Chiro4Critters Animal Chiropractic

11/14/2025

🐾 The Hidden Spine Stressor: Slippery Floors

Did you know one of the top causes of chronic back and hip strain in dogs is simply… your floors?

Hardwood, tile, and laminate can cause:
🌀 Micro-slips
🌀 Overuse of stabilizer muscles
🌀 Toe splaying + compensations
🌀 Increased risk for disc flare-ups in sensitive breeds

✨ Easy fixes that protect their spine:
• Use small runners or yoga mats in high-traffic areas
• Trim nails + Dremel regularly (long nails = less traction!)
• Add mobility exercises to strengthen the core and rear end
• Consider toe grips or traction socks for seniors or neurologic pets

These small home changes can make a HUGE difference in mobility, confidence, and long-term spine health. 🩵

👉 If your dog slips often, hesitates to walk across certain surfaces, or seems stiff after getting up — chiropractic care can help reduce that stress and restore healthy movement.

11/13/2025

📌 Anatomy Spotlight: The Mighty Psoas!

Did you know your dog has a deep core muscle that affects EVERYTHING from jumping → turning → getting up off the floor?
Meet the psoas — the hidden powerhouse that keeps your pet stable, mobile, and athletic. 💪🐾

🔍 Why the Psoas Matters

✨ Helps stabilize the spine and pelvis
✨ Supports powerful hind-end movement
✨ Plays a major role in agility, hiking, and sprinting
✨ Gets tight in dogs who slip on tile, jump off couches, runs, or pull on leash

🔥 Signs Your Dog’s Psoas Might Be Tight

• Bunny-hopping while running
• Stiffness getting up after naps
• Hesitating on stairs
• Shortened stride in the back legs
• Low-back sensitivity when touched

🌀 How Chiropractic Helps

As an animal chiropractor, I check the psoas in almost every dog I see. This is a common injury I see in agility dogs. Gentle adjustments + soft tissue work + specific home exercises = improved comfort, mobility, and performance.

🐕‍🦺 Try This at Home

A slow, controlled figure-8 walk helps activate the core and warm up the psoas safely.
Perfect before hikes, agility, or play! 🌲🏃‍♂️🐶

11/12/2025

Your Pet’s Sleep Positions Explained 🐶💤

Dogs say so much with how they sleep. These positions don’t just show personality—they can reveal mobility, comfort, and areas that may need support.

🌀 Curled Up (“Fox” Position)
Keeps them warm + protects the spine.
If they always curl tight, it may indicate rib, psoas, or low-back tension.

🧘‍♂️ Stretched Out Long (“Superman”)
A great sign of mobility and open hips/shoulders.
Avoiding this can suggest hip tightness or lumbar stiffness.

🙃 Belly-Up (“Dead Bug”)
Total trust + deep comfort.
Dogs won’t do this if their spine is sore.

😴 Side Sleeper
The most restorative position.
Relaxed shoulders, hips, and steady breathing usually allow this posture.

🔄 Constant Position Changes
A dog that keeps shifting may be compensating or uncomfortable somewhere in the spine or limbs.

Takeaway 🐾
Sleep positions offer subtle clues.
When mobility improves, sleep usually does too.

11/11/2025

Alfi approved!🐶
Nothing makes me happier than seeing pets feel good enough to play, explore, and be themselves. That’s the goal behind every adjustment here at Chiro4Critters — better mobility, better comfort, better quality of life.

Keeping them moving means keeping them happy😃

11/09/2025

Keeping your dog’s toes mobile matters more than most people realize 🐾
When I work on the paws, I’m checking how each tiny joint moves — because restrictions here can change how a dog loads their paws, climbs stairs, jumps in the car, or hits the trails 🏞️

Toe adjustments can help with:
• Better grip & stability 🧗‍♂️
• Less compensation up the leg 🔄
• Smoother gait & performance ⚡️
• Comfort for seniors & arthritic pets ❤️‍🩹
• Recovery after slips or minor sprains 🐕

And yes… long toenails matter 👀
Overgrown nails change the angle of the toes, shift weight onto the back of the paw, and can lead to stiffness, compensations, and long-term discomfort. Keeping them trimmed helps the joints move the way they’re supposed to ✂️🐕

Healthy movement starts from the ground up 🌟

11/07/2025

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend!

