techniques, or husbandry methods used to prevent and control pain must be tailored to individual animals and should be based, in part, on the species, breed, age, procedure performed, degree of trauma, individual behavioral characteristics, degree of pain, and health status.”

It is now the responsibility of the veterinary profession to reunify the division of the physical body and the animal’s mind, which happened 400 years ago. The concept of mental status must be incorporated into all areas of animal care. Veterinarians must become as well versed in the discomforts of emotional origin as they are in those of physical origin, because from the animal’s point of view, what matters is the unpleasantness of the feelings, whatever the source.

What is optimal for survival is to be free of pain. In the future I will begin to discuss recognizing types of pain, alterations in behavior and communication because of pain, and then a variety of options available for pain management. If you can’t wait give me a call at 636-583-1700.

Has your pet ever:

• Had problems getting up and down?
• Been anesthetized for surgery?
• Experienced any reoccurring conditions such as vomiting, respiratory or urinary infections, diarrhea or constipation?
• Had seizures or neurological problems?
• Is your pet over seven years of age?

If you answered YES to even ONE of these questions, then chiropractic can help your pet. Chiropractic is a drugless method of health care. It deals with the nervous system housed inside the spinal column. Nerves supply energy to everything in the body. These nerves exit the spinal cord through areas between vertebrae (the name of each spinal bone) and traverse through tissues to every muscle, joint, and organ of the body. Chiropractic maintains that adequate nerve supply is essential to proper body function.

Subluxation is the term used to describe a misalignment of the joints, whether it is in the back, leg, paw or skull (as in TMJ). A chiropractic adjustment is aimed at correcting the subluxation and restoring proper functioning of the nervous system. In so doing, we eliminate the cause of a dysfunction, not just the symptoms.

There are many reasons for a subluxation to occur. Obvious injuries resulting from occurrences such as an automobile accident, falls or slips, play with another animal or running into a wall. But subluxations can be minor and go unnoticed. Agility, schitzhund, and police dogs exert a lot of strain on their bodies and joints. The birthing process can lead to subluxations if the spine is subjected to abnormal forces at delivery; drugs and stresses are also causes of subluxation. As an animal ages, resiliency declines and stresses naturally accumulate in the spine.

Good chiropractic care may take time because the body must heal itself after restoration of nerve function. Animals recover rapidly as a rule, however, older animals or those with more serious conditions take more time. Many geriatric patients have treatments on a monthly to bimonthly basis. Owners do this for their older pets because they can see improvements in their pet’s movement, facial expression, appetite, and overall well being. One client remarked about the immediate smile that returned to her dog’s face, which had been missing for quite some time.

The speed of recovery depends on these factors:

–Duration of the problem; more elapsed time since onset usually mandates longer recovery.

–Age and physical condition; older animals are slower to heal. It is not possible to return a 14-year-old dog to puppyhood, but his quality of life can be greatly improved with chiropractic care.

–Amount of tissue damage; severe tissue damage may not be repairable. Healing may be slow and minimal with any treatment, in cases such as spinal cord trauma or ruptured disc(s).

–Client / patient cooperation; generally, pets soon realize the treatment is making their body feel much better. Animals are in tune with how their body wants to be, so they enjoy the adjustments and treatments. The “layers” of malfunction that have been in place will take time to be pealed off. If the animal is removed from care too soon, optimal results may not be achieved.

Eliminating the cause of pain, rather than just treating your pet with pain medications, is a good reason to want Chiropractic. In addition to three unique forms of chiropractic adjusting, I also utilize other modalities to aid in returning patients to optimal health and function. Thearputic ultrasound, electrical stimulation, laser, low energy photon therapy (LEPT) are a few of the ways that I can improve nerve and body function. These target the soft tissue (muscle, ligaments, vessels, lymphatics, disc, ETC.) structures that support or feed the body. It’s the muscles that move bones and muscle tone must be optimal for the bones to function properly.

Consider Chiropractic for your pet. They will love you for it!

Integrative therapies are nonpharmacologic nerve modulation techniques which produce an analgesic (pain stopping) effect. These systems work with the body to alter the pain level of input and perception. In so doing, the condition of surrounding muscles and circulation will both improve. As the tissue regains health, pain will subside and the body can return to an optimal state.

Some of the modalities have existed for centuries while others became available in just the past 25 years. The optimal form of pain relief may depend on the species, location, of type (acute, chronic, intense, mild), and duration of pain present. In some cases more than one of the analgesic therapies may be optimal in comforting the animal.

