Magnetic Dog Coat
29 Jul 2005
As you may already know Milo has had bouts of biceps tendonitis on his left front on and off over the past three years (ever since he got his foot caught under a door, he tried to jump away and his foot didn’t come loose — OUCH!). So we make regular visits to our favorite rehab center TOPS Veterinary Rehab, use a Warm Up routine before activities, and perform stretches once Milo is warm. But I’m always on the look out for anything that might prevent injury to his weak area.
After talking to a number of handlers (including some World Team members) there seems to be a consensus that use of therapeutic magnets might have some effect for warming up muscles and possibly healing injured muscles. At the least, the thinking is they don’t do any harm. After asking around it seems that Lisa Flowers at A Magnetic Dilemma is the one to go to for magnetic dog coats and beds. They make EQUINOX brand magnetic products.
The coats come in a number of sizes based on the dog’s measurements. They make both mesh coats and regular fabric dog coats. I opted for the mesh coat since it would be coolest in the summer and I could always put his regular fleece coat over it in the winter.
From the website I didn’t really understand where the magnets were located. It is a pretty clever design. The inside of the coat has four wide Velcro strips and the magnets are in little flat “packets” that can be moved around and stuck to the Velcro strips. So you can position the magnet packets almost anywhere. For Milo I have the front two wrapped around the front of the coat so they are over his biceps and shoulder. The inside of the coat is shown in the bottom picture:
Milo Models his New Magnetic Coat
Inside of Magnetic Coat Showing Velcro and Magnets
So far Milo doesn’t mind his coat; he doesn’t like or dislike it. I put it on when we get to class/trials and it is on him until we warm up and run. Then I put it on after his cool down. We’ve only had it for a couple weeks so I can’t admit to any real change in his condition.
I have to admit I lump magnetics into the “crystal healing” category of healing arts. From my experience I’ve seen our dogs benefit from chiropractic, accupuncture, and herbal medicines. But I’m not sure I buy into magnetics yet. Time will tell.
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