11/05/2025

🐾 Meet Daisy — proving that carts aren’t just for paralyzed dogs!
Daisy is a senior girl with rear-end weakness, instability, and some bow-leggedness that make walking tricky. Her cart gives her the support she needs to stay mobile, prevent falls, and move with confidence again. 💙

Monthly Chiropractic care helps keep her spine and joints aligned so she can continue to enjoy daily movement and independence — even as her body ages.

Every dog deserves the chance to keep moving comfortably, no matter what that looks like.

11/04/2025

When Tahoe storms hit, the power goes out. And when the power goes out, animals lose heat, surgeries stop, and lives hang in the balance.

💡 This Giving Tuesday, YOU can be their Wish Granter. Help us fund a generator so no animal is ever left in the dark.

Help us reach our goal of $160,000! Every gift is DOUBLED up to $40,000 thanks to Bev & Doug Keil, Reno-based supporters Jody Gunderson & Earle Curtice, and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

To donate please visit Petnetwork.org/wish

11/03/2025

🦴 Myth-Busting Monday🐱🐶

“Animal Chiropractic is only for injured pets.” ❌

Actually… Chiropractic care is about function, not just fixing pain.
Regular adjustments help your pet’s nervous system communicate clearly — improving mobility, balance, coordination, and even mood.

Many of my patients are happy, active dogs and cats who come in to stay feeling their best, not because something is wrong.
Prevention is always easier (and more comfortable!) than recovery. 💪🐾

✨ Here is Tramp, one of my oldest (19 or 20 yrs old here) and sweetest patients❤️ He had no injuries and was very healthy. He consistently came in for an adjustment monthly for many years to stay mobile and active in his old age🥰

11/02/2025

🐾 Three Months in Tahoe🥰

We’ve now been in Tahoe for three full months and so much has happened!

From opening my practice location in Incline, meeting local veterinarians and pet professionals to chatting with passionate dog owners — the support and kindness have been amazing. Every connection helps spread the word about how chiropractic can help animals feel and move their best.

Tahoe truly loves its pets, and I’m honored to be part of that! I couldn’t be more thankful for this incredible community 💙

Here’s to continuing to grow, collaborate, and keep our furry friends active and happy. 🐕🐾

Dr. Amanda Kremer is Lake Tahoe's dog chiropractor. Serving the Lake Tahoe basin, Reno Nevada and surrounding areas. Accepting appointments!

10/30/2025

🐕‍🦺 Condition Highlight: “Intervertebral Disc Disease” (IVDD) in Dogs

Have you ever seen your dog suddenly yelp, freeze, or stop jumping?
It might not be “just a pulled muscle” — it could be a spinal disc issue.

🧠 The discs between your dog’s vertebrae act like cushions.
When one bulges, it can press on the spinal nerves or worse yet, the spinal cord (emergency)— causing pain, weakness, or even loss of coordination, or bowel/bladder issues.

🐾 Common signs:
• Yelping when picked up or moving
• Reluctance to jump or climb stairs
• “Hunched” posture

Gentle chiropractic care can help by restoring motion to the areas surrounding the injury, easing pressure, and supporting the healing process — always in collaboration with your veterinarian.

💚 The goal: less pain, better function, and helping your pet get back to doing what they love.

10/29/2025

🐾 The Importance of Strength Training for Dogs

Strength training isn’t just for people — it’s one of the best ways to keep your dog healthy, mobile, and pain-free throughout their life.

A strong dog is a stable dog. When your dog’s muscles are balanced and strong, they protect the joints, spine, and ligaments from injury. It’s especially important for:
🐕‍🦺 Senior dogs losing muscle mass
🏃‍♂️ Active and athletic dogs
🩺 Pets recovering from injury or surgery

Simple, low-impact exercises like sit-to-stands, leg lifts, cavaletti poles, hill repeats, and core-balance work can improve stability, strength and coordination. These movements strengthen the core and spinal support muscles — the ones that keep your dog steady on uneven terrain and protect against back or joint strain.

Just like us, dogs benefit from staying strong and mobile as they age.
When muscles support the skeleton, the whole body functions better — posture improves, pain decreases, and movement feels easy again.

🐶This is Alfi doing “ab roll-outs”, an advanced full body exercise. His rear legs should be stabilized, his core engages more as the ball rolls out away from him trying to keep his top line stable. And those front legs? Look how much he is using those muscles!💪

I have most of this equipment in my office to demonstrate home care exercises if needed🐕