I

waspleasedtobeaskedbytheHealth&Rescue
Foundationtofindandinviteaspeakerforthisyear's
National.IimmediatelyknewwhattopicIwanted

thespeakertotalkabout;itwasjustamatteroffinding
someonewhocouldbeavailabletocomejoinus!Asa
long-timeobediencecompetitionexhibitorIalwaysput
highpriorityonensuringmydogsstayasstructurally
healthyaspossiblesothattheycancontinueperforming
intotheirdouble-digityears.InmySeattle,WAareaIhave
awonderfulopportunityformydogstoreceiveperiodic
chiropracticandacupuncturetreatments,andlearn
exercisestokeepmydogsstrong.Iseethebenefitsofthese
treatmentsandexercisesnotjustforrehabilitationpurposes
afteraninjury,butasapreventativeformaintenanceofmy
dogs'overallhealth.IknewIwantedtoshareinformation
aboutthesemodalitieswithourmembership!Italkedwith
thevetwhoadministersthetreatmentstomydogs,andshe
recommendedDr.JudithShoemakerwhohappenedtohave
apracticeonly1.5hoursfromHarrisburg,PA!

Wednesdayafternoonabout25ofusgatheringina

meetingroomtohearDr.JudithShoemakertalkabout
abouthowourdogsarecanineathletes.Mostofourdogs
participateinconformation,obedience,rally,hunting,
tracking,searchandrescue,therapywork,general
helpfulnessaroundthehouseandlotsmore.Theyneedto
stayfitandhealthytohavethestamina,enduranceand
overallgreatgeneralhealthtostayactiveintoandthrough
theirsenioryears.Dr.Shoemaker'spowerpointpresentation
showedtheimportanceofadog'shealthystructure.This
includedneedingtohavecorrectpostureforstanding
properly.Sheexplainedhowourdogsprioritizetaking
careoftheirnervoussystem.Theyneedtostandupright,
followedbydoingtheir"event"(performance,activity).
Theirlastpriorityisdealingwithpain...hencetheneed
tokeepourdogscratedoronbedrestwhentheyneedto
recuperate...otherwisethey'dcontinueoverexerting
themselvesbecausetakingcareofpainisthelowestpriority!

Dogsneedtobecomfortableonavarietyofsurfaces.

Theyshouldbeableto"stack"allthetime,notjustinthe
conformationringonthegroomingtable.Dogswithgood
structure"stack"themselvesallthetimewhenevertheyare
juststandingaround.Thinkoftheir"stack"likeatablethat's
alwaysgotthelegsintherightplacesothatthetabletopis
even,notwobblyorshaky.Eachofthedog'slegssupportits
bodyjustlikethetable'slegs.Whenadogisn'tcomfortable
stackingwhethercausedbythesurfacehe'sstandingonor

otherphysicalbodyfactors,hecompensatesin
somewaybyshiftinghisbody'sweightsothat
gravitycantakeoverandmakehis"standing"
easierandmorecomfortable.Dr.Shoemaker
showedusphotosofhowthecompensation
processimpactstherestofthedog'sbody.For
instance,adogwithtoenailsthataretoolong
(youcantellbecausetheclickingcanbeheard
onthefloor)compensatesbychanginghowhis
padstouchthefloortoavoidsendingnegative
informationtothenervoussystem.Shehadus
visualizesomeonewalkinginhighheelsthat
needstoshifttheirweightdifferentlytoavoid
tippingforwardandlosingbalance.Oracowboy
wearinghigherheelscompensatesbyswaggering
toholdhisweightbackwardstoavoidfalling
forwardflatonhisface!

Anotherseriouscompensationfactorisadog

withtoomuchbodyweight.Notonlydoesthat
extraweightlimitthebody'sabilitytoperform
tomaximumcapacity(strainingtheinternal
organs)theextraweightcancauseinjuries
becausethedogis

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SaberTails

ISummer2014

www.pbgv.org

31

Dr.JudithShoemakerSeminar

byIngridaRobinson

PhotosbyBobCohen