Human Chiropractic in Australia is regulated by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Animal Chiropractic, on the other hand, has no single national body dictating who can claim the title of animal chiropractor. This means that when you search for dog chiropractors Melbourne you could be looking at a practitioner with a Master’s level post-grad qualification and over 17 years of experience, or someone who slipped through a very short course with no background in Veterinary or Chiropractic Science. The Chiropractic Board of Australia is quite clear on this, pointing out that getting registered to practice on humans doesn’t automatically qualify you to treat animals.
VETMACS is pretty blunt people who call themselves animal chiropractors without proper training may not just cause your pet a lot of discomfort, they could potentially injure it. In Australia, the benchmark that matters is registration with Animal Biomechanical Professionals Australia (ABPA).
- ABPA members have a solid foundation of university degrees in Veterinary Science, Chiropractic or Osteopathy, plus a Graduate Diploma in Animal Biomechanical Medicine.
- Enrolling in the ABM postgraduate course requires at least a couple of years’ experience as a practising clinician. You need that prior experience before you can take the course.
- RMIT University ran some of the world’s top-level animal chiropractic Master’s programs from 1998 to 2009 more than 150 professionals have graduated.
- Before booking, checking the ABPA practitioner directory on abmprof.com.au is about as straightforward as it gets.
The 3 types of Practitioners You can Expect to Find in Melbourne
If you’re searching for dog chiropractors Melbourne you need to be aware of the possible mismatch. Type 1 represents the very best practitioners with a Master’s degree (or ABM Diploma) in animal chiropractic and registered with ABPA. For instance Dr David McRae at Power Wellness Group is a Master’s qualified practitioner with over 17 years of experience with canines. Aligning Canine Chiropractic has a Master’s in animal chiropractic and looks at treatment from a very holistic perspective Type 2 is people who are human chiropractors they’ve done a postgrad in animal chiropractic on top of their 5-year degree. Type 3 is the category to watch out for people calling themselves animal chiropractors without the background or training.
- Ask them straight out, “Are you registered with ABPA?” and “Are you qualified in animal chiropractic at Master’s level or better?”
- Go to the ABPA directory as a first port of call to check a practitioner’s credentials. A human chiropractor with no animal-specific training should not be treating a dog.
What Melbourne Dog Chiropractors Can and Can’t Handle?
For a qualified practitioner: musculoskeletal stiffness, stiff or restricted spinal joints, abnormal gait, post-surgery mobility recovery with vet clearance, managing chronic pain in arthritic dogs, and keeping agility breeds in top condition. But they are not equipped to diagnose disease or injury, give a pet prescription medication, or do surgery. Only a vet can legally diagnose an animal condition.
- A good Melbourne canine chiropractor will know when to refer a case back to a vet and will actually do it.
- Get vet records and any recent imaging to the chiropractor before they start it helps them assess what’s going on.
What to Actually Expect Across a Treatment Course in Melbourne?
The first session is a real doozy. You’ll go through a full rundown of your dog’s health history, a gait and postural assessment, some joint and muscle checking, and if needed, an adjustment. After that, every other session will be shorter, because your practitioner already has a baseline to work with. It’s all manual, so there’s usually no need for sedation or restraint.
A single session to fix the problem is actually pretty rare. Most cases need a bit of a structured approach, which usually breaks down into three phases: acute lots of sessions over 2 to 4 weeks to get pain under control; corrective less frequent visits to get your dog moving right again; and finally maintenance just the occasional visit to keep everything running smoothly and stop things from falling apart. Between sessions, your practitioner will give you some at-home tips tailored to your dog’s situation, breed, and where they live. Melbourne clinics that are open on Saturdays and in the evenings make it way easier to fit in appointments around work especially if you’re not able to get to midweek sessions.
- While most places won’t require a vet referral, it’s still a good idea to bring your dog’s latest vet records along.
- Soreness for a day or two after an adjustment is completely normal and it doesn’t mean the treatment didn’t work.
- Tracking changes in your dog’s gait, posture, energy, and behaviour between sessions really helps your practitioner get a better picture of what’s going on.
The Questions to Ask Before You Commit to a Melbourne Clinic
When looking for a dog chiropractor Melbourne it really comes down to asking the right questions.
- So, what kind of qualifications and certification do you have in animal chiropractic, and which organisation did you get it from?
- Are you a member of Animal Biomechanical Professionals Australia?
- How many dogs do you see per week, and which breeds are most common?
- Do you keep your vets in the loop about what’s going on with my dog?
- What’s your pricing like and how many sessions will your dog need?
A practitioner who doesn’t want to work with your vet is a major red flag that’s just not how things should work. Fees can vary between clinics so it’s worth getting a rough idea of what you’ll be paying upfront. If a clinic has loads of different services but seems to do less actual chiropractic work with dogs, ask them how often they see dogs that will give you a better idea if they really know what they’re doing.