ACUPUNCTURE – Veterinary acupuncture is probably as old as acupuncture itself. Documents were discovered in 1979 in Sri Lanka describing its use in Indian elephants 3000 years ago. The treatment is aimed at finding a cause for the body’s imbalance and rebalancing its energy system. Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine needles into specific points on the body at various depths after which a type and duration of stimulation may be applied. The end results can be physiologic as well as therapeutic.

CHIROPRACTIC – This word comes from the Greek language meaning “hand practice” or “done by hand.” While based on manual spinal manipulation, this practice is a science and an art dealing with the relationship between the nervous system and the spinal column. Chinese practiced spinal manipulations as early as 2700 BC but America did not enter into this method of pain relief for animals until Dr. B.J. Palmer (early to mid 1900′s) utilized them in his research facility to prove that the chiropractic principle and practice did apply. Training and certification in animal chiropractic began in 1989 by Dr. Sharon Willoughby, a veterinarian who became a human chiropractor so that she would know the proper technique for application of the benefits of chiropractic to the animal spine. Her insight and tenacity opened up a great field for veterinarians and chiropractors to share in helping animals.

A chiropractic adjustment is a specific physical action designed to restore the biomechanics of the vertebral column and indirectly influence neurologic function. It is a short-lever high-velocity maneuver directed at a specific dysfunctional vertebral segment. As spinal movement is improved the associated muscles, nerves, arteries, veins and lymphatic vessels also regain prior lost function and with that, reduced pain.

CRYO & THERMOTHERAPY – The use of cold and hot applied to bone, ligaments, muscles and tendons will alter blood flow and the release of damaging inflammatory mediators. When properly applied, cold and heat can reduce muscle spasms and irritation to nerve endings, both of which initiate pain in the body.

LASER – Laser stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. It is a noninvasive form of stimulation by application of polarized light over acupuncture points, joints, injuries, and lesions to stimulate healing, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects within tissue.

Laser light differs from other in its spectrum, wave length, beam, and watts. This type of infrared (heat) radiation has longer wavelengths than sunlight of the same class and is invisible.

Laser treatments are aseptic, noninvasive, and painless; if used properly, it has no reported side effects.

MICROCURRENT ELECTRICAL THERAPY (MET) – MET is a low level current applied via probes touching the skin or self-adhesive electrodes, the effect of which are long lasting and cumulative. Although often classed with TENS, this type of current does not bombard the nervous system with one frequency and set waveform but has a 10 second varied waveform and adjustable low intensity so that it can be run subsensory and allows the body to select within the spectrum a harmonic resonance.

MET is adaptable for treating specific pain sites (knees, low back, elbow, head, etc) and because the impulse does not need to be felt to achieve effect it is ideal for animals. The specific unit that I use is Alpha-Stim.

PULSED SIGNAL OR MAGNETIC FIELD THERAPY (PST/PMFT) – PST is used for osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal disorders. It is the rusult of 20 years of research by physician and bio-physicist, Dr. Richard Markoll. Original studies on humans at Yale University of Medicine and in Europe demonstrated 70% of patients showed significant improvement and pain relief. Unlike drugs, this method of treatment has long term benefits without side effects.

PST provides a physiological means of stimulating cartilage cell activity by generating streaming potentials that emulate those formed in the healthy joint. Following a series of 9 treatments, the patient’s body continues to improve for 3-4 months and will then hold that status for 6 to 24 months. I have not had any cases which did not respond in some positive manner with this treatment.

The era of just giving your animals a pill for pain is fading fast. There is so much more we can do to enrich and extend their lives and I hope that this series on pain management has enlightened you. These modalities are the type of service I provide at Animal Fitness Center. You can reach me at 636-583-1700.

High performance dogs like those in search & rescue, field trials, military, racing, sledding, and jogging, require special consideration when it comes to diet. A 50 pound dog would normally expend 1,100 kcal/day and consume 1.17 quarts of water. Add some exercise and the expendable energy rises to 2,490 kcal/day; with racing this number soars to 11,220 kcal/day and water needs of 6.57 quarts!

Athletes need a diet nutritionally balanced in composition and energy source. Unlike human athletes who depend primarily on carbohydrates, the energy source for performance canines is dependent upon dietary fats. Recent studies have shown that muscle glycogen storage during aerobic and anaerobic exercise in dogs is best preserved via high-fat diets. Let’s look at the best balance for the three primary dietary sources: fat, protein, and carbohydrates.

A high fat diet (45%) increases nutrient density and facilitates absorption of essential fat-soluble vitamins which improve stamina. Nutrient density provides the most accurate relationship between energy, food intake, and nutrient content of a diet. It is the metabolizable energy (ME) in kcal/pound or gram.

Extensive research with sled dogs demonstrates that dietary fats and their metabolic products play an important structural and functional role in working athletic dogs:

Fatty acid oxidation with sustained exercise is the primary energy source for the muscle tissue.

