We had a chance to read about “support teams” for pets last week. They’re the humans in your life who volunteer and commit to “being there” for your pet when you’re not able to be there yourself. They fill in for you when there’s a change in your situation that prevents you from providing the care your pet needs, either temporarily or permanently. They may be family, friends, or neighbors.
But what about the professionals who work with you and your pet to provide services that treat your pet’s health and ensure your pet’s well-being? I asked online about what professional services pet owners are using in addition to services with which many novice pet owners may not be familiar.
You can find out about the many services available to pets in your area with a thorough search and due-diligence in checking each professional provider’s education, experience, and reputation. Your trusted veterinarian should be a good place to start for suggestions on which services might be appropriate to consider for your pet and your pet’s current needs, and specifics on which providers your veterinarian would recommend. Then you can make an appointment and meet the professional.
Debby McMullen (Pennsylvania) Kenzo has a regular veterinarian, an in-home acupuncture veterinarian, and a chiropractor. He gets weekly cold-laser therapy sessions at the regular veterinarian. He gets monthly in-home acupuncture sessions from the acupuncture veterinarian, and he gets biweekly adjustments at the chiropractor. All of these help him with his arthritis and mobility as well as basic wellness. I am a behavior consultant so I make sure that his behavioral health is top notch.
Kenzo loves laser and getting adjusted. He likes his acupuncture veterinarian. I’m not sure that he always likes the acupuncture itself (but it helps) and he definitely likes the light-therapy ones that she brings. He also gets semi-regular Assisi loop treatments, but I bought one so I do that. It’s tPEMF (targeted electromagnetic field) technology. It reduces inflammation, which therefore reduces pain. It can be used for pretty much any issue. The technology is used on humans as well, though not generally with an Assisi loop since an Assisi loop is made specifically for animals. [Using an Assisi loop] would need to be discussed with a holistic veterinarian. Very few regular veterinarians have explored using one.
A holistic veterinarian embraces traditional Western medicine along with complementary therapies that can include Eastern medicine but also such things as acupuncture and chiropractic care and Chinese herbs, etc.
I probably should add that a few years ago, Kenzo had need of not only an internal medicine specialist, but a cardiologist when he spent three days in ICU. He also had/has an orthopedic surgeon/doctor.
Colette Kase (Mexico) We have a similar situation with our boy. Currently, his team is made up of his primary vet, who is also a physio, an orthopedic specialist, and a neurologist. He is getting physio with laser and acupuncture intensively right now. So he goes three times a week.
Mandy Collins (United Kingdom) Vet, Galen Myotherapist, and acupuncturist. Belle has acupuncture for pain; the acupuncturist also does Galen Myotherapy, which is a form of massage that is choice-based. She and my vet work together on medication.
Jaxon Riley (Washington) Groomer, vet, animal ophthalmologist, dog trainer. Pickle has been treated at the animal eye clinic regularly since she was nine weeks old. They have two ophthalmologists and the clinic treats only eyes. I have seen dogs, cats, and horses there as patients. Pickle was born with one eye that is smaller and makes no tears. We give her four meds twice a day and regular eye drops throughout the day to keep the eye healthy.
Photo by Jaxon Riley
Stephanie Nilles (Washington) Massage therapist, acupuncturist, hydrotherapist, dog trainer, vet med (both modern and holistic).
Shelly Keel (California) Vet and staff, trainer, breeder, extended family, friends, and me. It takes a team to raise a happy, well-adjusted, socialized puppy who happens to also struggle with alone time.
Annette Lanker (Washington) Holistic veterinarian, massage therapist, chiropractor, reiki master.
Sue Heron (Florida) My vet team—our regular vet, our holistic vet, and our oncologist—and a friend who has guided us with using Chinese herbs to help our guy fight cancer.
Sarah Richardson (California) Veterinarian, pet sitter, dog walker, trainer (but that’s me so I couldn’t put it first).
Julie Casal (Argentina) In this moment, my vet and a cancer specialist for one of my dogs.
