A TikTok dog chiropractor breaks down treating dogs – Insider

Dr. Joren Whitley has a bone to, er, crack.
Whitley is an Oklahoma-based dog chiropractor who helps soothe your canine friend. He owns Oklahoma Chiropractic Group and spoke to Insider about the huge popularity of watching dog chiropractic care videos online — some have gotten an astounding 150 million views on TikTok — how much his services cost, how to know if your dog is in pain, and when it might be a good idea to seek chiropractic care for them.
Whitley has a TikTok account with more than 1.7 million followers where he posts videos of himself doing chiropractic adjustments on the spines of dogs and other animals. He has a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Oklahoma State University. He received his doctorate in chiropractic from Parker University and went through additional training to practice on animals.
But Whitley has cautioned that other popular accounts may not be what a dog will actually experience should you take your pooch to an animal chiropractor.
“Somebody comes into the office and expects me to put the dog in a full Nelson,” Whitley said. “(They’re) expecting some loud crack coming out of it and are expecting their dog to be so gentle and calm and everything but they bring a dog and it’s hurting.”
 
Whitley told Insider that some of the positions seen in other popular videos, such as German-based Murat Colak, are uncommon for chiropractic care and the bone-cracking sounds may be played up. Whitley said that he didn’t intend to “bash” other chiropractors, but he wants people to have an accurate understanding of what to expect when taking their dog for chiropractic care.
When reached for comment, a representative for Colak said they do not respond to “jealously motivated” comments and that Whitley’s claims were “false.”
Whitley said that a lot of people think he charges “hundreds of dollars” for his services, but his price for small animals like dogs is $60 for the first visit and $40 for every prior visit. For larger animals, he charges $100. On the other end of the price point, when reached for comment through WhatsApp, Colak said he charges 250€, which converts to $265 American dollars, for “dog massage/treatment.”
 
 
Whitley told Insider that he treats all kinds of animals including dogs, skunks, horses, tigers, and bulls, among others, and they all have one common thread; they don’t like having their spine adjusted.
Whitley said that most of the dogs, and other animals he treats, are aggressive toward him because the spinal adjustments he does cause them pain, and around 90% of them are already in pain because they are being treated for some kind of injury.
“They’re already in pain; I’m pushing all the spots that hurt,” Whitley said.
 
Whitley says he does have some patients that he has seen since they were puppies who are “super excited to see me,” but the majority he treats for injuries are not friendly. Whitley said when he treats larger animals like bulls or tigers, they sometimes have to be sedated to keep them from becoming too aggressive.
According to Whitley, his videos have also attracted a large amount of backlash.
Whitley told Insider that he has been accused of animal abuse and received countless death threats, and harassing messages, and his business has been reported to the Oklahoma Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners Verification numerous times by people who don’t believe in chiropractic care. 
“We’ve had videos where it shows a dog in discomfort for a second, and then we make the adjustment, the dog’s better, but then, because we put a dog in his comfort, we’re getting hate for it,” Whitley said.
Whitley said although spinal adjustments may hurt an animal, they are beneficial in the long run and can have neurological benefits that help treat problems like seizures.
“We’ve had dogs that were having seizures that no longer have seizures,” Whitley said. “So that’s not a functional improvement of, I fix this spot so you don’t have lower back pain. I fixed the vertebra and actually changed this dog’s seizure behavior.”
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