Fats increase the oxygen metabolism of muscle cells (increases aerobic capacity).

A high-fat diet increases the ability of the body to mobilize and utilize fatty acids stored in body tissues.

It has been determined that an adult athletic dog has a protein requirement level much greater than a nonperformance dog. Amino acid availability determines the quality of a diet’s digestible protein. Diets containing 30 to 40 percent (ME from protein) increase the body’s plasma volume during exercise and reduce injuries.

One non-essential amino acid of specific importance regarding metabolic functions in dogs is Glutamine. This amino acid is responsible for:
Transportation of nitrogen between tissue.
Getting ammonia to the kidneys to maintain the acid-base balance.

Glutamine requirements increase during stress. During overexertion and prolonged exercise, plasma and skeletal muscle levels of glutamine drop. Skeletal muscle function is more dependent on glutamine than any other amino acid, unfortunately, its ability to be redistributed is the slowest. Maintaining a diet with at least 30% digestible protein will avoid a glutamine gap. Since dogs are carnivorous in nature, I recommend a high-quality animal protein diet which will supply excellent digestibility, amino acid balance, and palatability.

Carbohydrates (starches such as barley, corn, potato, wheat, rice, sorghum) are a source of quick energy providing 3.5 kcal ME/gram. Only minimal amounts will be stored as glycogen, the remainder being metabolized to body fat for energy reserves. It is important to prevent carbohydrate overload in feeding. If fed to your athlete in excess, carbohydrates will dilute the calories attained from protein and fat, preventing the benefits of increased stamina and injury prevention as discussed earlier.

The natural diet of a wild canid contains relatively few carbohydrates. Our domestic friend’s digestive tract is no different, but what we put into it is. Balancing carbohydrates to achieve optimal metabolic benefits without interfering in fat or protein nutrition is crucial. Eukanuba’s Maximum Calorie and Premium Performance meets the protein, fat, and carbohydrate recommendations discussed herein.

What you can do nutritionally to help your dogs’ performance and enhance their overall well-being includes:
Feeding a diet which provides:
-Fats at 40% – 60% ME
-Protein at 30% – 35% ME
-Carbohydrates at 10% to 15% ME
Provide minimally an energy density of 4,000 kcal ME/kg
Post-exercise supplementation with small amounts of carbohydrate

So bon appetite’ and have fun running with your dog!

Relief and joy in Lincoln County Missouri after a missing three year old is found safe and sound. It took hundreds of searchers seven hours to find Colby Paasch. The three year old boy wandered away from his backyard with the family dog.

“It was a feeling like no other I’ve ever had.” Brian Towsley

Rebel

Brian Towsley is a volunteer with the Missouri technical rescue unit’s Region “C” Canine Unit. And they get an “A” for effort because it was their team that found the boy… In the cold… In the dark… In the woods… Thanks to the nose and grit of a German Shepherd dog named “Rebel.”

“He went down about 30 to 40 yards and I called him and he wouldn’t come so we went a little bit further down and started calling out again and that is when we heard the kid holler out pretty good hey I am down here.” Brian Towsley Technical Rescue Unit

Brian and others on his team thought they heard the boy earlier. But they were unable to tell exactly where he was until Rebel took control. First … they spotted the boy’s dog… then the boy.

“He kept saying take me to my mom and dad take me back to my mom and dad and he kept trying to remember what his address was and I said little buddy… don’t worry about your address we know exactly where you live.”

At first the K-9 team doubted they were on the right track because the terrain was so rough and hilly they didn’t think a three year old could get through it.

But this one did… and made it back home… all thanks to a rebel… with cause.

Rebel and Brian are clients of Animal Fitness Center where they regularly get adjustments and use Standard Process ® supplements provided by Dr. Ava Frick in Union Missouri.

Reported by News Channel 11 KPLR in St. Louis, MO.

Ava was one of four featured “Hands-On Healers” in the March 2001 issue of Horse & Rider magazine.

In that issue, she discussed one of the most dramatic cases of improvement seen in her chiropractic practice. Speaking of a lopsided dressage horse whose pelvis was 4 inches lower on one side than the other, she said, “I had to get under him and adjust upward. He fully recovered.”

Other common problems she mentioned are barrel racers not taking the barrel as they usually do, and ropers or reiners not stopping well. They usually need pelvic adjustment.

“Dr. Frick, we couldn’t ride our Arabian stud any more, and he couldn’t mount the dummy. We spent more than $2000 on conventional veterinary treatment before consulting you. After two visits from you, and $200 out of pocket, our Arabian Stallion is 100% sound!” — A Satisfied Client