Caring For Your Dog's Neck and Spine: Dog Collar Issues

Rose Smith

by Rose Smith, (c) 2005

On one of my visits to my chiropractor, he suggested I pick up
the book The Well Adjusted Dog by Dr. Daniel Kamen. The book is
written by a chiropractor who also does adjustments on animals,
although he doesn't advertise this. Apparently, chiropractors
are not allowed to practice on animals in many states, which I
didn't realize, since I live in Canada and this doesn't seem to
be a problem here in my province. However, what is good to know
is that veterinarians in the U.S. are allowed to do adjustments
on animals... that is if you can find one that's studied
chiropractic medicine. Not an easy task.

In any case, Dr. Kamen wrote this book (among others) so that a
dog owner could learn to do their own adjustments on their dogs.
The book is very informative and walks you through the anatomy
of a dog's spine, teaches you how to feel for misalignments and
provides a variety of techniques that you can do at home. Many
of the techniques focus on how to release tense muscles,
especially if you're not comfortable with actually working on
spinal column.

While reading the book, I came across a very interesting section
which talks about dog collars and how they can easily cause neck
problems for a dog. Most of it boils down to our (ie human's)
improper handling of leash control on certain collars. Here's
what Dr. Kamen has to say about dog collars:

"The improper use of collars is the number one cause of cervical
(neck) subluxations in dogs. Of all the places to put undue
stress, the cervical region, especially the upper two cervical
vertebrae, is the most harmful. It is at this point that the
body meets the brain." (Dr. Daniel Kamen, The Well Adjusted Dog,
p. 24)

** What Types of Collars Are Available **

I thought I was doing well by using a dog harness. Ha! I quickly
learned that this might actually be the cause of my dog's disc
problems located where her neck meets her shoulders. I was even
more surprised at what he said was the best collar to use.

Basically, you will find that there are five major types of
collars in use by most dog owners: the regular flat nylon and
leather collars, the choke collar, the prong collar, the leader
or head collars, and the harness.

** Flat Collars **

The regular flat collars are what most dog owners often choose,
however they can also be the most dangerous type. These collars
are used for hanging your dog's tags and for simply attaching
the leash to the metal loop. This collar type should never be
used for dog training... nor should they be used if you have a
hard time controlling your dog while out walking.

When frustrated, owners tend to pull back on the leash to stop
the dog from pulling and running, or in many cases, to get them
to move along if they've stopped to sniff something. This
yanking will cause tremendous muscle tightening in the cervical
neck area, which in turn results in cervical subluxations. This
is one of the largest causes of disc and other neck problems in
dogs. Unfortunately, most of these disc problems don't show up
until much later in life. At this point, dog owners either put
their dogs on medication for pain control and muscle relaxation
or resort to surgery to try to repair the damage of degenerating
discs.

** Leader Head Collars **

These appear to be an ideal way to train your dog. A leader
collar fits over the head of your dog, much like a muzzle does.
The leash attaches to a metal loop located on the collar under
the dog's chin. The idea behind it is to turn the dog's head to
"lead" them where you want to go. Sometimes humans may turn the
head too sharply or too hard in frustration when trying to train
their dog. This, like the regular collar, can cause upper neck
problems.

** Choke Collars **

This is the type of collar most often used by dog trainers. The
idea behind it is that if a dog pulls too much, it starts to
choke and therefore will ease back and release the tension of
the collar. In reality, the instinct of a dog when it feels the
tightening of a chain is to pull away from it, effectively
tightening the collar even more. Your dog could literally choke
itself into a coma! Improperly trained dogs and more
importantly, improperly trained owners, could cause extreme
damage using a choke collar.

** Harness **

A harness is designed to fit over a dog's shoulders and be
secured around the chest area. While a much better choice over a
regular collar or a choke collar, these harnesses can cause
subluxations in the lower neck, shoulder, chest, and foreleg
area. Again, the primary cause to this is often attributed to
frustrated owners yanking back on the leash, which causes the
harness to put a large amount of stress on the shoulder and
chest areas.

** Prong Collar **

This collar looks like some medieval torture device. Made of
metal, the prong collar has a circular ring of spikes on its
inner surface. When training the smallest amount of resistance
distributes pressure evenly around the neck area effectively
restraining the dog. As Dr. Kamen states in his book: "Some
trainers liken the prong collar to "power steering" where even
the slightest touch will produce the desired result." He has
found that dog's that use this particular collar have far less
upper cervical subluxations than with any other collar type. So
in essence, this is actually the best collar to use when
training and walking your dog, believe it or not.

** What Else May Cause Cervical Subluxations in Dogs? **

There are many other issues that can also cause problems with
cervical subluxations. The requirements of how dog's are trained
(taught to sit on the left and look up at the owner causes neck
strain) is one area of concern. Mismatching dog size to dog
owner size, dog obesity, improper bedding, dangerous play
practices, leash length, and the way certain dogs are bred, are
a few of the other causes of canine neck problems.

Of course, you would be hard pressed to monitor every move your
dog makes. Perhaps he likes sleeping on the hardwood floor near
the fire rather than the comfy dog mat you bought. Maybe you
played a little too hard today with the Frisbee and caused your
dog to jump too high, causing neck pain. The important thing is
to try to correct possible activities that could cause neck
subluxations in your pet so they don't continue to do more
damage. You may also want to pick up the book - The Well
Adjusted Dog - and learn how you can check for possible
misalignments in your dog's neck and spine, then learn how to do
some of the corrections yourself. By doing so, you'll be giving
your dog a much happier and less painful life.

About the author:

Rose Smith owns target="_blank">http://www.CaringForCanines.com Where dog
owners can explore the benefits of holistic dog medicines and
remedies. Find information on topics such as: dog nutrition, dog
health problems, herbal & vitamin supplements, dog grooming, and
more.

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