This is a follow on from our previous blog bellow, looking at the third phase of canine chiropractic care.
In many ways, this is one of the most exciting & helpful ways that you may enhance your dog’s quality of life, happiness, and longer-term wellbeing.
This is often a time to celebrate improvements and can be the fun & rewarding stage of care.
The aims may include:
- maintaining improvements
- minimize recurrences & reinjury
- improve joint & muscle health
- minimize joint degenerative changes
- maximizing performance
- enhancing wellbeing & happiness
During this phase, the treatments are spaced out further. For most dogs, a treatment every 2-3 months (seasonal) works well.
For dogs that have underlaying complications, such as osteoarthritis, neurological issues, advanced age, etc, they may need and benefit from more frequent maintenance care treatments spaced 1-to-1.5 months apart.
Similarly, high-performance agility dogs and show dogs may benefit more regular care during this phase.
The aims of the more regular and frequent care for:
- Canine athletes: to help minimize injuries and to keep them at peak performance levels
- Show dogs: to help them be at their best with optimal movement and an attitude that sparkles
Dr. Watterson’s Qualifications in Spinal and Musculoskeletal Care – The Story
Animal Chiropractic Component
Animal chiropractic is a very unique and highly specialized area of chiropractic. It is a significantly more advanced qualification level than human chiropractic alone.
The completion of the 5-year human degree is a prerequisite for commencing the animal chiropractic program. Which is then an additional 2 to 3 year post graduate studies.
Hence a university Animal Chiropractic qualification is a 7 - 8 year degree, that combines and integrates both the human and animal Chiropractic degree programs.
Animal chiropractic is therefore a significantly higher qualification than human only chiropractic.
This process involves taking an already highly trained human chiropractor and then transitioning them with advanced post graduate programs into a practitioner focused on treating multiple non-human species.
Animal’s spines, broader musculoskeletal system and health are in many ways very similar to humans, but paradoxically also extremely different requiring a great deal of additional study and training.
While the post graduate Animal Chiropractic program trains and equips practitioners to treat equine, canine and other species, after graduation Dr Watterson chose to focus and specialise in Canine Care.
A World First: Animal Chiropractic Masters Degree – RMIT University
RMIT university was the only university in the world to develop and offer a 3-year Masters degree in Animal Chiropractic program to human chiropractors, an additional year built onto the 2-years Grad Dip Animal Chiropractic program.
Dr Watterson was the only chiropractor to take up this offer and hence became the first and only chiropractor in the world to have a university Masters degree in Animal chiropractic.
Animal Acupuncture Component
For Dr Watterson’s pursuit of further options to help his fur patients has extended beyond the 8 year post graduate Animal Chiropractic Masters degree.
A number of years ago he had completed a yearlong diploma in human acupuncture program at the Melbourne College of Acupuncture. He had also participated for over a year in the canine specific Animal Acupuncture Academy program.
In 2023 he completed a very challenging 2 yr Grad. Dip (Veterinary Acupuncture) degree, with the College of Integrative Veterinarian Therapies.
The Animal acupuncture degree also built on the prerequisites of both the Human Chiropractic degree and the follow on Animal Chiropractic Masters degree.
With the Grad. Dip. (Veterinary Acupuncture) cumulatively represented 10 years of degrees in these fields. As best as can be determined, Dr Waterson is the only Animal chiropractor in Australia with an additional Animal Acupuncture degree.