Dale Ward (North Carolina) We have a fantastic veterinary team, including a general practitioner, an orthopedic specialist, and a dentistry specialist. They have all been absolutely wonderful, even amidst this difficult COVID situation. I also pulled in dog-training colleagues to help me with cooperative care. We work as a team of two to help our dogs learn to cope with handling by strangers. This has become especially important since, until recently, we were not allowed to accompany our dogs into the veterinary hospital. Some hospitals still don’t allow owners to accompany their dogs inside. Teaming up with a colleague allowed me to practice various veterinary holds with someone other than me lightly restraining my dog. Cooperative care is wonderful if you are present, but when your dog has to be taken in without you, veterinary staff use their own techniques, which are not usually restraint free. I wanted my dog to be able to happily handle this type of easy restraint by strangers.
Sarah Adams (Oregon) Just vets at this time. I’ve used chiropractors and massage therapists, but I’m not currently needing them.
I have a regular vet, although I was switching, so I have a “new” regular vet who has seen only two of my four dogs. Plus the vet I was switching from, which is the practice where Melo got most of his treatment recently because they could fit him in sooner the first time, and I thought I should stay with the same practice. Anyway, I’d usually just have the one primary vet practice.
Then I have a reproductive vet I see when I’m doing a breeding; she is wonderful. And vets who do the required health screenings . . . I’m not sure they’d be regarded as “part of the support team,” because it’s not really integrated? They have their eyes checked by an ophthalmologist usually once as baby puppies before they go to their homes, and then the adults are checked more or less annually. For the babies, we go to the office, but there are a couple of choices and I don’t always use the same one. The adults most often go to an eye clinic at a show (which will be one or the other of the same vets, just more convenient). For OFA X-rays, I have another vet I prefer to use, and I’ve changed a couple times, but it’s always been a general vet who has an interest, does a good job, and has reasonable prices. Anyway, that’s typically just done once in each dog’s lifetime, so continuity isn’t important—just need the good films.
Most recently, I had the staff at the ER/specialty place where I took Melo, and they probably saved his life, so I wouldn’t like to leave them out, but I would really like not to need the ER/specialty work.
Here’s a short list of professional services that may be available for pets in your area:
▪ Veterinarian, vet clinic staff
▪ Breeder, shelter or rescue
▪ Groomer
▪ Pet sitter
▪ Dog walker
▪ Daycare staff
▪ Boarding kennel staff
▪ Class instructor
▪ Trainer
▪ Canine massage
▪ Veterinary chiropractic
▪ Acupuncture
▪ Hydrotherapy
Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers
Amy Suggars (Ohio) Most professional pet sitters/dog walkers carry liability insurance specific to pet sitting. It covers incidents that can happen when you have custody/control of someone else’s pet in their home (as opposed to boarding insurance that covers care/custody/control of someone else’s pets in your own facility, including your home). Training in pet first aid/CPR is highly recommended. There are no specific certifications needed to become a professional pet sitter. However, Pet Sitters International offers an educational program to become a “Certified Professional Pet Sitter.”
An important skill for a professional pet sitter to have is organization. She needs to be able to manage an ever-changing schedule of client visits along with a database of pet-care information on all clients. In addition, a secure system for keys/codes to access client homes needs to be maintained. A successful pet sitter not only needs a broad knowledge of how to care for a variety of pets (cats, dogs, reptiles, birds, pocket pets, farm animals, etc.), but also needs good people skills for obtaining/maintaining clients. She also needs to accept the fact that pet sitters must work nights, weekends, and holidays. This often means missing out on family functions or get-togethers with friends. Finally, a pet sitter needs reliable transportation.
Canine Massage Therapists
Steven Cogswell (Colorado) The regulations for canine massage therapists vary depending on the state you live in. In Colorado, where I’m located, I can provide two types of services. I can provide general wellness work where I assess a dog’s gait and then devise a plan to improve the dog’s forward movement. This is great for dogs in agility and show dogs, and can be a general quality-of-life improvement for any dog.
I can also provide more specific work on medical issues under the guidance of a vet as part of a multi-modal team. In Colorado I can do this in my own practice as long as I have a signed release from a vet. In some states, I would have to work in a vet’s office with a vet on-site overseeing my work. In other states, only licensed vets can perform canine massage. No matter where you live, if you suspect an underlying medical cause, your first stop should be your vet. Massage is never a substitute for veterinary care.
It can take some time and multiple sessions for a dog to get used to receiving massage. Early sessions might be brief, as we always want it to be a positive experience for the dog; it isn’t a one-and-done sort of thing. But including canine massage in a dog’s overall health plan can be highly effective with substantial long-term gains.
